the heritage town of vigan

To get to this historic town in Ilocos Sur, we had to take two bus rides - a two-hour commute from Pagudpud to Laoag, a trike ride from one terminal to the next and finally a two-hour bus ride from Laoag to Vigan. According to one of the signs painted on a building, the city got its name from the Bigaa plant which thrives abundantly in that region.

We arrived at around 5pm and checked in at Grandpa's Inn, we got two fan-cooled rooms, one with tv, private bath and complimentary breakfast for $23 and another one with a common bath, no tv and no breakfast for $18. The best thing about this place was the wireless Internet connectivity albeit a little flaky.

After a quick shower, we went out to buy souvenir shirts and walk along the famous brick roads of Calle Crisologo. Vigan has more than a hundred ancestral houses and historical landmarks making it a UNESCO heritage site. The gas lights, sliding capiz windows and azoteas were like a scene right out of Rizal's novels, they bring you back to the 17th century colonial era. Our stroll ended up at Plaza Burgos, a landmark dedicated to Padre Jose Burgos, a Catholic priest native to the place, who was accused of sedition and executed by Spanish authorities in 1872. Currently, the plaza sits next to a church and has a massive park with palyground and picnic area. Beside it, there are dozens of stalls selling empanada and okoy, a well-known snack in the area. We ordered one of each and decided that it would be our dinner. On the way back to the hotel, we saw the charming Cafe Uno right beside our inn and opted to try their tea, however, when we skimmed through their menu, we ordered bagnet instead and had a second dinner.

The following morning, we hired calesas and went on a city tour aboard horse-drawn carriages. The rate for the tour was $8 per hour and included several area attractions. It was pre-arranged by one of the inn attendants and was promptly waiting for us by 8AM.

The first stop was the famous belfry at St. Paul's Church. It's the site of this local TV show about a blacksmith turned reluctant hero during the Spanish era. After climbing the rickety wooden stairs to where the bell sits, we took pictures and proceeded to our next stop.

The Crisoogo Mansion is the house of a famed political family, which was now converted into a private museum. They have an interesting collection of antique cars, old photographs, clothes, memorabilla and hats from different islands in the country. That's where I got to see the pig system toilet, eww!

The next destination was the Pagburnayan, where jars made from clay are made by hand using the potter's wheel. Pottery making was introduced in the city by early Chinese settlers and has been a well-known industry in Vigan because of its abundance in good quality clay that are used to make earthen jars.

Armed with a collection of ref magnets and other souvenirs that we bought from the pagburnayan, we proceeded to the Hidden Garden, a landscaped showroom of plants that has an onsite restaurant where we ordered halo halo and bibingka for snacks. They have this cool washroom that has a one way mirror overlooking a garden with a pond.

The higlight of this tour was the visit to Baluarte, a zoo owned by a politician that is open to the public for free. The place was huge, there was a bird and butterfly sanctuary, an ostrich farm, a horse ranch, several reptiles and a collection of tigers. For $4 we got to go up close to take pictures and sit with the tiger.

Before heading to the final stop, which was Calle Crisologo, we bought bagnet and longganisa, another present that we will be taking to Romblon. We plan to buy some native delicacy from each place we visit and bring them to our grandma.

Calle Crisologo looks different in the morning, it was more enchanting at night, but it exudes the same colonial town feel especially when you're traversing it on a calesa. We went back to our inn and checked out, I was not too happy about the late check-out fee per hour, of which we were not informed about earlier, I will definitely opt for other lodging places next time I drop by for a visit.

We took a trike to the bus station, had lunch of local cuisine at the nearby carenderia and proceeded to wait at the station for a bus to La Union. I was planning to go surfing and already reserved a room at Surfer's Inn but we missed two buses because of the ill organized system that they have in that terminal. No lineups, no posted bus schedules, just throngs of masses suddenly converging and running towards the bus once it enters the terminal, definitely not my style. Some people got squished, some kids were crying, some got pushed back and stepped on, wow, is this how they do stuff in this part of town or is Partas just the worst bus service ever? Anyway, such is the life of public commuters.

Finally, a bus to Manila came by and I was pushed inside by the excited people waiting to get home. I stood on the middle aisle of the bus for more than an hour, which is probably is good for my back but not for my varicose veins. Annoyed at the whole commuter experience, I decided to cancel the La Union leg of the trip and headed back to my friend's place in Greenhills.

Someday I will be able to buy my own ride and I'll visit all 7,107 islands while on it.