Do you know what they call sitaw in Ilocos? It’s utong. How about patola? They call it kabatiti. And tortang talong? It’s called puki-puki. Oh yeah, I’m serious here.

But their local names for vegetables aren’t the only things fascinating about Ilocos. And my recent trip to the region was a testament to how these twin provinces could blow anyone away. And I’m not just talking about the Bangui Wind Mills. Here are some pics I took with my point-and-shoot cam.

PAOAY CHURCH

The Paoay Church is one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen in my enter life. I’ve seen so many pictures of this magnificent landmark but I thought those pictures were lying. You know how sometimes pictures make places seem prettier than they actually are? I thought the Paoay Church was only picture perfect but boy was I so wrong. When I was standing there, looking at this wonder, I really thought no photo has given justice to it. I haven’t seen a picture that captures just how amazing this church is. It’s just so breathtaking.

The construction of this Gothic-Baroque-Oriental church started in 1694 by the Agustinian friars. A few meters away from the church stands a bell tower that is said to had been used by Katipuneros as an observation post during the Philippine-Spanish revolution.

During the 1865 and 1885 earthquakes, portions of this church were damaged. In 2000, an excavation inside the church revealed a prehistoric human skeleton and some fragmented ceramics, which are now on display at the National Museum. Currently, Paoay Church is part of the UNESCO World Heritage List.

BANGUI WIND MILLS

You know what they say, every place has its element. (Yes, they say that.) They say Siquijor’s and Camiguin’s element is fire. Sagada is earth. And I strongly believe that Ilocos has to be air. The wind has such a strong presence in the region. If you don’t believe me, I’ll slap you with the Bangui windmills.

Seriously, I actually felt like having a closer, more intimate relationship with the wind when I was in Ilocos. I had missed the feeling of the wind blowing to my face. But yeah, to be honest, the wind kinda pissed me off, too. I wanted to have pictures of me taken with these giant power-generating fans in the background but the wind just kept messing my hair, it ruined my mood. I couldn’t take a decent picture of myself. My hair was a disaster. Damn you, wind, damn you.

We were expecting 15 of these windmills but I think there were more. But there were a couple of units that weren’t spinning. We were joking, “Who’s the manager here! We traveled a million miles just to get here, hoping to see all of them working! We’re not leaving until those two start working!”

And oh, I just have to mention that I saw something amusing on the way there.

Yep, that’s Kangkang Windmill Cafe right there. I wonder how many customers they serve every day.

PAGUDPUD

There’s a secluded beach called “Blue Lagoon” in Maira-Ira Point and it was crazy. The waves were just so fun. It felt like the wind was commanding the sea to slap us with every wave. Braving the giant waves was so cool and being swept meters from where we were reminded of our lost dream to become mermaids. Aha!

Pagudpud is heaven.

…

Oh by the way, if you want your own Ilocos adventure for 3 days and 2 nights for only P3330, click here!

Part 2 is coming up.

If you liked this post, you might want to check out: