Baler ~ North Luzon's Hidden Gem (Day 2)

Day 2 starts early as our day is full packed.

We started with a hefty breakfast at The Beach House, Costa Pacifica. 

TIP: Try Baler's famous Suman de Baler perfect with coco jam and peanut butter dips with freshly brewed coffee. Suman de Baler is made from organic brown rice. 

Today's itinerary is a tour of Baler's famous attractions:

To make the most of our time, we hired a local guide Kuya Nanding.  He was our driver cum guide and photographer for this leg of our Baler tour. 

• Hanging Bridge located in San Luis, it has a wonderful view of Baler Bay.

• Ermita Hill is a sculpture depicting the seven families who survived a devastating tidal wave that wiped out the whole municipality in 1735.  The surviving families: Angara, Bijasa, Bitong, Carrasco, Ferrera, Lumasac and Poblete made their way to the hill and survived.

• Baler Fish Port along the coastline of Cemento Beach

• Diguisit Beach is a nice clean beach with picturesque rock formations.  This beach is breathtaking like masterpiece paintings in a museum.

• Amper Beach unlike the regular sandy beaches, this beach is made of solid rocks. My husband wanted to bring home "buhay na bato" (I am not sure if there is an English translation) and this beach is literally made up of them.  The waves at this beach are a lot stronger than in Sabang Beach so be extra careful. 

Before heading to our next destination, we stopped by the town proper for a quick lunch at Gerry Shan's Place.  The food is nothing special, but considering the price (P250/pax) for a buffet it was okay.  Drinks are extra priced.  They also have fresh catch "paluto", reasonably priced but not really fresh if you asked me.  

 

• Balete Eco-Park is the location of "The 600-year old Balete Tree" towering more than 5-storey high.  This tree has been designated at the official "Millennium Tree of the Philippines". 

• Ditumabo Falls  a.k.a. "Mother Falls" it takes about 45 minutes of trekking across minor river streams and rocky terrains, which may be slippery at times.  It is highly recommended that you come in proper trekking shoes/footwear.  Entrance is only P30, but you are required to have a guide which would cost you additional P300.  The trek is all worth it.

• Souvenir Shopping ~ quick stop at Pacita's.  Must buy is their coco jam partnered with their creamy peanut butter.  Our driver cum guide helped us get newly made Suman de Baler.  

We were back at Costa Pacifica at about 5pm, which is perfect timing to view the sunset at Sabang Beach.

Our last night in Baler...

Until we meet again Baler 💗💗💗

If you missed our Day 1 ~ follow this link: Baler ~ Day 1

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We stayed as Costa Pacifica ~ lovely, lovely resort. Location is perfect for an all just basking under the sun. Good food with A+ service. Highly recommended. For booking inquiries, please follow their website ~ Costa Pacifica Baler.  

Our guide Kuya Nanding is an exceptional driver.  He is also very knowledgeable of Baler and its history.  If you need a tour guide or driver around Baler, you may contact him at 0951-1530540.  Do mention where you got his number, tell him from the Spouses from Taytay Rizal.   

Day 3 ~ Journey to the Edge of Ilocos

Day 3 started at 8am,  our tour guide Raymond met us at the Fort Ilocandia Resort (FIR).  Raymond has been quite helpful in ensuring we get the most of our trip in Ilocos with the limited time we have.   

If you are looking for a tour guide, this guy got us covered. You can contact him via mobile ~ 0926-2589397.

Raymond our tour guide, turned friend.

TIP: For this leg of the Ilocos Tour, don't forget to bring a jacket, especially if you are travelling on a "ber" month as it gets quite cold.

Our first stop from FIR is the rustic town of Burgos, where the Kapurpurawan White Rock Formation and the Cape Bodeajor Lighthouse are located.


Kapurpurawan White Rock Formation
The name came from the Ilocano word "puraw", which translates to "white" ~ the color of the various rock formation seen in the area. 

This windmill is part of a new batch of windmills installed in Burgos (visible to the Kapurpurawan Rock Formation attraction), the original ones are located in Bangui.

Cape Bodeajor Lighthouse 
The lighthouse was first lit in 1892 and is still in service to date (talk about 126 of history).  This lighthouse is in fact a National Historical Landmark. 

The 66ft tall lighthouse overlooks South China Sea.  

TIP: Do not hesitate to ask the resident tour guide to take your photos.  They take real good souvenir pictures.  Tipping is not necessary, but such good job deserves something.


Bangui Wind Farm
The wind farm has 20 units of 230ft high windmills which stretched along the shoreline of Bangui bay, facing West Philippine Sea.  

Our tour guide brought us to Amian Café which has a perfect view of the famed wind farm.  Food was just okay, but the view makes up for everything!

From Bangui, we headed to Patapat Viaduct. It is a concrete bridge 1.3 kilometers long connecting Ilocos Region to Cagayan Valley.  Unfortunately, it started to rain a bit so we only manage to get very few photos.  

No gloomy weather can dampen our sunshiny spirit!   

Our last stop is the Blue Lagoon ~ unfortunately the waves were rough and so the kids did not get to hostage the beach.  Sand was fine and comparable to Boracay, but not as white.  

TIP: Hannah's Beach Resort restaurant would be a nice stop over, before heading back to Laoag or Vigan. It is located right in front of the Blue Lagoon.   They have very good coffee, perfect for the cold weather.  

Our tired bodies now calls for some rests ~  Day 3 of Ilocos Tour ends here.  It would take another 2 hours to go back to FIR.

If you missed our Day 1 and Day 2 post of our Ilocos Adventure,  you may click the links below:

Day 1 ~ Vigan

Day 2 ~ Laoag

Day 2 ~ Finally reached Laoag after 5 years planning

Day 2 ~ LAOAG

Raymond our tour guide met us at the Paradores de Vigan lobby.  

Our first stop before leaving Vigan is Bantay Church and Bell Tower.  Our timing was perfect since it was a Sunday and we were just in time for mass (It was in Ilocano though, but it was okay). 

Laoag is about 2 hours away from Vigan.  

First stop was the Juan Luna Shrine. 

Next was Paoay Church

TIP: 

• They sell rosaries, chaplets, etc. inside the church.  Buy one and have it blessed.

Lunch at Herencia Café located just across Paoay Church. The restaurant like Hidden Garden in Vigan serves local Ilocano dishes.  It's specialty includes pinakbet pizza, but were were too scared to even try.  We did settle for longanisa pizza.

We ordered 2 each of Herencia's Longaniza and Hawaiian Pizza;  Sinigang na Malaga (must order) and the staple Longaniza and Poqui-Poqui.

TIPS: 

• Given the location, there could be a queue of restaurant diners especially during peak hours.  Our tour guide Raymond, suggested we get a number and pre-order our food before visiting Paoay Church.


• I have previously recommended on getting a local guide to help you in your tour. We hired Raymond who was really helpful in making the most of our trip to Ilocos Norte.  You can contact him via mobile number 0926-2589397.


• Buy your "pasalubong" cornick from one of the stores  just outside Herencia Restaurant. Three (3) medium sized packs priced at P100. Price is the same as in Vigan, but there seems to be more choices of flavors here.

From Paoay Church we went to the Marcos Museum, where the remains of Former President Marcos used to be located, until was transferred to the Libingan ng mga Bayani in 2016. 

TIP:  

• There is very little to see here. If you are time pressed, I think you may skip this one.


• Try the Ilocano local ice cream.  Try the dragon fruit flavored ice cream. There are a number of ice cream vendors in the vicinity Marcos Museum.


• Check the nearby Riverside Empanadahan; Unfortunately we were still to full from our lunch at Herencia Restaurant, there is just no space for an empanada ~ no matter how delicious.

Not to be missed is the Paoay Sand Dunes.  Don't ever think of leaving Ilocos Norte without riding Paoay's star attraction.  

Cost per 4x4 vehicle, which can accommodate 5 pax is only P2500.  You get a roughly 30 minutes 4x4 Sand Dunes extreme adventure and an unlimited Sand boarding experience.

As it was still early, we were able to squeeze in the Malacañang of the North into our itinerary.  This is were the Marcoses stay whenever they are in Ilocos.  The mansion is obviously grand, and must have been more grandiose during the Marcos reign!  Just imagine a palatial mansion overlooking the panoramic Paoay lake.

Tired from our earlier extreme sand dune adventure, we had to wrap our tour of the Malacañang of the North early to check-in at Fort Ilocandia, our home for 2 nights while in Ilocos Norte (Clink here to check out my post on Fort Ilocandia Resort).

Day 2 Complete, Day 3 targets Pagudpod ~ 

Please follow our Tour of Ilocos Norte 

If you missed our Day 1 in Ilocos ~ please follow the link below:

Day 1 - Vigan

Check also our Day 3 touring Ilocos Province ~ 

Day 3 ~ Pagudpod