Holy Land 2019 ~ Dead Sea Floating (DAY 5 ~ ISRAEL)

DAY 5 - Getting WET in Holy Land

Day 5 started early with a trip to the Qumram Caves. The Qumran Caves is where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered.

It is said that the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls is one the major archaeological discoveries of the 20th century. They contain the earliest known manuscripts of the Bible as well as other important historical documents..

After which, we had lunch at a restaurant at Qumran ~

Stuffed ourselves full for our next activity ~ floating on the Dead Sea 

Biblically, the Dead Sea (referred to in the bible as the ‘Salt Sea’, ‘Sea of Arabah’ and ‘Eastern Sea’) was a place of refuge for King David.  One particular reference of the Dead Sea is the story about Lot's wife (Lot is a nephew of Abraham who settles in Sodom, a town regarded as wicked) who was turned to a pillar of salt after she ignored the angel's warning not to look back.

The Dead Sea is a hypersaline lake bordering Jordan to the east and Israel and the West Bank to the west.  It is the lowest point on earth at 430 meters below sea level.

Yes, you start somewhere.. and work your way up to your face :P

Floating time...

The Dead Sea has 34% salinity (8.6x saltier than the ocean), making it one of the world's saltiest bodies of water.

The unusual salt concentration creates natural buoyancy that helps one FLOAT!

Jordan River ~ where thousands of Christians of today come and perform baptisms in the same river where John the Baptist performed one on Jesus 2000 years ago.  

In Matthew 4:8 we read how after  Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist , He then went into the wilderness where he fasted and meditated for 40 days and 40 nights on the Mt. of Temptation. 

We ended the day with a view of Zacchaeus' Sycamore Tree taken at Jerico. 

A sycamore tree  a symbol of strength, protection, eternity, and divinity ~ was an "A" fit to end Day 5.

Follow our Holy Land Adventure:

• For Holy Land helpful Tips >>> Holy Land Tips
• DAY 1 - welcome to Cairo Egypt >>>> Day 1
• DAY 2 - touring the land of ancient monuments, pharaohs and great pyramids  >>>> Day 2
• DAY 3 - road to Mt Sinai >>>> Day 3
• DAY 4 - from St Catherine Monastery to Israel  >>>> Day 4

Please check also my separate post on all the hotels we've stayed at during our tour of the Holy Land.  

For questions and inquiries on our Tour Package with CITTI please visit their facebook page at CORPORATE INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL AND TOURS INC.

Martessem Resort

Martessem is a Bed and Breakfast Resort located in the mountain ridges of Sierra Madre. The resort boasts a magnificent sea of clouds view at sunrise.  I have seen pictures online from friends who have been there and I just got to see for myself. 

Martessem is located in Tanay and is about an hour and half drive from our place, so we woke up early to catch the famed sunrise view.

The drive at such a wee-hour is not for the faint of heart.

It was a really scary drive, the highway leading to the Tanay via Marcos Hi-way is not well lighted (actually the only light I see, while my husband drive is the one coming from our car's headlights). It was like a scene from the "Hiwaga sa Balete Drive movie" waiting for a white lady to pop-out any moment.

We reached the resort at 5:45am, about 15minutes wait time for the resort's 6am opening. Security though was nice to let us inside the resort early.

Imagine the cool mountain breeze "Tagaytay-Baguio like weather"~ heavenly right?

The resort is undeniably beautiful and view from the resort's deck quite impressive.  Unfortunately the weather was not as cooperative as expected, it was cloudy and the sun shied during our visit.  Alas, light rain also threatened what should have been "the sight to behold".

That did not dampen our spirit ~

Note: We had our breakfast here, but it was nothing special. 

The view though very well compensated for what ever is lacking.

The view that we missed ---

(taken from the Martessem facebook page)

I think this view will just have to be re-scheduled on another day.  Maybe next time our visit will be with overnight stay at the resort (to avoid another scary ride).

TIP: It was good we came early as we got to have the place all to ourselves.  Hoards of guests started to arrive at around 7am.  

For questions and inquiries, visit the resort's facebook page: Martessem Resort

Hotel Review ~ Fort Ilocandia Resort (FIR)

From Paradores de Vigan we transferred to our hotel in Laoag,   Fort Ilocandia Resort (FIR) our accommodation for 2 nights as we toured Ilocos Province. 

FIR was built to house wedding guests of then President Marcos, Irene Marcos with Greggy Araneta. 

The hotel complex is huge. It is the biggest and most luxurious resort in the Ilocos Province.  It consists of 5 buildings of Spanish colonial architecture. The fact that the resort overlooks the West Philippine Sea adds to its beauty.

FIR now shows signs of aging, but it is still grand and its charm still remains.  Being there makes me visualize how majestic FIR must have been during its prime.

Activities inside FIR includes a mini zoo and adult/children pools, for an extra free guests can do ATV rides, basketball, tennis, various water activities such as fishing, jetski, kayaking and boating. There are so many things to keep you busy (sorry though as the casino is now closed).  

We booked 4 standard rooms.  During booking, I specifically requested for adjoining family room with my children, but were disappointed at check-in.  Reception was apologetic though, but the adjacent room set up made packing/unpacking, tending the kids difficult.

The rooms were nicely sized and each room with its own veranda.  Our room overlooking the garden/pool. 

 

The rooms were clean, although aging quite apparent.  
The bathroom fixtures also needs upgrading.  

My mom also complained that the hairdryer wasn't working and only one electric outlet was working.  Other than that, everything went well.  

Breakfast for our 2 days stay were buffet set up at Café Ilocandia.  Spread was just okay, but the service was very good.

Our New Year's dinner at Café Ilocandia though was great!

Sharing here some family photos, we took before leaving FIR:

For booking inquiries, you can 

Call FIR at: (+6377) 670-9001or 

Email: booking@fortilocandia.com.ph

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