Byaheng Norte Chronicles - Pagudpud | Part 2

 The morning after our northbound Pagudpud tour we woke up early to discover Saud Beach. The so-called Boracay of the North. Compared to Blue Lagoon, Saud was calmer and clearer. It reminded me of my favorite beach getaway in Bantayan Island. 

A long stretch of white sand beach, clear water, and my two piece bikini, I say is a perfect combination. Of course the bikini part was a joke. 

As we were basking by the shore, a few local kids arrived. Shyly they were looking at us while they played by the beach. I noticed the youngest among them, he was smiling at me, so I approached him. 

Boy: *insert subtitle here* (nilublob ang mukha sa buhangin)
Me: Ayush yan boy ah. Ma try nga. (lublob sa buhangin ang mukha) :) 

"trying hard sand angel" 

 We laughed at each others faces and they didn't even hesitate to smile to the camera. Despite the language barrier, we knew that we had something in common - the love for the Beach. The fun was cut short since we need to be back at the homestay by 9 am to meet up Kuya Arnel, and go on with the tour. So we bid our goodbyes to them, which in return they did as well with a whole lot of smiles. 
When we arrived back at the homestay Ate Cathy already prepared our breakfast. Rice, scrambled eggs, instant pancit canton (which we purchased the day before) and the Vigan longganiza. Yes, you read it right that was our breakfast. Patay gutom lang? Kaing walang bukas - Breakfast edition. Sorry I don't have pictures of which though, I was too hungry and had to dig in right away. Walang keme keme, lafang kung lafang. Nyahaha!

After the sumptuous meal we had to pack up for yet another adventure. This time we went down south of Ilocos. 

"A view of Bangui Windmills from Saud Beach" 

From afar I was already amazed by the windmills, but when I was already where they were standing, I was dumbfounded. 

"Gigantic electric fan" 

I think humongous was an understatement, but they were a beauty. You can hear them spinning as the wind from the South China Sea blew. Had this strange imagination that any moment those windmills would fall on me, but then again that was just me being morbid. Haha! 

"Like a Boss!:{" 

There was this one windmill that stopped turning, so I asked Kuya Arnel if that was broke. Apparently when the windmills are fully charged (or naka quota na ng ikot, as I understood) it would just stop turning. I wanted to stay longer and stare at them all day, but time was ticking and we needed to get going. 

 Our next stop was Kapupurawan Rock Formation.

It seemed like a rooster's comb. Two kids acted as our tour guide to get us to the said rock formation. It was not quite a walk in the park though since tirik na tirik ang araw. Ang jinit! There's actually horse rides available, but we opted to walk since we're on a tight budget. Nonetheless, it was a site not to miss. 

The word "kapurpurawan" means "Kaputi putian" or whiteness in Ilokano

The kids were running along the grooves, holes and curves like it was their playground. As for us...Yes, we were holding on, to our dear lives. 

"Kapit men, kapit!" 

I think the sun melted our brains because we were goofing around the whole time we were there. 

"ang jinit talaga!"

After we fried our brain cells from the heat, we went on to visit another must see place which was Cape Bojeador or Burgos Lighthouse.

"Faro de Cabo Bojeador"

We were very eager to go up top but they locked out the lighthouse for some reason. 

Anyways, the structure was already a view in itself. I personally love the red brick walls, washed out paints, and slabs of wood that witnessed the test of time. 

Sadly this was our last stop for Pagudpud. 

We decided to do a DIY tour in Laoag, it turned out that the places that we wanted to visit was far apart. Kuya  Arnel being so bait, offered and gave a contact to help us out, he also suggested a cheap and cozy place to stay. 

It felt comforting having Kuya Arnel around, the stories/blog entries about him was all true. He even extended help when we're already in Laoag and Vigan. 
Now that's another story to tell on the next post. ;)

Kuya Arnel and Tabian aka fan girl

As we rode the the bus for Laoag it dawned on me that it was parting time already, it felt bittersweet, but I promised myself to come back. 

Baon ko ang mga magagandang tanawin, mga ngiti at mainit na pagtanggap ninyo sa amin. 

Salamat Pagudpud, sa muling pagkikita. 

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And off we were to another adventure! 

"Next stop..."