Ilocos: The Tour (Sixth Part)

After Vigan, we headed to Baluarte. Baluarte is a zoological theme park whose main feature is that it allows close interaction between visitors and animals. It is owned by Chavit Singson. Entrance is free. There as an afternoon show every 5PM featuring the trained animals of the zoo.

I also met a true blooded writer in Baluarte. Please visit her blog here.

So here's the delayed post on Baluarte. Enjoy the pictures!

This is a blue-gold macaw...





A blue naped parrot...





These are sun conures. I like the way one of them stared into the camera. He seemed to have posed for the shot...





An umbrella cuckatoo...



Miniature horses...







Feeding time... Find the feeder...



An alpaca...



White deers. The first one was a bit sleepy...







A goose and a duck... The goose stared at me for a minute or so, and so despite the distance, I took a shot. This is the nearest that my zoom lens could get.





The animal that I really sought to shot... An enclosed one got excited when he saw me approached his pen... He probably saw me as his meal... :D This one has a mild temperament and was very obedient to trainers. He just came from their afternoon show and I met him along the way to his cage...




To be continued... Next post will be about Laoag and La Paz Sand Dunes...

Related post:

• Ilocos: The Tour (First Part)


• Ilocos: The Tour (Second Part)


• Ilocos: The Tour (Third Part)


• Ilocos: The Tour (Fourth Part)


• Ilocos: The Tour (Fifth Part)

In case you want to have a tour of Ilocos, and you'll be staying in Laoag, you may get in touch with Mang Lito, the man who offered to tour us around. His service is significantly low compared to arranged tours or packaged tours being offered by the hotels in Laoag. He may be contacted through his mobile phone: 09273387969.
I will not promote the hotel we stayed in. Although they had reasonably low room rates, good food and courteous staff, their water supply is not good - it's yellow. Their room rates are also a bit tricky, as this caused a slight argument when we checked out

Ilocos: The Tour (Fifth Part)

The Rest of the Vigan Tour

Right after lunch, I joined the rest of my companions for whatever's left of their Vigan tour on calesa.

First stop for the afternoon: pagburnayan. It literally translates as pottery - a workshop where clayware is made.

The craftsmen of this particular pagburnayan were friendly. I happened to chat with Bongbong Go. He agreed to do a demonstration on his potter's wheel. He told me to prepare my camera and film as the demo will be short - less than 10 mins. When he started forming the lump of clay on his wheel, I also started clicking until it was finished. I nearly used up a roll.

Below is the series of shots I took, featuring Craftsman Eduardo "Bongbong" Go.



The vase will be dried in shade for two weeks before it goes to the kiln.



I chatted with him for a while and he told me I can roam around their workplace. In one dark corner, there were many pots awaiting the test of fire in the kiln.



Our next stop is the Crisologo Museum. I was not able to take many pictures inside as we agreed that we will not stay that long. The museum (or the Crisologo ancestral house) features memorabilia from the golden days of the Crisologo family in Ilocos, during the term of Mrs. Carmeling Crisologo as governor of Ilocos Sur. She is the mother of Congressman Bingbong Crisologo.

Here is her antique typewriter. Notice the keys and the position of the typebars. It is standing in the sides. (It might be that some of my young readers are not familiar with the typewriter anymore.)



Here is the typical Ilocano stove called dalikan. This was taken in the kitchen of the ancestral house. The haziness was due to the light from the window.



Our next destination is the Syquia Mansion. This is the ancestral home of Dona Alicia Syquia-Quirino. She was married to President Elpidio Quirino in 1922. From being a congressman, senator, Cabinet member and Vice President, Quirino was catapulted to the Presidency in April 15, 1948 due to the sudden death of President Manuel Roxas from a heart attack.

The Syquia mansion, built in 1830, became the venue of official and public functions during the Quirino administration. It features an impressive collection of antiques and presidential memorabilia. There is a guided tour in the mansion. The tour is very informative. According to the caretaker who conducted the tour, the mansion was actually a dowry from Alicia's parents. In the Spanish times, it was the bride's duty to give the dowry.

The museum overflows with many collections of furniture. What caught my interest though are the paintings. The museum houses three treasured works from Fernando Amorsolo, the first Philippine National Artist in Painting. The paintings were actually portraits - probably part of his portrait works where he was heavily criticized.

This is the first Amorsolo...



The second Amorsolo...



The third Amorsolo... The haze is due to the sidelight coming from the window...



This is a copy of the Spoliarium by Juan Luna. This was done by Juan Luna's assistant.



This is no ordinary mirror. The metalwork along its sides is 18 karat gold.



This is one of the two vases said to be given by the last Emperor of China, Puyi (Henry Puyi to the West), to President Quirino. The imperial seal is in the vase's base.



To be continued... Next post will be about Chavit Singson's Baluarte...

Related post:

• Ilocos: The Tour (First Part)


• Ilocos: The Tour (Second Part)


• Ilocos: The Tour (Third Part)


• Ilocos: The Tour (Fourth Part)

In case you want to have a tour of Ilocos, and you'll be staying in Laoag, you may get in touch with Mang Lito, the man who offered to tour us around. His service is significantly low compared to arranged tours or packaged tours being offered by the hotels in Laoag. He may be contacted through his mobile phone: 09273387969.
I will not promote the hotel we stayed in. Although they had reasonably low room rates, good food and courteous staff, their water supply is not good - it's yellow. Their room rates are also a bit tricky, as this caused a slight argument when we checked out

Ilocos: The Tour (Fourth Part)

Paoay Church

On our first day in Ilocos, we went to Paoay Church. There was an impending rain with dark clouds closing the skies. Before the rain fell, I managed to get several shots of this UNESCO World Heritage site.



It was but fitting to return to this church and have a much closer look. The construction of Paoay Church (also known as the St. Augustine Church in Paoay) was started by the Augustinian friars in 1694. During the Philippine Revolution in 1898, its three-story coral stone bell tower was used by the Katipuneros as an observation post.



One of the four Baroque churches in the Philippines included in the UNESCO World Heritage List, Paoay Church was built using baked bricks, coral rocks, salbot (tree sap) and lumber, and has 24 carved massive buttresses for support. Below are some of the butresses in both left and right sides of the church.





Entering the church, you will be met by two angels holding the font for holy water. Here is one of them...



Here is the main altar...



The grotto-inspired theme for the images is prominent inside the church... Here is one of them...



The Spanish colonizers' most powerful weapon ever devised...



Another view of the church. The sun is already up. The angle of the shot generated some lens flares.



Towards Calle Crisologo

After Paoay, we headed to Vigan. Vigan is the capital city of Ilocos Sur. It is a World Heritage site as it is the most intact example of a Spanish colonial town in Asia, and is known for its cobblestone streets particularly Calle Crisologo.

We parked near the Vigan Cathedral (also known as St. Paul Metropolitan Cathedral). This is another Baroque-styled church built in 1574 commissioned by Spaniard Juan de Salcedo.



While the others in our group went their different ways, I headed to Plaza Burgos. This is dedicated to Father Jose Burgos, one of the three Filipino priests executed on February 17, 1872 by Spanish colonial authorities on fabricated charges of subversion arising from the 1872 Cavite mutiny. This event enraged and left a profound and bitter effect on many Filipinos, especially on the young Jose Rizal.



Along the way to Calle Crisologo, there were many "calesas" parked beside the Vigan Cathedral. Tourists who want to have a city tour could ride in these carriages for PhP150.00 per hour.



The entrance to Calle Crisologo is marked by a statue of Leona Florentino, the most outstanding Filipina writer in the Spanish and Ilocano languages during the Spanish era. She was a relative of Jose Rizal (I think that word weaving runs in the family).



Finally, I have reached Calle Crisologo...



The facade of an antique store...





Only calesas are allowed along Calle Crisologo. No other vehicles are allowed except in the intersections.



Scenes like this abound along Calle Crisologo...



And since I am fulfilling the completion of a task in my bucket list, my travel would not be complete without buying some memorabilias. I bought different denominations of the Japanese government-issued Philippine fiat peso (also known as mickey mouse money) during WWII. I also bought an old wooden tobacco container of Tabacalera.

Along my way back, I have seen kids selling a native Ilocos delicacy, the "tinubong" (made of grated coconut, salt, ganta glutinous rice, bamboo tubes and bamban leaves). I bought some as well.



We all met at Cafe Leona for lunch. I then joined them for the rest of the Vigan tour on calesa.

 

To be continued...

Related post:

• Ilocos: The Tour (First Part)


• Ilocos: The Tour (Second Part)


• Ilocos: The Tour (Third Part)

In case you want to have a tour of Ilocos, and you'll be staying in Laoag, you may get in touch with Mang Lito, the man who offered to tour us around. His service is significantly low compared to arranged tours or packaged tours being offered by the hotels in Laoag. He may be contacted through his mobile phone: 09273387969.
I will not promote the hotel we stayed in. Although they had reasonably low room rates, good food and courteous staff, their water supply is not good - it's yellow. Their room rates are also a bit tricky, as this caused a slight argument when we checked out

Ilocos: The Tour (First Part)

I was full of excitement and all the while wishing for a fine weather when we left for our tour of Ilocos. We left Cebu in a state of gloom and Manila was not that much reassuring. However, as the plane of the Philippine Airlines began its final descent towards Laoag International Airport, the sky was blue with little clouds, affirming us of a fine noontime weather.



The hotel service van fetched us from the airport. After having lunch, the weather had a sudden turn and took us by surprise. It rained! Since I lacked sleep, I decided to rest for a while. After about 2 hours we decided to go to spots near Laoag City. During the planning stage, only two days would have fixed schedules. The first and last days would be open - they were intended for tourist spots near and within Laoag. We had initially asked the hotel staff to reserve for us packaged tours for the second and third days.

When we went out of the hotel that afternoon, we inquired about the fare rates from the trike drivers. We found out they were a bit steep, until one man offered his jeepney to take us to all our destinations for the afternoon for a much lower price compared to the total fares for the trike. We also asked him for his rate for a day tour. His quote was significantly lower than the hotel rate. We cancelled our reservation with the hotel and decided to hire Mang Lito for the next two days.

Sta. Monica Church in Sarrat

The rain was at its fiercest when we arrived in Sarrat. Sarrat is about 7 km to the east of Laoag City. It is the hometown of former president Ferdinand Marcos. Our destination was the Sta. Monica Church in an area overlooking a river. Online resources say it is the Pacsan River. The church is very old; its construction started on 1669 and was completed 10 years later.

Since it was heavily raining, Mang Lito took us inside the church complex, dropping us beside an open church door. There was a commotion inside the church. A woman was wailing. It turned out that one of their staff fell from the window while he was trying to close it. He was unconcious. Nuns and their other staff rushed to his aid. Mang Lito drove them to the the nearest hospital in Laoag. While waiting for him to return, we started taking pictures.

The convent of the complex, framed though the church door. It was still raining heavily.



Open windows in the church, left unclosed due to the incident.



The stained glass window in the facade of the church.



When the rain subsided, we went out of the church and took more pictures. Below is the church's facade with the bell tower.



Below is the church's bell tower.



The main facade of the church.



The church complex is made entirely out of bricks. Below are the brick columns of the convent adjacent to the church.



The bricks in focus...



On hindsight, I failed to check out the famous torture chamber in the vicinity of the church.

When Mang Lito arrived from the hospital, we proceeded to the Malacañang of the North.


The Malacañang of the North

It was already closed when we arrived. However, the guard was kind enough to allow us to roam around the building. We were not able to enter it though. The Malacañang of the North is the official residence of the late President Marcos and one of his 29 presidential rest houses built around the country. It overlooks the Paoay Lake. I did not take any picture of the lake since it would be less than appreciable due to the overcast sky.

Below is the main facade of the "Northern Palace".



At the back of the "Northern Palace", overlooking Paoay Lake.



The grills in the lower windows of the "Palace" were intricately designed. They are beautiful and at the same time would allow no one in. The spirals of the grills...



We proceeded to Batac to check the Marcos Museum but it was already closed when we arrived. Our last destination for the day was the San Agustin Church in Paoay. Will post about it in the coming days...

To be continued....

In case you want to have a tour of Ilocos, and you'll be staying in Laoag, you may get in touch with Mang Lito. His service is significantly low compared to arranged tours or packaged tours being offered by the hotels in Laoag. He may be contacted through his mobile phone: 09273387969.

I will not mention the hotel we stayed in. Although they had reasonably low room rates, good food and courteous staff, their water supply is not good - it's yellow. Their room rates are also a bit tricky, as this caused a slight argument when we checked out.