Showing posts with label Ilocos Sur. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ilocos Sur. Show all posts
Sunday, August 31, 2014
Ilocos Tour
We were fortunate enough to travel as a group in Ilocos. Though everyone is on a budget about this trip, we enjoyed it anyway. Our first stop, Sta. Maria Cathedral Church.
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| about to climb the 85-steps stairs |
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| the boys ... |
Sta. Maria Church (Asunta Parish) is a national landmark that was used as a fortress during the 1896 Revolution. It is located in Ilocos Sur. It was declared a world heritage site by UNESCO on December 11, 1993. Its patroness is Our Lady of Assumption or Nuestra Señora. During the Spanish era, the church also functioned as a citadel.
It was built in around 1765 by the Augustinians. The church is nestled on top of a hill and may be reached by climbing 85 steps of granite rock that was imported from China. The thick buttresses on each side functions as protection from earthquakes. The architecture of the church is Baroque inspired.
Second Stop... Batac
Batac is a city in the province of Ilocos Norte. It is located in the northwest corner of the island of Luzon, about 11 kilometers (6.8 mi) from the eastern shores of the South China Sea. The municipalities of Banna, Currimao, Paoay, Pinili, Sarrat, Marcos and San Nicolas form its boundaries.
Batac is known as the "Home of Great Leaders", as it is the hometown of many significant figues in the history of the Philippines. Among them is the former Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos.
The Marcos Museum and Mausoleum lies in the heart of the city. The Mausoleum is where the glass-entombed, preserved corpse of the former president can be found. The Museum holds the memorabilia of the late President, from his stint in the Armed Forces down his presidency
Our third stop ... Paoay Church
Paoay
Church (St. Augustine Church) is a historical church located in Paoay,
Ilocos Norte. During the Philippine Revolution in 1898, its coral stone
bell tower was used by the Katipuneros as an observation post. Paoay
Church is part of the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Construction
of Paoay Church was started by the Augustinian friars in 1694. It was
completed in 1894 led by Fr. Antonio Estavillo and was re-dedicated in
1894.
http://en.wikipilipinas.org/index.php?title=Paoay_Church  |
| with officemates and friends =) |
In front of Paoay Church is Herencia Cafe. They are serving this very unique pizza flavor, the pinakbet (pakbet) flavor. Imagine a pizza with amapalaya, talong and sitaw.... sarappppp!!!
After Paoay, we proceeded to Laoag City...
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| ayan na ang mowdel! |
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| pa side side lang =) |
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| with dabarkadz |
Fort Ilocandia is the only 5-star hotel resort in the northern Philippines with over 77 hectares of land amidst gentle sand dunes and pine forests with a two kilometer sandy beach facing South China Sea. It is located at Laoag City and only ten-minute drive from Laoag domestic airport.
Check out their promo packages that starts with Php4,300. Click here.
Visit their official webpage at http://www.fortilocandia.com.ph.
We spent the night at Cabugao. The best known place to stay in this place is the Cabugao Beach Resort. For room rates check their official website at http://cabugaobeachresort.weebly.com/rates.html
Before going home, we visited The Heritage at Vigan, Ilocos Sur...
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| inside the Vigan Cathedral |
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| with ninang Pau |
On December 2, 1999, the City of Vigan, the capital city of Ilocos Sur, was inscribed in the prestigious UNESCO's World Heritage List of Sites and Monuments of 630 cultural and natural properties of exceptional universal value. UNESCO described the city as "a best preserved example of a planned Spanish colonial town in Asia with its architectural reflecting the coming together of cultural elements from elsewhere in the Philippines and from China with those of Europe to create a unique culture and townscapre without parallel anywhere in East and Southeast Asia.
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| my one and only princess, Janelle |
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| Souvenir Shop in Vigan |
Sunday, August 10, 2014
Vigan City :Baluarte ni Chavit Singson
Baluarte is located in Vigan, 408 kilometers north of Manila. It is only 10 minutes drive from the Heritage. It is a 80-hectare rolling terrains, hills and mountain sides and the most famous zoo in North Luzon.
The best thing about Baluarte is that the ADMISSION and RIDES are absolutely FREE!!! It is owned by Governor Chavit Singson and sometimes called as his "Fortress". He actually built the place as a gift to the people of Vigan. Bringing food and using the picnic areas within the area are allowed. There are also enough comfort rooms located at the entrance of the zoo. It opens at 7 AM and closes at 6 PM everyday
The best thing about Baluarte is that the ADMISSION and RIDES are absolutely FREE!!! It is owned by Governor Chavit Singson and sometimes called as his "Fortress". He actually built the place as a gift to the people of Vigan. Bringing food and using the picnic areas within the area are allowed. There are also enough comfort rooms located at the entrance of the zoo. It opens at 7 AM and closes at 6 PM everyday
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| the greeters of the zoo |
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| ostrich within your reach |
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| little ponies |
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| a free trip around Baluarte |
Baluarte started off as a rest house in 1991 with celebrity friends like
Fernando Poe Jr. as regular visitor spending long weekends. The place
has already considerable numbers of domestic animals like monkeys,
chickens, large lizards (bayawak) and rare bird species, right inside
the Baluarte forest, these rare bird species are found only in there.
Governor Chavit, loves nature and exhibits passion for animals. Baluarte
setting is that place where he can enjoy peace and quiet and away from
the demands of a busy life and urban living. As a political leader of
Ilocos Sur, people searched for him continuously.
So the rest house cannot anymore accommodate people and friends who also enjoy the place, that was, when he decided to slowly construct Baluarte. He first constructed the main house and seeing the beauty of the next, he abandoned the old main house, made it the guest house, and constructed a multi level house on a hilltop that magnifies the fantastic view of Vigan City that stretches all the way to the South China Sea.
So the rest house cannot anymore accommodate people and friends who also enjoy the place, that was, when he decided to slowly construct Baluarte. He first constructed the main house and seeing the beauty of the next, he abandoned the old main house, made it the guest house, and constructed a multi level house on a hilltop that magnifies the fantastic view of Vigan City that stretches all the way to the South China Sea.
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| Janelle's crying because her slipper slipped... not because of the tigers =) |
There are a total of 9 tigers in Baluarte with shows everyday. We were not able to see them because we are in a hurry going home. Gov. Chavit must be very very rich thinking how huge the place is, how plenty the animals he owns and maintains, how plenty the buildings are.... and they are offering everything for free!!! He really is rich.
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| with dabarkadz |
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| the cute camel photobomber, hahaha =) |
Baluarte is in the state of further improving their facilities for both the animals and the visitors. They are planning to implement the open zoo concept wherein animals will be kept in a more sizable enclosures to give them more space to roam around.
Don't forget to visit the place while it is still free... I guess it will forever be free =)
Visit Baluarte's official webpage at http://www.chavitsingson.net/baluarte/general-info.html
Don't forget to visit the place while it is still free... I guess it will forever be free =)
Visit Baluarte's official webpage at http://www.chavitsingson.net/baluarte/general-info.html
Sunday, June 29, 2014
Vigan City
The City of Vigan is a fourth class city in the province of Ilocos Sur, Philippines. It is the capital of the Province of Ilocos Sur. The city is located on the western coast of the large island of Luzon, facing the South China Sea.
It is a World Heritage Site and that it is one of the few Hispanic
towns left in the Philippines where its structures remained intact, and
is well known for its cobblestone streets, and a unique architecture
that fuses Philippine and Oriental building designs and construction,
with colonial European architecture.
Former Philippine president Elpidio Quirino, the sixth president of the Philippines,
was born in Vigan, at the current location of the Provincial Jail (his
father was a warden); and resided in the Syquia Mansion.
Vigan is only 408 kilometers away from Manila, 45 kilometers away from Laoag City, and 139 kilometers away from San Fernando, La Union, the regional capital.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vigan_City
For only a minimal amount of Php150, one can already tour the nearby tourist attractions for an hour.
Calle Crisologo, named after Don Mena Crisologo, the first Civil
Governor of Ilocos Sur during the American regime was the commercial
district of Vigan during the Spanish and early American period. The old
name of this district is “Kasanglayan” or place of the Chinese.The
houses all along the street served a double purpose then, the ground
floor were occupied by shops (mostly owned by the Chinese) that sold dry
goods while the second floors functioned as residences. Now the ground
floors of the houses were converted into shops, catering to the tourist
trade by their offerings of souvenirs, furniture, and genuine antiques
and samples of authentic Ilocano weaving in different kinds of “Abel”
cloth.
http://www.vigancity.gov.ph/featured.asp
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| with kuya Aldwin, my officemate =) |
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| with Juniper, the great driver =) |
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| Vigan Cathedral |
Vigan Cathedral (also known as St. Paul Metropolitan Cathedral) is an earthquake Baroque-styled church built in 1574 commissioned by Spaniard Juan de Salcedo located in the Ilocos region.
The first Vigan Cathedral was ordered and built in 1574 by Juan de
Salcedo. Another version of the church was again constructed in 1641
but was unfortunately destroyed by an earthquake. A reconstructed
church was gutted with fire in 1739. The current church was constructed
in 1790 and was finished in 1800.
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| inside the cathedral |
Vigan Cathedral features Neo-Gothic and pseudo Romanesque motifs.
The baroque-styled church has thick buttresses to support it through
earthquakes and typhoons.
On January 31, 1790, the cornerstone of the present Vigan
Cathedral was placed. Most of the original features of the church
interior are still intact. The Cathedral has twelve altars with
hammered-silver panels, three naves, and a choir loft. Above the main
doorway is an alcove that depicts the conversion of St. Paul. After four
years the walls were finished, all in stone, the baptistery was
completed together with the side chapels; the beautiful facade was
finished up to the cornice and the wall at the back of the cathedral was
also ready. The Church's main door held by two pairs of columns which
rise to the second tier of the facade. The moldings on its facade and
the brass communion rails give hints of the Chinese influence in the
church's designs and architecture. Its bell tower stands separately in
Plaza Burgos, 10 meters south of the cathedral. The bell tower is about
25 meters high and it is surmounted by a large bronze weathercock that
is said to symbolize St Peter. The cathedral was the first building in
Ilocos with tiles on the roof.
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| the old type of structures with modern establishments |
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| Vigan plaza |
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| the Ilocos Sur capitol |
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| Vigan at night |
Vigan is one of the 28 finalists in the New 7 Wonder Cities of the World with voting due December 07, 2014. Vote Vigan for New 7 Wonder Cities!!! Cast your votes at www.n7w.com/en/cities
