Ilocos: The Tour (Third Part)
// June 17th, 2009 // Travels
Patapat Viaduct
After seeing the majestic windmills of Bangui Bay, we went further north. (From Laoag, the order of the municipalities are as follows: Burgos, Bangui and Pagudpud. But our first stop-over was in Bangui, then Pagudpud and lastly Burgos.)
We headed first to the Patapat Viaduct which is located more than 16 km away from the Pagudpud town proper. The viaduct, is an elevated concrete highway (31 meters above sea level) winding 1.3 km along the mountainside in the northernmost section of Ilocos Norte. It is the 4th longest bridge in the Philippines. It was constructed to address the problem of landslides in the area which have caused many vehicular accidents. The viaduct is footed on the rocky shore several meters from the mountain side. On clear days, it gives motorists a spectacular view of Pasaleng Bay.
A view of Pasaleng Bay from the northern end of the viaduct.
The endpoint of our northern leg is Paraiso ni Anton. It is actually just a side of the mountain with dripping natural drinking water. It is said that the water here is miraculous. Sources say that a lot of people stop over here to get a sip from this drinkable flowing water, although apart from the people selling fish sauce and accessories and the crew of a water distilling establishment, we were the only tourists there.
This is the best shot that my polarizer can give…
Pagudpud
We then headed back towards Pagudpud town proper. We passed by Saud Beach Resort.
Forgive the weather…
A closer look…
We had lunch in a small restaurant in the town’s center. After eating, we headed back.
Our next stop is in Burgos. We went to Cape Bojeador Lighthouse.
Cape Bojeador Lighthouse
Also known as Faro de Cabo Bojeador, this lighthouse is on top of a hill in Burgos overlooking the South China Sea. It is the highest lighthouse in the Philippines that is still functioning since its completion on March 30, 1892. The design and construction of this lighthouse was patterned after that of Engineer Magin Pers y Pers’, but later on reconfigured and finished by Engineer Guillermo Brockman.
The lighthouse is an octagonally-shaped tower with the same mechanism found in other lighthouses of its time: a winding machine with a counter weight which enables the lenses of the lantern to rotate. The lantern is fitted with a first order Fresnel Lens that is partially intact. It takes about an hour before the lenses complete their full rotation. Due to an earthquake in 1990, parts of the lenses collapsed and the alignment of the mechanism was displaced. The Coast Guards have retained the original mechanism for historic purposes and only retrofitted the lighting mechanism for its daily operation. (source: Heritage Conservation Society)
The Cape Bojeador Lighthouse still gives signals to passing ships along the Cape but when we went there, it was turned off because it was hit by lightning the night before.
A closer view of the lighthouse…
Entering the compound…
The hallway in the pavilion below the tower…
The mini-museum inside the pavilion showing old pictures of the lighthouse and previous caretakers…
Views of the tower from the right and left sides of the pavilion…
The stairs leading to tower…
A close-up of the tower…
I was not able to take pictures of the spiral stairs. It was dark inside and exposures were up to 30 seconds. It was impossible to position the tripod. The shots I made with flashes were of no good either.
This is the winding machine with a counter weight which enabled the lenses of the lantern to rotate. This is no longer working and is retained for historic purposes.
A view through the window from inside the tower.
It was difficult to climb until the top of the tower due to the wet floor and damp surrounding. But taking one step at a time, I reach the top.
Here is the lighting mechanism of the tower, a partially intact first order Fresnel lens. In the background is the South China Sea.
To be continued…
Related post:
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
32 Responses to “Ilocos: The Tour (Third Part)”
Leave a Reply
My videos. Featured videos.
Recent Posts
- Postcards from Northern Samar – Day Two
- Postcards from Northern Samar – Day One
- For the Coffee Table Book – Issue # 25
- Some Other Places and Stories
- Revisiting the Usmad River
- For the Coffee Table Book – Issue # 24
- Davao’s Reprieve
- Under the Moon and the Stars
- The Cordillera Series – Hangs and Falls
- The Cordillera Series – Depths and Heights
Post Categories
I’ve Been There!!!
Top Commentators
betchai (105)
AC (100)
Ax (95)
dFish (89)
isay (66)
kikit (66)
Nortehanon (64)
redlan (60)
p0kw4ng (59)
jason (57)Blogs that Matter
- A Girl Named Mareeyah
- AX REALM
- B L U G U Y
- Beero's Intoxicating Misadventures
- Blessed Pixel
- BLOGRAPHICS
- Burner Photography
- Busyok – The Creative Water Buffalo
- Climbing Mount Tabor
- CRAYONS
- Daydream Believer
- E Y S I L I C I O U S
- ESKAPO
- Geisha Diaries
- Isay in Wanderlandia
- Kapuso, Kapamilya, Kapanalig
- Keekaye's Sketches
- Kikit Avenue
- MIZPAH
- Modern Patadyong
- More of Nyss
- Mrs. Green Bell Pepper
- Never Enough Time
- Redlan's Book of Life
- Sabbatical Moments
- Super Granddad
- Talk with Strangers
- The Joys of Simple Life
- The Outdoor Guy
- The Uncensored Mind of Miss P.
ang galing
professional potographer pala si cool water works
at third part na pala to
nahuli na ko sa byahe.,,,
pwede bang bumyahe pabalik?
pinakagusto kong kuha yung
parang marble na malaking grotto
galing
huwaw na naman…ang dadanda pa din! yung last 2 pinaka gusto ko
thanks for sharing mark!
oh, love that lighthouse picture Mark and the inside of the lighthouse. Though the weather did not cooperate with you, but you still managed to take great shots. We’ll be off starting Saturday too for nature trip, I just hope the weather will cooperate with us.
The shot from the window, it’s almost 3 dimensional it feels like i was peering through it. The road by the slope, aside from being picturesque was soothing with its foggy (or rain-covered) and green appearance. I also find the hallway in the pavilion filled with solitude, or at least it is inviting, guiding surprisingly from those antiquated bricks to the pulsing green of trees outside…
Hehe. I’m trying to embrace the ambiguities of life kaya pag nakakita ako, parang so enticing. Gaya nung window – it is dreary inside from where you took the shot, but the light outside is actually so overwhelming without necessarily diminishing the somber mood inside. Parang ako lang – nakaka-appreciate ng magandang shots pero ang totoo, wala pa rin akong digicam ngayon hehe.Yung lighthouse din, the tallest in the country and this alone is a high. But the way you emphasize it through your shots, there’s decadence creeping in from the concrete stairs its sides are obviously falling to the unused winding machine. Certainly, there’s a lot of ambiguities playing out here – from usefulness to disgrace. Yet, it remains beautiful through the passage of time…
Pagpiyestahan ko na kapatid…
the road,
the falling stairs,
the empty chair,
as if waiting in concert
with the donation box,
a soul in torment,
on a long travel,
stopping by the seawater,
healing water,
sipping, climbing, driving
mindful of his proud aloneness,
of the searing pain of being forgotten,
if only to behold the Light…
Kapatid, i’m glad the post is capped by the tower’s light…Yun lang…
State of my struggling soul address lang in jagged words, being reminded or magnified by your photos…Dragon coffee iniinom ko nung kabataan…Di kaya ang BT…
i like 2nd photo. curious lang ako parang mababa ata ang elevatiuon ng road sa dagat. i wonder kung umaapaw ang dagat sa kalsadang iyan. kasi pagkaganun ay malamang na disaster na. wag naman..
9th photo is interesteing. i find it very makaluma. and the bricks parang sumisimbolo ng katatagan. ika nga nila ang mga pader na iyan ang mga piping salamin at nakasaksi ng pagbabago ng panahon at kasaysayan! copy ko iyan and i’ll be posting it sa aking new entry. related kasi. di ko tatangalin ang iyong dot com.
nga pala i wanna get inside the tower and face part of south china sea! wooo!
umm.. 31m pala. sa picture kasi parang mababa.
syempre gagawa ba naman ang mga engrineer na aabutan ng dagat.
eng eng ko talaga. hahahaha
Kapatid, if you are interested, you may want to watch this free, poignant, thought-provoking docu on Mother Earth entitled Home: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqxENMKaeCU&feature=related
wow.wow.wow.ang galing tokayo.
naalala ko tuloy ang ‘the ring’ dahil sa lighthouse.hehe
Ako talaga ay isang dayuhan sa Pinas Mark and I feel sorry for myself. Or maybe I can blame my education for not letting me know these beautiful things. Yung Social Science kasi natin, if I were right, focused sa Spanish, American and Japanese colonization. I wish we had a textbook that extensively discusses the beautiful spots of all regions of the Philippines. Meron ba? Or ako lang ang hindi nakinig or natulog sa klase? Haha
Yeah, forgive the weather talaga. Sayang medyo gloomy ang panahon during your trip. But thanks for sharing this Mark.
Mark, I forgot to tell you your pics are nice, despite the gloomy weather. Basta photographer talaga, may angles.
wonderful travelogue. loved the photos (especially pagudpud). isa lang masasabi ko, maganda talaga ang pinas hehe
Hi! I happened to see your site, this is a great site… Ganda ng mga pics, hope I can visit those places too.. Hope u can see my site as well… actually kakaset up ko pa lang, hehehe, Thanks thanks…
ang gaganda naman..kakainggit! once din kasi akong nangarap maging photographer, at actually hanggang ngayon kaya lagi pa din ako nangongolekta ng PicturePerfect ng ManilaBullettin..hehe..nakikitingin tingin na lang muna sa gawa ng iba, pero sana magkaroon din ako ng time at datung para maisakatuparan ang aking munting pangarap..haha!
galing galing..ang sarap titigan nung unang photo..ang lamig sa mata.
nindot kaayo nga series mark.. thanks for sharing…
salamat sa pagbati mo ng happy birthday!!!
salamat coolwater
pati sa gift mo.. nyehh!!
grabe.. ang ganda!
hintay ko yung iba pang post!
ang gaganda ng shots mo!
ang ganda pala jan sa ilocos hehehe
[...] 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 [...]
breath-taking shots….galing mo kapatid……wish ko makarating sa northern part ng luzon…ang ganda pala…..parati na lang ako sa baguio….eh mas maganda pa yata dyan….love the beach….salamat sa mga tour blog entries mo….this make me appreciate pinas the more…aba’y walang sinabi ang ibang bansa….sayang nga lang at kulang sa promotion….at least man lang para sa local tourist……hayyysss kailan kaya yayaman ang mga tao sa atin para naman makita nila ang kanilang bansa….na kay ganda…..
may kakilala ako, pangarap niya makapunta sa 12 lighthouses bago siya mamatay.
isa pa lang napupuntahan niya! hehe. kaya di pa siya ready mamatay!
Sa postcard ko lang nakita ang Cape Bojeador Lighthouse. I recently bought some of that postcard view for my postcrossing project. BTW, sino kasama mo sa byahe? we kasi nakalagay.
indi kay ulihi ko na lang narealized nga dapat tani ma-comment ko every post nga gina read back ko. lol. pwede ka ask? ang nameet mo bala personally aside sa friends mo, blogger gid ina siya nga may blog?
may nakita ako pero hindi siya blogger. make sure ko lang kung ang answer may blog? lol. sakit na mata ko magbalik basa.
kababayan ko ni Manny Villar. hehehe. kinhanglan matapos para maka-concentrate ko sa iban nga work. hehehe. ulihi lang ya ang post. wala gid hint. lol
Ginsilutan mo kami, lol. but worth it to win the price. syempre basahon ko ang comment may question ka nga dapat pangitaon sa comment. tani dami correct ko nga answer.
[...] Ilocos: The Tour (Third Part) [...]
[...] Ilocos: The Tour (Third Part) [...]
I would like to know if Mang Lito took you to all the places you went to from Vigan, the other towns and pagudpud. May I know how much you spent for the package for me to be able to provide the proper budget for an Ilocos trip that my husband and I will make. Thank you very much.