the ultimate roadtrip.

currently listening to: perfectly/natalie imbruglia.

there's nothing greater in life than roadtrips (fine, there are better things, but you know what i mean).

what better way to spend a day than being crammed into a car with people who love to sing (and dance!) their little boy band hearts out and who snore so frightfully loud that they wake themselves up? i tell you, there is no better way.

destination: casa dona emilia, paoay, ilocos norte. and vince. :)
estimated travel time: 8 hours daw.
actual travel time: 14 hours going, 9&1/2 hours going back.
# of stopovers: too many to count. (don't forget to pass by vigan!)
person to blame for 50% of stopovers: dan. (wahahaha!)
total amount of money spent: hint: i have begun looking for a job.

it was quite a trip. i never really expected to see anything breathtaking in ilocos, or do anything except go to the beach--but lo and behold, we didn't really get to go to the beach because there were so many other things to see--and so much food to eat!

allow me to take you on a not-so-short tour of ilocos norte.
*pictures by hofi and his topakin camera*

cape bojeador lighthouse, the oldest lighthouse in the philippines. if you go late in the afternoon like we did, you might be able to reach the manong who turns on the lighthouse--and you get to climb all 10 billion and one steps to the top! :) warning: not recommended for people with vertigo!







the windmill farm, located along the bangui bay shoreline. responsible for 30% of ilocos' electricity (i think). an overwhelming sight to see. you'll definitely be asking "mahangin ba sa labas?" after going here =P.





the absolutely gorgeous beaches of pagudpud. in our case, we stayed over at the kapuluan vista resort. just a tip--next time you go there, go during high tide so you can get surfing lessons! unfortunately, it was low tide when we went--nevertheless, the view was pretty darn great.





we went beach hopping after that and fell in love with all the beaches. we couldn't stay at some because they didn't serve food--so next time you go, remember to bring food...and your camera!!! you will SHOOT yourselves if you don't have a camera with you. the beaches there are so beautiful, they look absolutely fake.
don't believe me?





st.augustine church / paoay church, which is a beeeeyuuuutiful and huuuuuge church made of coral blocks and stucco plastered bricks. the inn we were staying at was conveniently located right beside the church, and so we attended 6:00am mass there. what we didn't foresee was that the mass would be in ilocano. oh well. God speaks ilocano, too. =P





so there you go. ilocos norte. of course, there are other places we saw that we didn't go to...but just HAD to take pictures of... >:)