I would like to give away a copy of this beautiful book, “How to Shoot Great Travel Photos” by Susan McCartney.
How to have this book, and perhaps more?
This is a sticky post. Regular posts follow below…
04
Jul
09
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… 
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
25
Jun
09
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
20
Jun
09
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:
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
17
Jun
09
Ilocos: The Tour (Third Part)
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
Words from the Patrons