Welcome to another Carlotta Family Road Trip Adventure. This time, we are doing the Northern Luzon Loop starting in Manila, going thru the provinces of Bulacan, Pampanga, Tarlac, Pangasinan, La Union, Ilocos Sur, Ilocos Norte, Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Viscaya, Ifugao, Mountain Province, Benguet and back to Manila via Pangasinan, Tarlac, Pampanga and Bulacan. The trip will take 7 days and 6 nights away from home. We are planning to leave on Christmas Day and be back in time for a New Year's Eve celebration at home. Traveling with me (Joey Carlotta) are my wife (Miren) and our 3 children, Nina (21), Inaki (18) and Timmy (16), all seasoned road warriors. We will be traveling in a 2.5 liter 6 cylinder 4X4 Suzuki Grand Vitara. We intend to stop in San Juan, La Union (1st night), Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte (2nd and 3rd night), Sagada, Mountain Province (4th and 5th night) and Baguio City, Benguet (6th night). The primary objectives are family bonding and outdoor fun but, personally, I look forward to being able to drive over the top of Luzon (thru Claveria, Cagayan) and thru Halsema Highway (aka Mountain Trail) between Sagada and Baguio City in the Mountain Province. If the Halsema Highway proves to be bad or risky, our alternate route home from Sagada will be back down to Nueva Viscaya and thru the provinces of Nueva Ecija and Bulacan. This is a half-day drive so we will have to cut the trip short by a day and leave for Manila on the 30th to be able to get enough rest for New Years' Eve. This blog is intended to document the trip and show the photos taken along way.
T minus 39 days.