26 December 2007, Day 2

Nina had arranged the night before to go surfing with Inaki in the morning. Timmy opted to stay in bed. They were going to Bacnotan, the town next to San Juan, where the waves were tamer and more suited for beginners. The surf spot in Bacnotan is beside the Holcim cement plan which is several coves from where the resort is located and barely visible from San Juan. I took Miren to San Fernando for some business with the bank and we were back in the resort by 11 PM as the surfers were heading back from Bacnotan. After settling our bill and loading the car, we were off for Pagudpud by 12:30 PM. We had leftover Christmas ham and cheese for breakfast so it was going to be a late lunch in Vigan.

Pagudpud at night

As mentioned in the early part of this blog, the towns start to get more provincial and further apart after San Fernando. Driving in these parts has always been pleasant with less traffic and congested population centers. Considering that our last trip here was a good seven years ago, things have definitely changed. First off, the tricycle menace has reached further north. I remember the time when tricycles were completely banned from national highways. They are a pure pest to driving. It specially infuriates me to high heavens when they putter along at about 5 kilometers per hour as if by intention. The towns have also started to expand and have become much busier. We noticed that all of them up to Pagudpud had new town halls and freshly painted churches usually close by. A sure sign of progress or a ploy for “pogi” points by the local politicos. And most of the larger towns now have malls with popular stores and food outlets! Where has my paradise gone?

Timmy, Inaki, Nina and Joey in Pagudpud resort

We reached Vigan at about 3 PM with appetites stoked. The place was hot as usual and much more crowded than I remember or care for. Our favorite restaurant was packed and the waiter told us that it was going to take a while before we got our food so we took this as a cue to walk around and look for a fast food outlet, the operative word being “fast”. We entered this rather large 2 storey complex and were amazed by the number of shops and shoppers. We finally settled for Chowking. The complex is right across the stalls selling ukoy and empanadas but it was so hot and dusty and the girls did not seem to be in the mood for anything so touristy. It certainly lost its appeal with all the surrounding modernity. Lunch was over quickly and we were off in an hour or so. We didn’t even bother to check out the old streets and houses.

Miren, Timmy, Inaki and Joey in Pagudpud resort

I wanted to get to Pagudpud before it got dark but it looked like we were not going to make it. We loaded gas in the town of Santa right before Laoag as the sun was going over the horizon. It was completely dark by the time we drove into Laoag and had a bit of difficulty finding the road out and onto Pagudpud. The rest of the drive was done in compete darkness and total isolation save for a few cars and dimly lit small towns and barangays. It was so dark we could not make out anything to our left or right and mostly had only our headlights to see where we were going. There were a few souls around when we got to the small town center of Pagudpud and it had started to shower. Luckily, directions to the resorts are well posted and we finally got to the Evangeline cottages at about 7:30 PM.

Pagudpud beach

The Evangeline cottages are part of a larger complex that includes the Terrarika and Apo Idon resorts, all owned by the same family. The cottages are in the back of the resort and near the entrance while the multi-storied structures of the other resorts are in the middle and front of the compound. All have their dining areas by the beach where we had dinner on the first night. The cottages were not bad and I really preferred being detached from the rest of the resort. It has an added advantage of an adjoining recreation center which mainly consisted of 2 billiard tables and the unavoidable karaoke machine. Luckily, the cottage was insulated and far enough that we didn’t have to suffer the diva wannabees. As it had started to rain in earnest and the wind picked up as well, the billiard table came in quite handy and we put to good use the Minnesota Fats cue stick I bought Inaki for Christmas. The girls went to stroll in the beach while Inaki and I played some pool but they came back almost immediately declaring that it was to cold and wet. We assumed that it was just a passing weather condition and we couldn’t have been more mistaken.

Total distance traveled to Pagudpud was 659.5 kilometers. Total expenses up to the end of the day was approx P6,799.

written by

Joey Carlotta on January 3, 2008 from Pagudpud, Philippines

from the travel blog: 2007 Carlotta X'Mas Family Road Trip

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