EDMARATION #TownExplorer: Motorcycle Diaries

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🇵🇭 STO DOMINGO • (Ilocos Sur) Family Motorbike Ride to the East in Lao-ingen

Edmar del Castillo Guquib at Monday, October 16, 2017 0

Stories of town explorations.

This story is Episode 01 of a Blog Series.

Getting closer, mountains spoke to my heart. They didn't need words to communicate. Everything was non-verbal. It was a connection of the human soul and nature that oftentimes, leave you speechless.

► The east hosts mountains not well-visited by Ilocanos—except maybe for the mountainside villagers.

► With four motorbikes and eight souls, it was a family convoy.

[Santo Domingo, Ilocos Sur Province, Ilocos Region, Luzon Island, Philippines]

▼ COVER PHOTO▼ FACEBOOK▼ TWITTER▼ YOUTUBE

[SANTO DOMINGO] ► Cities and great but mountains are greater. | #TownExplorer #IlocosSur #Ilocos #Luzon #Philippines #Asia pic.twitter.com/69MEyifh2q
— #TownExplorer (@edmaration) October 9, 2017

This was a day I would like to consider precious. It was a golden opportunity to dive the depth of our family relationship. We know ourselves as much as we know our family. With my two brothers, my two uncles, my aunt, two cousins and our guide who happened to be my aunt's good old friend, we left our home in ▼ #VIGAN
and rode our motorbikes all the way to the municipality of Santo Domingo, Ilocos Sur.

► Mom's Rituals: She Won't Let Her Boys Go...

My subheading has spoken—my mom won't let us go. No, not the other members of the family but her three boys—that would be me and my two brothers. Everytime her three handsome boys go out for an adventure with their motorbikes, she would start the nag and she'd not let us leave the house. Well, we know her reason.

My mom's afraid something might happen. However, this has been a ritual everytime and we know we'd undergo this stage before we leave home. We've been used to it. We no longer complain and it's been a part of the process for us. We love our mom and we know her pre-adventure acts are a display of love for us. We make her feel calm by assuring we'll be alright.

| 1 | [SANTO DOMINGO] ► THIS IS MY FAMILY: TWO BROTHERS, TWO COUSINS, TWO UNCLES (IN LAW), AND MY AUNT (MOM'S YOUNGEST SISTER).

After the nagging of love we consider as Stage 1, my mom would perform her role on Stage 2. She would double check our helmet if we brought it with us. She would remind us to keep our money deep in our pocket so that we'd have something to use during emergency. She'd refill an empty bottle of water for our journey and makes it sure she'd be along the road as she watches us disappear from her sight. That's my mom and we understand her motherly rituals.

► Vigan-Santo Domingo Ride

With four motorbikes and eight souls, it was a family convoy. We started the ride at 09:00 AM without breakfast but with faith. There'd be trekking. We'd climb a mountain . This family may have gone wrong. We knew we weren't physically prepared—my fault. It was an ineffective coordination on my part. We rushed knowing that the guide was already waiting for us that day. With a whoosh, no taking a bath, no time for contemplation, we took a pill of courage and we pushed the adventure. 09:00 AM was already late. The guide may have been waiting since 07:00 AM. I felt sorry.

| 2 | [SANTO DOMINGO] ► COUNTRY ROAD, TAKE ME HOME... TO THE PLACE... I BELONG.

We reached the municipality of Santo Domingo after around thirty minutes. We had no food prepared so we searched for a carinderia to buy food for our lunch. There were several carinderias at the commercial space of the Santo Domingo coliseum so it saved us. I know myself. It would be hard for me to climb a mountain without breakfast so I purchased a supply of glucose.

I informed our guide about our arrival and after a while, she came to the place where we stopped. The guide was ate Marygane Padron. We simply call her "Gane" by the way. She's my aunt's old friend. When they were still in high school, I used to see her in our family house together with some of their friends in their circle.

Ate Gane was very ready. She brought her own motorbike—the fifth unit in our convoy. She had a toolbox attached to her motorcycle. She was fit and looked vibrant. Her spirit of adventure was contagious.

We took the road that led us to the mountainsides of Santo Domingo. This was fun. It was fun. I never did this before. I've only explored the poblacion and the coastline of the town so exploring its wilderness was an opportunity for me that I didn't want to let go. In Ilocos Sur, Santo Domingo is never known (or less known at least) for its mountains. Most Ilocanos would never associate Santo Domingo with mountains so I was thrilled to see the other face of the town.

| 3 | [SANTO DOMINGO] ► WHEN THE GRASS IS GREEN AND THE SKY IS BLUE, MY LOVE WOULD BE RED TO PAINT A RAINBOW OF HOPE IN YOU.

| 4 | [SANTO DOMINGO] ► WHEN THERE'S A ROAD, THERE'S A DESTINATION.

| 5 | [SANTO DOMINGO] ► THE ILOCOS MOUNTAIN RANGE OVERLOOKED WITH MYSTICISM AND SILENCE.

| 6 | [SANTO DOMINGO] ► CITIES ARE GREAT, BUT MOUNTAINS ARE GREATER.

It was getting late that weekend yet it was too early to tell if we could survive the adventure. However, I was positive that we would.

We convoyed from the town center eastward. In Ilocos Sur, both the east and the west have distinct faces. The east hosts mountains not well-visited by Ilocanos—except maybe for the mountainside villagers. The west is more popular because it's more accessible. In Santo Domingo, the same is a .

Moving on, we passed by some barangays I used to visit for my thesis writing back in college as well as for my fieldwork as a campus journalist of the University of Northern Philippines. I remember the name of places like Nalasin, Quinarayan, and Santo Tomas.

However, I knew Binongan even before my college-related visits because I also used to join my mom in her church ministry as she shared the Words of God to the villagers of Binongan—the barrio before Lao-ingen. I still remember the people who sold a sack of charcoal to us and I even witnessed for myself how they made it.

The road was good and there were some improvements along the way. Somewhere in, or near, Binongan was a fork. We turned left for Lao-ingen and followed the road that ran alongside with the creek. The road at the right goes all the way to Nagbettedan. Both Lao-ingen and Nagbettedan are barangays located at the foot of the Ilocos Mountain Range and the road that split into two directions would end into them.

As we drove farther from the poblacion of the town, the mountains got nearer (and bigger). From the highway, they're a silent roadside display from afar and most of the time, their view are obstructed by roadside structures. Getting closer, mountains spoke to my heart. They didn't need words to communicate. Everything was non-verbal. It was a connection of the human soul and nature that oftentimes, leave you speechless.

► Reaching the Last Sitio of Brgy Lao-Ingen

As our convoy reached the last village, the road reached its last segment too. The last segment of the pavement was laid over a piece of land where the populace dwells. Big smile from unfamiliar and random people would erase the stranger in us. They looked at us passionately as if we were important visitors. The small village knew who were the outsiders. I knew that they knew we were.

Beyond the pavement were open green spaces and a river that twirled to the valley. We were very near the mountains. Farther was a nature reserve devoid of human settlement and traditional comfort.

"Come in.", said by an unfamiliar face. Our guide Gane contacted her relatives in this village to oversee our motorbikes. We entered a property fenced with barbwires. Inside it was a mango tree and we put our motorbikes under it.

| 7 | [SANTO DOMINGO] ► THE END OF EVERY JOURNEY IS THE START OF ANOTHER JOURNEY. WE JUST REACHED OUR BASE.

| 8 | [SANTO DOMINGO] ► MY TWO COUSINS HAPPILY REACHED THE LAST SITIO OF LAO-INGEN.

Where are we going next? Will this family be united as one? Shall we survive the adventure waiting for us? Shall we quit as one or shall we divide the group and leave the quitters? The mountain was waving. We were nine in the group. Only three of us have previous mountain trekking experience at least once. The rest, neophytes. I hoped for an easy trail but how would I know? No turning back. Lord, take care of my family.

By the way, we're not gonna summit a mountain but we need trekking. Where are we going? What's our purpose? | To be continued... |

▼ BLOGSERYE 005

▼ Episode 01

[SANTO DOMINGO] ► Family Motorbike Ride to the East (Lao-ingen) | You are currently on this page.

▼ Episode 02

Coming soon!

Maps Showing the Location of #SANTODOMINGO

► FOOTNOTES, DISCLAIMERS, ACKNOWLEDGMENT, ETC

✈ This post was filed under the category "Motorcycle Diaries" See more posts related to this below.

✈ The maps I used on this post are from maps.google.com.ph.

✈ All photos are mine.

✈ The insights, condition and name of places or properties I mentioned here are based on the facts and situation on the day of my visit. Take note that you may have a different experience when you try the activities or see the properties/places mentioned here. Names of places and properties may also change by time.

UPDATE HISTORY FOR THIS BLOGPOST
► 2019-March-09: Cover photo and caption lay-out modified. Subheading lay-out modified. Cover photo for Blogserye 005 added on the series tracker. Episode lead photo changed to thumbnail from full width.
► 2019-February-04: HTML and JavaScript were configured to overhaul the lay-out. Tracker for the upcoming episodes added. Twitter metadata added.

LATEST STORIES COVERING #SANTODOMINGO | SEE ALL IN A SEPARATE WINDOW

MORE STORIES COVERING ILOCOS SUR PROVINCE | SEE OLDER STORIES

LATEST STORIES COVERING THESE CATEGORIES | SEE OLDER STORIES

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NAGUSTUAM DIAY NABASAM/NAKITAM? MABALIN MO MET I-LIKE.

[Ilocos] Adventure All Asia Ilocos Luzon Luzon Island Motorcycle Diaries Philippines South East Asia

🇵🇭 ILOCOS • Vigan-Pagudpud Motorbike Ride and Challenges Along the Way

Edmar del Castillo Guquib at Wednesday, December 21, 2016 0

Stories of town explorations.

Sandwiched by the Ilocos-Cordillera mountain ranges and the West Philippine Sea, the result is a breathtaking landscape of the ocean, the narrow plains and the mountains.

[ILOCOS REGION, LUZON GROUP, PHILIPPINES] ► The two Ilocos provinces have a narrow strip of plains yet teeming with rich culture, heritage, culinary scenes and natural wonders. Sandwiched by the Ilocos-Cordillera mountain ranges (on the east side) and the West Philippine Sea (on the west side), the result is a breathtaking landscape of the ocean, the narrow plains and the mountains. I would say riding a motorbike is the best way to enjoy the beautiful scenery of the Ilocos countrysides.

Last June, nine adventurers hit the long and winding road to Pagudpud from Vigan. With me were my two younger brothers, my uncle and his three friends and our neighbor with his 10-year-old son in tow.

Planning this Trip

THE IDEA OF DRIVING OUR MOTORBIKES ALL the way to the northernmost point of Luzon island in Pagudpud from our hometown Vigan has been a top option for me and my two brothers (who happened to be my best riding buddies). However, our schedules have hindered us from doing so. Last July 09, the opportunity to finally do this long-haul ride came. There were nine of us.

Planning the itinerary wasn't that hard to do because the popular tourist attractions in Ilocos Norte were our target so it wouldn't be hard for us to plot our route since roads have been built to make those attractions accessible. Besides, Most of Ilocos Norte's popular tourist attractions is located just along (or near) the National Highway. Yes, our target was Ilocos Norte.

Vigan

AT 4 AM, WE ASSEMBLED IN FRONT of our compound in Vigan fenced with bamboos and tall old trees. Our ever supportive mom also woke up early to perform her motherly duty—to see that her kids are in good condition and to remind us to keep safe, seven times.

This is it. We had to start early 'cause it would be a long drive, a long ride. Long endurance needed.

Bantay

BANTAY IS THE FIRST MUNICIPALITY WE ENTERED after Vigan. If you're in Vigan and you need a 24-hour fastfood restaurant, convenience stores and gasoline station, head to the next town of Bantay because when the city of Vigan sleeps, the town of Bantay takes over.

Bantay is located along the National Highway (Maharlika Highway) where vehicles traveling to and from METRO MANILA pass so most gasoline stations here is open 24 hours to service the 24-hour Northern Luzon-Metro Manila transportation scene. With that, we were able to fully fill our tanks with gasoline during a time when the whole city is still hybernating.

San Ildefonso to Cabugao

THE SAN ILDEFONSO-CABUGAO LEG OF OUR motorbike ride was a dark, cold, mischievous stretch of road which, during that time, was under reconstruction. Potholes were everywhere so we were like turtles running gently to keep safe. The asphalt-overlayed pavement was scraped. It made our motorbikes swivel from left to right. The lanes were uneven. The shoulders were inches higher. The main lanes were depressed. Our goal to reach Pagudpud early in the morning turned impossible. We couldn't drive faster. We had to deal with this unexpected scenario.

With all the precaution and road safety tricks, we reached the town of Sinait where we joined the heavens in celebrating the release of the light.

Sinait

THE ROAD IN SINAIT WAS NOT YET the best as expected due to road constructions, but the coming of the early light from the heavens made us a bit more confident and secured. We could see the potholes already. Our headlights could rest. We could avoid the cracks and the sudden drop we weren't able to anticipate earlier.

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The early morning light revealed the refreshing countryside beauty of Ilocos Sur arising from its mandatory hiding in the natural world. The leaves coated with early morning mist swayed with the morning breeze. Grasses were green and tall. The mountains of the east looked happy. The sky was gorgeous. Everything came to life! This is the biosphere! What a beautiful world!

Sinait welcomed us with a great chilly morning. We continued to drive with joy in our hearts. The road was devoid of traffic and we could feel the freedom motorbike riding could give.

We reached the poblacion of the town of Sinait and the usually congested road in front of their public market was still asleep. The town center looked so pretty with that set-up—peaceful and quiet.

Badoc

IF YOU'RE COMING FROM THE SOUTH, BADOC is the first town in Ilocos Norte province. The road in Badoc was great so we just hit the road continuously until we reached the next town of Pinili.

Pinili

PINILI IS ANOTHER QUAINT LITTLE TOWN IN Ilocos Norte. The town doesn't make noise in tourism like what the northern towns of Ilocos Norte do. However, this town is the main producer of garlic in Ilocos Norte. Garlic is an important ingredient for some Ilocano food/cuisines like the garlicky Vigan longganisa and Ilocos chichacorn.

(Note: Sinait is the garlic town of Ilocos Sur and tagged as the garlic capital of the north. Pinili is Ilocos Norte's native producer though.)

We continued our ride and passed by the town of CURRIMAO until we reached the city of BATAC for another gasoline refill.

Batac

WHEN WE ENTERED THE CITY OF BATAC in Ilocos Norte, we had a quick rest. Although our tanks were not yet empty, we still fully refilled it to keep the motorbike running and kicking.

123

San Nicolas and Laoag

AFTER MORE THAN TWO HOURS OF RIDING, we finally reached the town of San Nicolas and eventually, the city of LAOAG.

San Nicolas has changed dramatically. High rise buildings grew in quantity in no time. Major businesses have found their place here. The once grass fields in San Nicolas is now a business center.

Entering Laoag has always been classic. Not much modern addition appeared in its city proper aside from some supermarket and fast food chains appearing in some street corners. In fact, Laoag chose to emphasize its old feel more by restructuring the old buildings and houses in the city.

123

Bacarra

After Ilocos Norte's capital city of Laoag is the town of Bacarra known for its domeless belltower. After more than three hours of riding, our body seriously needed some energy—this meant we have to take a heavy breakfast and a hot soup.

We didn't know where to eat actually. We stopped at several carinderias but it was either closed or my buddies didn't want the food. You know, we were craving for some delicious, appetizing breakfast so our standard of a delicious food was high for this particular point of time.

After some carinderia-hopping (well, we were not expecting to see a fine-dine level restaurant in this town), we finally found an open restaurant. Since we were so desperate for food and hungry, we no longer cared about the food standard we set. The most important thing for us that time was to eat a breakfast.

Pasuquin

Whenever I hear/read the name Pasuquin, the first thing that comes my mind is a wild coast and its salt-making industry. In fact, you can see dozens of salt stalls along the road.

Reaching Pasuquin confronted us with a crucial decision. It rained hard. Yes, we were driving under the rain. We were sad about the scenario. With our legit raincoats and improvised raincoats, we continued the ride although we knew it could be risky. We still had faith in us that the rain would stop. We kept the faith until we reached the town of Burgos. Was it worse or better?

Burgos

The heaven was with us. When we entered the town of Burgos, the rain weakened and eventually stopped. Our wet clothes were air-dried. We started to see the windmills that signified that we were now nearing the windy towns of Luzon's extreme north.

When we saw a gasoline station, we stopped to check the condition of our motorbikes after we filled our tanks for the third time. We checked our tires and our brakes. We also had our restroom break.

Riding in Burgos felt great as we passed the verdant vegetation with giant windmills on both sides aside from the fact that the road was swabe and with paved shoulders.

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Pagudpud

After Burgos was the town of Bangui. We skipped the Bangui windmills in the meantime to prioritize the farthest destination in Pagudpud which was the Paraiso ni Anton and the Patapat viaduct.

Surprisingly, after the heavy rain in Pasuquin due to an impending typhoon, the Pagudpud sky was sunny so the adventure went on. We trekked to Kabigan Falls and swam at Saud white beach.

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Bangui

After our Pagudpud town explorations, we went back to the town of Bangui to see what we've missed. Although the windmills in Burgos were already a nice treat, we wanted to experience and re-experience the birthplace of South East Asia's windmills, no other than the Bangui Windfarm.

Burgos, Part 2

After Bangui, we also returned to Burgos (on our way home) to visit the Kapurpurawan rock formation and the Cape Bojeador lighthouse. These places have changed a lot. Tourism changed it, mostly in a good way.

Ride Back Home

It was already dark when we reached Laoag so we stopped there for dinner. We forgot to take our lunch actually.

Riding back home was the greatest challenge 'cause the rain became unforgiving. With our tired bodies and sleepy nervous systems, we couldn't afford more to get wet, worse, experience hypothermia. A sleepy 10-year-old boy was also with us that time so just imagine his case if we continued the ride. Our other five ride buddies have gone out of our sight. Where are they? There were only four of us waiting under a waiting shed along the national highway in Badoc while the rain was smashing its roof. On how we survived (Did we really survive?) the road back home under the heavy rain while we drove at night are stories I want to share in the future. Meantime, this is the summary of our Vigan-Pagudpud ride. | end |

Video

Map Showing the Location of #Ilocos Region

► FOOTNOTES, DISCLAIMERS, ACKNOWLEDGMENT, ETC

[1] This post was filed under the category "Night Explorations." There is a section below where you can see other related posts from this category.

[2] The maps I used on this post are from maps.google.com.ph.

[3] All photos are mine.

[4] The insights, condition and name of places or properties I mentioned here are based on the facts and situation on the day of my visit. Take note that you may have a different experience when you try or see the properties or places mentioned here. Names of places and properties may also change by time so it's not my responsibility to update all the information on this blog because once published, I already consider it an archive and I won't update my narratives because I want them to become my references of what have happened in the past. I'm very particular of the dates because I want my amazing readers to understand that I am writing stories based on my perspective and insights on the day of my visit. You can see dates almost everywhere on this blog. Exempted from this rule are my travel guide posts that need to be updated.