North bound 2013 Vacation! :)

I am not really the adventurous type. I get scared easily. I am afraid of heights. I cant swim. I am unable to relax on a long drive because of a previous vehicular accident I had a year ago. I pray and pray continuosly whatever means of transportation I'm into-- a car, a boat or a plane name it! I wasnt like this before. I am carefree, happy go lucky type of girl. But one thing hasnt change, my love for nature will forever be in my heart defeating all my fears and inhibition, coz we only live once, I wanna make it last. I wont let my worries to rule my world. So let me share you my summer vacation that I wont ever forget. :)

April this year my boyfriend and his family had a vacation here in the Philippines. Theyre from Australia and they want to explore other places that they havent been into. Lucky me, I was invited to join their 4 days 3 nights trip bound to North of Luzon. <3 

His family loves taking pictures. While Im not really fond of striking a pose behind a breathtaking landscape, they were able to convince me to join their family picture! (Blush) (Shy)

Our first stop is at Baguio City. Just 3 hours away from Tarlac City. We headed north at 4am and arrived there at 7am.:) We visited the tree top adventure at Camp John Hay unfortunately it is time consuming because we have to be in Vigan City, Ilocos Sur before dusk.

We left Baguio City past 1pm via Naguilian Road. We arrived at Vigan City at 5pm. We didnt have long stop overs except bladder breaks. :) We stayed at Hotel Ilocana (if Im not mistaken). It is in front of Vigan City Plaza just beside Greenwich fastfood chain. It was a nice and cozy place to stay after long hours of drive on the road. It is clean and people are friendly. At night we went shopping and sight seeing at the famous Calle Crisologo, where I find the experience as nostalgic, I imagined myself wearing "baro't saya" while walking. I literally went back in time through the walls of old houses and pavements.:)

Me looking haggard as ever. My boyfriend in gray polo and his brother in black shirt. :)

Morning of April 3, I woke up fully rested and fresh from a hot shower. :) We all had a free breakfast at the hotel dinning area wherein we waited at least an hour for our food to be served. Wifi is also poor in the hotel and Im dying to check my facebook and update my status. Haha! So after checking out we headed to a place called "Baluarte" where you can see many animals roaming around and you can take pictures with them. Entrance is free. :) 

And this is me feeling like a human butterfly. Haha! :)

We didnt take long to lavish our time at Baluarte. We headed to our next destination-- Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte. I think its 6-7 hours away from Vigan City. I didnt take note of the time. And besides we visited some tourist spots a long the way. :) First stop is the house of the Marcos Family where Former President Ferdinand Marcos' cadaver is in display for public viewing. Taking pictures is prohibited. Next stop is at the Malacañang of the North where the first family (the Marcos) lived. The house is built where you can appreciate the view of the sea since its elevated. Entrance fee is 15 pesos per head.

 Striking a pose at their grand staircase. 

This is at the entrance of the house. :)

We also saw the historical Paoay Church but I havent had the opportunity to take a picture and besides it wasnt my first time to see the church's unfaded beauty. So instead of taking a picture on the actual church I saw this painting inside the Malacañang house and striked a pose.

My boyfriend's "angas" pose.:) This is at Former President's study room. Its classic and cozy inside.

We had a late lunch at Max's Restaurant in Laoag City then continued our butt sweating trip to Pagudpud. On the way you will pass by Bangui, Ilocos Norte where the windmills are slowly rotating their blade like propeller. You can buy souvenirs of miniature windmills along the way. :) 

Yes, this shot was taken at 3 in the afternoon! Scorching hot since its summer! I dont wear any sunblock. Yes Im not afraid of getting tanner coz Im naturally born tan. But yeah I forgot that in two weeks I will be attending my cousins wedding. Good luck with that. 

Jumpshot. Weeeee...

At last welcome to Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte. Hmm well honestly, it was a nice place but it failed to exceed my expectation. I had fun though, specially when we were trying to catch big waves while swimming with a lot of seaweeds that tangles around my legs each time. But fortunately I had my piggy back ride during a walk towards nowhere and I slept on the car for the first time. Don't ask me, I had a terrible back pain afterwards plus lots of mosquito bites! :(

You can actually do surfing here as the waves are constantly high. :)

This is Pagudpud's amazing sunset. :)

We left Pagudpud past 9am of April 4.  But before anything else we also went to check this rock formation shaped like a table or something along Ilocos Norte. It was a rough road going there and we passed by a stall offering an adventure package such as sand boarding and the like.

Yes that is the white rock formation behind us. Haha! After our short visit here, we headed straight to our last destination-- Alaminos City, Pangasinan. We will go island hopping at the so called Hundred Islands.

We spent the whole day on the road. I always check my butt to make sure I havent gotten any pressure sores yet (seriously). Past 8 in the evening, we arrived at Dagupan City, Pangasinan where we decided to eat our dinner at Silverio's. It offers variety of cuisines that can satisfy your appetite plus the sea side ambiance is so relaxing. There is also a live band playing. I did enjoyed my food even though I lost my appetite due to exhaustion. The band played good songs and it was really relaxing! A Complete entertainment indeed specially the band that played reggae and do some funny stunts whenever they receive  a tip from a happy customer. :)

Shot at Silverio's Sea Side Restaurant. :) 

At 10 we continued our endless drive and at 12 midnight (sigh) finally were in Alaminos City, Pangasinan. We just had a few delays coz were looking for a good place to sleep after long hours on the road. We stayed at Romanz Garden Inn. I was fully rested and excited to go home as I woke up morning of April 5. We had a sumptuous breaky provided by the inn. After that We headed straight to the port where we will ride a boat for our island hopping and snorkeling adventure. We made sure we had our packed lunch ready coz there arent any available eatery in there. We spent the whole day swimming, snorkeling, sight seeing and having fun under the sun which made my skin go darker than ever.

This is at Governor's Island where you will hike to reach the top and take quality pictures overlooking other small islands nearby. :)

And this is my haggard face after eating our lunch at Children's Island. I am wearing my boyfriend's oversized jersey. :)

This is him, excited to jump and have fun snorkeling with his dad and brother.

 Finally our picture together on a crazy boat ride going back to the port. :)

To sum it all up, this trip is one of the best trip that I will treasure and remember for ages. Basically it was tiring, but the fun that goes in each adventure is definitely an energy booster! Hope you can visit these places and enjoy yourself as much as I enjoyed mine! Till my next sharing! Bye! :)