nOrtHerN inVasiOn: part 2

TRIVIA: i've just read somewhere that Pagudpud's name came from the word pagod (tired) and pudpud (worn out) i don't know what was worn out maybe their shoes or the tire of their vehicle or maybe both. And i totally agree to whoever said that because really it was tiring but it was worth it.

Novemer 6, 2008
Day 1: Pagudpud

WELCOME TO PAGUDPUD!

5:30am: we thought it was a 12hour drive from manila but we arrive earlier than we expected kahit na kung san lupalop pa kami nagstop over. Manong driver at si kuyang konduktor ask us kung san daw kami bababa. maybe they are not used to see 2 girls travelling alone na di alam kung san pupunta. sabi namin sa blue lagoon. ang layo daw nun.. bakit di nalang sa saud beach mas madami daw resort dun at hindi isolated ang lugar... but since matigas ulo namin dalawa ni wala pa din sila nagawa.. blue lagoon is our destination so be it. =) pero di nga nagsisinungaling sila kuya...more layo nga ang blue lagoon... dulo na yata un ng ilocos. another 45 minutes to 1 hr drive from saud. sabi nila wala pa daw tricycle ng mga ganung oras so ibababa nalang daw nila kami sa resto malapit dun.. but i found out later walang resto malapit dun. i really don't know kung anu ba ang malapit at malayo sa kanila. luckily may tricycle na sa kanto and this is it... our V-cation begins now! yey! WELCOME TO PAGUDPUD!

BLUE LAGOON
as of the moment this is the farthest place i've been to... but seeing blue lagoon for the first time we arrived at pagudpud parang nawala lahat ng pagod namin sa katawan. the water is really blue and the view is captivating. i thought i'm seeing paradise from afar..

blue lagoon: bluer than blue - di nga lang masadong captured sa photo

walang katapusang katubigan nevertheless i luv it =)

the resort that we're planning to stay at, is along blue lagoon also.. kaya lang pinakadulo na naman.. ewan ko ba.. ang hilig lang namin ni thea sa mga dulo ng walang hanggan!hehe we stayed at Kapuluan Vista. We saw that resort on the internet.. tapos nandun si Heart Evangelista sa pics.. si Heart Evangelista talaga ung dahilan bakit namin pinili ung place.haha dahil nga budgeted lang kami ung pinili nmin rum is 1000/night lang. kahit off peak walng tawad siguro mukha kaming mayaman.haha enweiy our P1000 had an inclusion of welcome drink and breakfast.. so ok na din... besides the place is really superb.

KAPULUAN VISTA: view from our cottage - wish i could go back here

view from the balcony - mejo sosyal my pool =)

8:00am after we settled ourselves at magpahinga ng konti dumating na ung sundo naming tricycle. whom we met dun sa bus stop... his name is kuya jesus... he said he'll tour us sa buong pagudpud for P1200.. mahal sa unang tingin pero pag naexperience mu libutin ang buong pagudpud... magbibigay ka pa ng tip. di muna kami nagswim sa blue lagoon even though the water is tempting.. kase hyper pa kami makita ang buong pagudpud!

1st STOP: KABIGAN FALLS

- which i always mistakenly say KAIBIGAN FALLS. eh mayabang si thea may lagi akong pinagtatawanan.hehe It wasa 30-45 minutes trek... na feeling ko hihimatayin na ko. kase we haven't had enough sleep at di pa kami kumakain ng totoong food since we arrived at bigla maglalakad kami sa bundok at dadaan kami ng 3 ilog? haaay.. but what was surprising when you were in pagudpud although feeling mu mamamatay ka na sa pagod but when you reach your destination you'll forget everything and just admire the beauty of nature.

on the way to the falls with ate na tour guide

mountaineers: why? because i said so! =)

the river: kahit ilan tatawirin namin?haha


THE FALLS: finally

the best way to quench the thirst sabay kanta ng "the coconut nut is a giant nut..." haha

2nd stop: CAPE BOJEADOR LIGHTHOUSE

dito na magsisimula ang sakit sa katawan na byahe. the lighthouse is located at the town of Burgos Ilocos Norte. Malayo sya sa Pagudpud.. 1-2 hrs na byahe? dito namin naranasan ni thea makatulog sa tricycle kahit gaano pa katagtag at kainit ang byahe nung mga panahon na un. But then again... hyper na ulet kami pagdating namin dun... it's not everyday you'll gonna see a place like that. Walang entrance fee. magdodonate ka lang kahit magkano... we asked kung may multo dun... sabi nung caretaker kung my 3rd eye ka my free ghost hunting ka pa... luckily we only have 2 eyes..haha

outside the lighthouse

the view from the lighthouse: bigla gusto kong maging poet =)

3rd STOP: BANGUI WINDMILLS

who says windmills can only be seen at switzerland? little that we know philippines had its very own windmills and a very huge ones... everbody is welcome on the wind farm and we had a chance na makita ng malapitan ang mgabreath taking and monstrous windmills... wala ulet entrance... pero wala ding tao...maybe because kami lang may guts magpunta ng katanghaliang tapat dun.hehe

THE WINDMILLS: para sa kapangyarihan ng josa? nyahaha

now we know kung anong feeling ng langgam

NEXT STOP: SAUD BEACH

it's the most popular beach in northern part of the country.. but on our way to SAUD BEACH.. si kuyang driver nahuli pa ng parang MMDA ng ilocos... imagine.. ang hirap nga ng transpo dun pero my MMDA sila!haha di nmin naintindihan ung mga usap nila kasi ilocano.. we don't know what happened basta tapos nun pinaalis nalang kami bigla. Nweiy.. back to saud beach.. parang ok din pala magstay to that place.. the beach is pretty... hmmmnn.. basta.. undescribable... maganda.period haha di din kami nagswim.. kasi wala kaming dalang pamalit so just we buy some of our pasalubong there instead.

SAUD BEACH: ooh soo tempting

we're tired.. we really were kaso konti palang ung napuputahan namin and we spent most of our time travelling... but we wouldn't miss the chance to see other places the haven of the north could offer...

PARAISO NI ANTON: nasa tabi lang sya ng daan.. syempre wala pa ding entrance... sabi nila my healing power daw ug water from the falls... saka drinkable syempre... but we wasn't able to it kase my dala akong mineral water eh..hehe

PATAPAT VIADUCT: its a very long bridge.. eto ata ung dinadaanan ng mga bus papuntang Cagayan. when you're here you'll see the greater part of the sea.. parang scar.. kaso wala kaming pics... kase mukha na kaming haggard nun napadaan kami dito.hehe

AGUA GRANDE RIVER PARK: it's where the river and the sea meets.. cool!

4:30 pm BACK TO THE RESORT

after we pay kuya jesus 1300 (i told you bibigyan mu sya ng tip at the end of the day at kuripot pa kami nun!hehe) dumerecho na agad kami sa cottage to nap.. di na namin nagawa ung original plan na mag swimming after... kaso napasarap ung tulog namin and then we woke up at 8...nagdinner lang kami ng cup noodles pero buti nalang naalala ni thea may ung welcome drink namin and what's best to end the day is to drink a glass of margarita... winner ang margarita! haha so hindi lang sa isang glass and nainom nmin di pa ubos ung hawak namin nagorder na ulet kami ng isa pa... anyway P75 lang nmn sya kaya keri pa.. buti nalang 10pm nagsasara ang bar kung hindi baka maubos namin ung stock nila.haha

THE MARGARITA: i want more!!! :p

Day 1 is over and it's a wrap...

nOrtHerN inVasiOn

OMG! another plan has come to reality...

thank's to THEA: my gala buddy, vacation planner and demonyita like me. With her the trip was a mind blowing, nerve wracking and a series of unforgetable unplanned experience worthy of another exhilarating city escape amidst our financial crisis after that.hehe

thus the trip was all but F.U.N!!

OFF TO ILOCOS

nov 5 2008 : our original plan was that alis kami ng manila at nov 6 para sa kapakanan ng mga may pasok sa opis para 1 day leave lang if ever... since 2 lang pala kame (we decided na wag ng ituloy ang 3 months in the making na V-CATION na ito! joke..hehe). we decided na we move the date at Nov 5 para sunday back in the city na kame. all freshen up? =) and ready to work work work!
4:30pm: meeting place at sm manila. dahil limited ang budget we need to buy our baon para sa 10 hr drive? (or so they say) and for our food fortheo stay there. in short takot kame magutom!hehe as usual late ako.. kaya super bilis ang paggrocery na iyon..

the bus (ok sana kung hindi lang dahil sa ipislandia) *photo copied from sweet sentiments

6:00pm: we arrived early sa bus terminal.. sa rcj bus ung suggestion ko.. kase mas mura (P550 fare) saka ok daw ayon na rin sa mga niresearchko.. pumayag nmn si thea.. little that we know na ung pwesto namin is ipislandia! eeewww! up to now kinikilabutan pa din ako pag naaalala ko. (so no pics for that!) so we ask the conductor if pwede kami lumipat ng pwesto.. sabihin daw namin sa management kase baka daw may nakareserve na sa uupuan namin. ung pwesto na gusto namin sa harap meron na nga..MIGUEL ang pangalan.. we really prayed hard para wag sya dumating.. imagined how we catch our breath whenever there's someone na sumasakay sa bus whom we thought bagay ang MIGUEL na name. fortunately wala nmn.. so ok na relax na!hehe we left for pagudpud at exacty 6:30.. there's really no turning back for this trip. =)

the luggage: ..na konti lang.. say no to pants kase kami.. =)

the baon (love ko to!): with watermelon float for me and coke float for thea; so much for pagtitipid.hehe

12midnight (la union) : the trip was well.. or so we thought... hyper pa kami ni thea magkwentuhan ng everything under the sun? or moon?haha ng bigla ung kasakay namin nagsalita ng kung anu-ano.. he shout.. he swore. at nabulabog talaga ang buong bus.. (iniisip ko baka sya si Miguel). little that we now my baon pala si Manong ng isang fundador na lapad.. and it was empty when they saw it.. ibig sabihin nagsolo si manong! hindi man lang nagalok ng tagay! kung nagalok sya edi sana lahat kami masaya! tuloy sya lang ang naiwan sa pulis station.

police station: the stopover

dahil sa nerbyos... i ask thea tuloy kung tama ba ung desisyon namin magtravel alone..

thea: adik tau eh.. pangatawanan na natin to..

ok! sabi mo eh!

....to be continue....

V-cation

my fave president nonetheless

yey! i'm going somewhere ulet.. kasi idol ko si imelda marcos and i like creepy places and the beach syempre..

in short i'm gonna invade the north!
wonder what will happen kase que sera sera tong trip na to at excited na ko.. =0

just wanna enjoy life! =)

back from the dead

say what? its been a loooonng while since i posted my last blog entry.

i don't know what happened back then. there were times i will write a new topic but when i'm on the middle of my entry... puff! suddenly i don't know where to put that period. so then i will erase all the things i've written... hit the sign out button and close the window.. and voila! i had no blog entry, new ideas and no everything! i just hope this time i'm back for real.. no more invisible mode and my writer instinct will flow nonetheless!



so this is TOKLAY... signing on again. =)







yey! i finally put that perion again! and ooppss that big smiley face! hehe

Typhoon Frank

yesterday i wish for a rain and today God granted me that wish.. kaso naman nasobrahan.. super lakas na ng ulan! si typhoon Frank parang nagenjoy sa pagstay sa pilipinas at all over the metro ang baha. lalo na sa kahabaan ng espana.. which is no doubt na babaha talaga dahil konting ulan lang dun.. baha na agad.. and unlucky me di ako nakaligtas sa hagupit ni frank (kunyari close kame) super hirap ang dinanas ko bago nakarating sa opis.. kasama na ang yuckee na baha!eeww.. at parang ngaasar pa.. the song that was playing through my ipod ganto ang lyrics:


I can see clearly now the rain has gone! so much for a wish! tsk tsk!