Woke up early the next day coz our next destination would take another 6 hours and we plan to do some stop overs so it could take longer. Breakfast at the hotel (Garden by the Ruins) was great. I had Vigan longanisa and it was yummy.
Our first stop was at Batac, Ilocos Norte which was the hometown of former president Ferdinand E. Marcos. He is my (and Tanjol's) idol. I didn't exactly like what happened to the Philippines when he was president but Marcos' brain is really something I wish I had. He was the smartest politician I know. We visited his mausoleum and there was also a mini museum beside it with some of his speeches. Too bad the place was not well maintained. It could be a good tourist attraction. Only the mausoleum was well kept. I can't tell though whether it's really him or if the rumors are true that it's only a wax replica. I guess only his family will ever know. Cameras are not allowed inside the mausoleum so I wasn't able to take any photos there.
Opposite the road to Batac was the town of Paoay where the beautiful Baroque style Paoay church resides. It was truly gorgeous. Completed in 1894, the church bell tower was used by the katipuneros as an observation post. We took some pictures at the church and met a local who gave us directions to all our other destinations (thank you Manong!).
We then headed to the Malacanang of the North, 1 of the 29 rest houses of the Marcos family. This old-rich Spanish architecture is imposed along the lazy shores of the Paoay Lake. There is a P20.00 entrance fee but I don't think this is used well for maintaining the place. The rest-house-turned-museum is still quite impressive despite its lack of care. We played a bit of teleserye drama while we were there (I was shouting "Isabella! Isabella! Hindi ka sasama sa lalaking yan! Ikamamatay ito ng iyong puh-puh!" Hahaha!).
It started to drizzle while we were on our way to Laoag so we just drove through some of the other attractions like the Sinking Bell Tower, St. William's Cathedral and the La Paz Sand Dunes.
It was already pouring hard so we decided to stop for lunch at La Preciosa. We got attracted to the sign outside the cafe that said WiFi. Little did we know that it was actually a famous cafe in Laoag known for it's yummy cakes. It was even featured in a magazine as one of the must go to places in Ilocos. The WiFi was just a plus factor. We ordered dinengdeng (fresh veggies with grilled fish in a soup), lomo-lomo and chicken pepiano (Ilokano kare-kare). The food was good and fulfilling. For dessert, we decided to get a small carrot cake (which the cafe was famous for). It was reeeeaaaalllyyyyy goooooood. As in! I've eaten carrot cake before but the one from La Preciosa was by far the BEST. It was for P200 for the small one but it was already good for 8 people. (P70.00 per slice)
We were back on the road by 1:30pm. We almost went past by the Pasuquin Bakery where they sell Ilocos style biscocho. Even though we're still full from lunch, we bought 1 bag at P65.00 (contains 5 small packs inside) so we could try it out.
It was still drizzling when we got to the Bangui Windmills but that still didn't stop us from the photo op. The Windmills are humongous! It was a project of former Gov. Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. as a renewable energy source for Ilocos.
Next on our list was the Cape Bojeador Lighthouse located in Burgos, Ilocos Norte. The lighhouse was established during the Spanish Colonial times. The light marks the northwesternmost point of Luzon. Too bad it wasn't well kept. The stairs leading to the lighthouse were damaged and earth worms were swarming everywhere. We still had our pictures taken but it would have been better if it wasn't raining. That was our last stop before reaching our destination: Saud Beach, Pagudpud (the Boracay of the North).
We checked in at Apo Idon Beach Resort which was by far, in my opinion the best one of the resorts lined up along the coast. The room was good for 4 people at P2,500.00 (originally P3,000 but I just used my haggling charms). It had 2 queen size beds, cable TV, hot water bath and air-conditioner.
It was already getting dark so after our walk along the beach we decided to order dinner. The food was great but kinda pricey. We had inarabasab (grilled pork in vinegar and iloco
hot spices) and pinakbet. We also finished off our carrot cake from La Preciosa.
I retired to bed early but Tanjol and Ola went for a quick swim at the hotel pool. I planned to
wake up early to take more pictures of the beautiful beach. It was really like bora (with the fine white sand) but was better for me because it was quiet and peaceful (no nightlife, unlike bora --
or maybe because it was off peak season). Day 3 over.