No Boats? No Problem: Side Trips to Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte, Philippines

Time, energy, and effort. All these things create expectations, and to an extent, a sense of unhealthy entitlement. What’s worse than unmeet expectations is the idea of snatched privilege. I spent an entire night struggling to find sleep while on an extremely uncomfortable van ride to the north of the Philippines. I forgot how many times I shifted in my seat to relieve myself of the pain and discomfort. I looked forward to the few stopovers we had, so that I could stretch my body and remove myself from the awful position. I was grumbling then, but I didn’t know how all those discomfort and struggles would be worth it in the end. Such is the way of life.

It was 5 am in the morning when we arrived in Claveria. I was tired, groggy, and stiff. We were on a tight schedule, they said. We needed to leave Manila before 8 pm so that we could make it in time for the boat ride. Imagine riding for more than 10 hours at night. I put my trust in knowing that our travel organizers (who included the driver), had done this countless of times and that they wouldn’t doze off during the entire ride.

When we stepped outside the van, I saw overcast skies and beached boats. The sea was calm though. But the sight of the sky and the boats was a bad sign. The people in the first van that arrived were milling around. Then, we were told that all trips to Calayan Island were suspended that day because of the bad weather. Honestly, I was too tired to care. I could’ve been annoyed or worried, but there was really no one to blame. We were told we’d go back around, find someplace to sleep, and come back tomorrow.

We washed up and brushed our teeth before getting back inside our vans. They told us they were bringing us to a restaurant for breakfast, which was the first good news of the day. But along the way, we stopped in the middle of a bridge in between the mountains and the sea. I was wondering why so many cars were also stopping. They told us to step outside and take pictures. The sun was so hot despite the looming storm they said would encounter us if we decided to push through with the trip.

So we took pictures. The road was still deserted because it was still quite early. I was wondering why we had to step outside for the bridge. I later found out that the bridge was a Viaduct, a feat of engineering that was constructed on a very difficult part of the northern part of the country.

Being ignorant of this marvel, the experience was a little underwhelming, which was entirely my fault. I told myself to appreciate it better the next day when we come back.

Then, they brought us to another detour. When they said windmills, I was so excited. I’ve heard of the famous windmills in the north of the country, so I welcomed this detour. After a few minutes of driving through mountains, I could see the large structures with those streamlined impeller blades. To add to my surprise, they told us we were heading to the so-called, Little Batanes.

Our drive brought us to a cliff above the sea. We stepped outside the van and our guide told us to follow hfim.

We hiked down towards the beach, and the wind was picking up. Maybe a storm was really coming. There was something about the foliage, the grass, and the trees that made the place otherworldly and foreign. I felt like I wasn’t in the Philippines anymore. That’s what they say when people go to Batanes. It’s one of the northernmost part of the country, farther from the equator, so you’d expect to see different than what you mostly see in the country.

We climbed a small hill and I could see a better view of the deep blue sea. On one side of the cliff, there was a heart-shaped beach with black sand. Again, otherworldly. And far off, I could see the windmills with their blades slowly turning against the flow of the wind, generating electricity for the households in the region.

Standing on a small peak in the so-called Little Batanes, I was in awe of what was in front of me. I never expected that the all-night ride would bring us here. Windmills in Ilocos Norte weren’t on my bucket list, but there I was, seeing the giant structures, which were the pride of the north.

I couldn’t say I am thankful for the hick-up in our trip, but I am definitely grateful I get to go on the detours.

That's it for now. In the next part, I'll show one of the best beaches I've seen in the Philippines.