RoamingYama

Welcome to the captivating province of Ilocos Sur! From Benguet, we are heading north to Vigan filled with rich history, local foods, and a home away from home at Hotel Luna.

Vigan

In the heart of Ilocos Sur lies the charming city of Vigan, a Spanish colonial town established in the 16th century. Truly a unique town as they have preserved the colonial character, the cobblestone streets and the urban lay out. Although, some of the buildings are worn out and abandoned, the Spanish influence in Vigan is undeniable.

Calle Crisologo is the main street of Vigan town where only a calesa is allowed to pass through. At 500 meters long, a historical walk from end to end will give you this old Spanish village feels. It’s best to experience it in the morning with less crowd and late afternoon until sunset for that old street golden vibes. The Spanish-style houses have withstood weathering and aging and looking at them now, some were maintained or restored into hotels, restaurant, and souvenir shops. The street is fully lined up with souvenir shops and food shops. They offer local crafts, trinkets, woodcrafts, and handcrafted accessories. On some part of the streets, the famous empanada and bagnet are being sold.

In the afternoon, we had a walk from Calle Crisologo to Plaza Burgos – built to remember the martyrdom of Father Jose P. Burgos. Next to the plaza is the historic Clock Tower and the Cathedral of St. Paul the Apostle along Burgos Street. By nightfall, we reach the Plaza Salcedo for the Luneta Park Musical Dancing Fountain.

For fun ride, the kalesa can be rented for a ride for an hour to cover all the UNESCO Heritage Sites.

On our second day, we headed out to Baluarte! A few kilometers from Vigan is the Baluarte Zoo, a wildlife sanctuary that is owned by politician and business tycoon Chavit Singson. A sanctuary for conserving and protecting endangered species and wildlife. You can get up close with a variety of animals, from tiger to parrots to pythons. It’s like a mini safari with museum and animal circus. Well, aside from the animals, Congressman Chavit has a gallery of all his taxidermed animals from his overseas Safari travels. It’s weird to see the owner boast his hunting games and yet owns a zoo? What do you think?

Going there, we rented two calesa from our hotel to Baluarte. Roundtrip fare cost us around 800 pesos. A slow 15 minutes ride at the calesa is worth the street view in Vigan.

Pinakbet, Bagoong & Bagnet

Going to Vigan is incomplete without having a taste of Ilokano foods! And what better way to start than by indulging in the local delicacies of pinakbet, bagoong, and bagnet – every dish tells a story of tradition. We visited some restaurants around Vigan and each restaurant has their own taste and flavours. We have our breakfast stop in Cafe Bigaa at the Vigan Plaza Hotel and lunch at Cafe Evelyn. The food is great and is perfectly located near the plaza. Bagnet, empanadas, and lechon will always be a favourite Ilocanos cuisine.

Hotel Luna

Our resting place in Vigan is at Hotel Luna, an old colonial architecture from the outside is what makes Hotel Luna a beautiful and highly recommended place to stay in. The property is a restored colonial mansion that has a roof bar and a pool in the middle, and a unique art collection. The art work gallery and sculptures curated by the owner is located on the second floor of the main building. They have works by Juan Luna’s Mandolin Player, BenCab, Fernando Amorsolo, Guillermo Tolentino, and other renowned artist. It’s like staying and sleeping in an art museum!

The room size is average and cool air-conditioning. The only downside was their TV sound and poor signal reception.

For the breakfast, they have a great selection of foods for their breakfast buffet located near the pool and the staircase. Longganisa and pinakurat with garlic fried rice is best served for breakfast – and unlimited refill of coffee!

Our travel and stay in Vigan was short and sweet! Truly looking forward to visit and see more of the Ilocos region. But before leaving Ilocos, we stopped by for treats at Marcia’s – the best and delicious royal bibingkas in Ilocos. The store is located at Bantay highway and it has a restroom and enough parking space.

What an adventure it has been. Short but sweet! Vigan is a charm with it’s rich history and delicious foods. Looking forward for our next trip heading all the way up to Pagudpud and Narvacan.

Have you been to the Ilocos region? How was it?

Thanks and see you all on my next travels!