O Vigan

Pasensya na at nasa mood akong mag tagalog. Hehehe. Let’s see how long I will last though…

‘Di ko akalain na makakapunta pala ako ng Vigan. Medyo mahaba-haba rin ang biyahe. Sampung oras kaming nakaupo sa bus, at ako’y laging ‘di mapakali, laging naghahanap ng masarap na posisyon sa upuan at tila di makapagpahinga dahil sa loob mismo nito ay magulo na dahil maya’t maya ay may nag-aalok ng balut, chicharon, mais, mani, and kung anu-ano pa. Napakaraming naibili ni Mama, sa bus pa lang. Hehehe. Isang kagat lang at hindi naman nauubos. Kakagat siya at sasabihin niyang “Uy! Ok! Masarap!” tsaka ay ibabalot muli sa plastic tapos itatago sa bag. Nakakatuwa! Medyo excited lang siya, kasi hilig talaga niyang mag-sample ng mga pagkain mula sa iba’t ibang lugar. Ay oo, mabuti din pala at may air con, dahil napakainit nung panahong yun.

Aaminin ko, ako’y minsan lang kung sumakay ng public transpo. Lumaki akong sanay na may humahatid and sumusundo sa kin kahit saan man ako mapunta, kaya’t ako’y di gaanong nakaranas na sumakay ng bus. Pero nung lumipat na ako dito sa Maynila, medyo madalas na rin ako mag bus. Well, actually kapag pumupunta lang ako ng Cavite. Kasi madalas pag nag out of town eh kasama ko ang mga kaibigan ko at sumasakay ako sa kotse nila.

Gustung gusto kong mag road trip. Ang saya. Ayan, paubos na ang tagalog ko, at paunti-unting nagtataglish. Gusto ko sanang magkaron ng post na purong tagalog ang salita, pero… mahirap! Hay naku! Anyways, there’s something about a trip down an open road that thrills me. I love looking out, to watch the scenery, i also like it when we pass through small towns, i love looking at houses and people too. So i didn’t mind the 10 hours at all. I also made sure I had enough stuff in my ipod to keep me entertained.

Dumating kami sa Vigan, gabi na. Sinundo kami ng pinsan ni Papa at dinala kami sa isang beach resort one town away from Vigan itself. Pagod ako at medyo suplada, wala sa mood! Pero nung nakita ko na ang mga traditional houses, medyo naging mas ok yung mood ko. Iniisip ko lang nung mga panahong yun.. “dapat bumili ako ng film (for my Canon EOS Rebel G), bukas pagka-gising ko!” Then, natulog na ako… may air con yung cottage namin, haaay salamat… 38 degrees din dun!

Looking out to the South China Sea waves. I love the capiz shell windows.

The next day, hinatid kami sa town plaza. Doon, ang daming calesa. Mama and I were already daring each other to go on just a calesa the whole time we make pasyal there. It took me a short time to get used to getting on and off the calesa. It reminded me of the time I took horseback riding lessons during weekends many years ago. Not that we had to mount the horse to get on the calesa, its just that the manner that you would go on the calesa itself is similar to climbing on to the saddle. The seat was surprisingly comfy, and the ride was very smooth! It was a lot slower than a tricycle (i only saw tricycles and calesas as a way to get around there) but it was definitely the better choice. So Mama and i had no problem going around town in that calesa the entire day.

Our horses name is Pamela, and she has an orange flower on top of her head, our kutsero was Mang Richard, and his son JR was his assistant.

Fuji Film stop at Calle Quezon, i made a total of 5 stops there…

Mang Richard is such a nice, pleasant fellow. His son JR is just adorable. The people of Vigan are very friendly and accomodating. I had to have my phone checked, so we stopped by a cellphone shop, and the lady there said “Mam, nakita ko po kayong bumaba ng kalesa kanina sa kabilang kanto”. We were there for a wedding, and the guy who looked at my phone knew about the wedding too. Vigan really is a small town. The streets and the houses are so close together too. I wanted to walk, but it was too hot. Hehe.

We were brought to the Our Lady of Charity Church first to see the Bantay bell tower that was built in 1592, recently restored by the late Fernando Poe, Jr… I was told that he loved shooting there for his Panday movies. When we got there, the gatekeeper handed me the key to the bell tower. I felt special! I got to open the gate that day. Awesome.

Si Mama

After we climbed the small hill to the top of the tower, Papa and decided to get Halo Halo at one house there. I like the structure of the houses, and the huge doors. Masarap ‘din yung halo halo nila! I guess we were served the local version of the halo halo. It had melon slices, kamote, and buko of course. It was slightly different, but it was definitely refreshing!

After refreshments, we were brought to a souvenir shop, and on the way back to the resort we saw Chavit Singson’s Baluarte, we didn’t go in as we were needed at the resort. But just outside the entrance you can already see huge tigers, and some camels!

The next day, we met Mang Richard at the town plaza, and my only request in this whole trip was that we go see Calle Crisologo. I’ve heard so much about it. Plus i wanted to do some shopping for pasalubong.

Ma, making a face. That face means “tara na!”

Me, catching my reflection.

More of Calle Crisologo

After shopping, we all decided to head back to the resort to rest… We were greeted by this:

What a treat…