Illuminative Ilocos Day 2: Patapat Viaduct, Blue Lagoon, Bangui Windmills, Kapurpurawan Rock Formati

So Day 2 was a lot of fun, because we all sort of jumped out of bed at around 5-ish hoping to catch the sunrise by the beach.

It was only when we got there when we realized that we were facing the West.

We would have felt disappointed if we didn’t feel so stupid.

The first stop of the day was the Patapat Viaduct (translation: a super cool mountainside shortcut). Even though we didn’t actually take the Patapat Viaduct route, we were still treated to a spectacular view of its megastructure with the wind whipping our hair and the waves crashing down the rocky shores below.

In Ilocos Norte, even the roads are groupie-shot-genic on their own.

But the fun didn’t stop there. In Cebu, I’ve grown up believing asphalt roads were always fugly AF, so seeing a beautiful road for once was like finding out fairies existed. I suddenly had the stubborn tourist impulse to have a sitting-in-the-middle-of-the-road photo snapped.

At which point a speeding bus was headed right towards us. But we lived to tell the tale and back it up with this very lovely photo.

The next stop was Blue Lagoon – which wasn’t exactly a lagoon. Not that we were complaining.

On land, there were karyoka vendors luring us away from the sea with their sweet sticky treats on sticks and two cute guys of dubious sexual orientation sitting side by side. The breeze was so strong that it stirred up the sand on our feet and bit into our legs. In the water, we came up with a very interesting game in the absence of an inflatable beach volleyball (and its PHP 100.00 hourly rental).

Hop on the West Philippine Sea waves or die.

Mind you, it was all fun and games until gulping down your first litre of salt water, at which point we scrambled back for shore in search of lunch. Miss Maturan, bless her all-foreseeing soul, pre-ordered our lunch of pakbet, dinakdakan, and igado.

After lunch, resident travel coordinator Miss Portarcs decided to stir our itinerary up a bit by including the Bangui Windmills, Kapurpurawan Rock Formation, and Cape Bojeador.

The thing about the Bangui Windmills was that, even if they looked incredibly close to Blue Lagoon, they were actually a solid hour away from the beach. Bordering another long stretch of the West Philippine Sea shore, the windmills were as cool (no pun intended) as they were functional, reportedly supplying 40% of Ilocos’ energy.

Also, can somebody please film a sci-fi movie here? Why hasn’t this happened yet?

There were also quaint little souvenir shops selling the cutest miniature windmills imaginable.

We kept testing them with the van’s air condition to see if they “worked.”

The Kapurpurawan Rock Formation was a short drive away from the windmills. What I liked best about this particular stop was the people’s sense of humor.

Challenge accepted.

But seriously, at a relatively short distance of 500 meters, we were treated to a spectacular (spectacular!) view of rock formations carved by the forces of nature and time.

It’s very Greek, don’t you think?

The short trek itself was far from being a chore. Sure, you had to be careful where you put your feet next, but Kapurpurawan was how I pictured the love child of the Mediterranean and Middle Earth would be.

And yes, alien windmills included.

One side of Kapurpurawan is filled with a lush green foliage complete with an overgrowth of wild flowers, and the other side was the big blue sea with great slabs of white sedentary rocks. Even Miss Valencia and her boyfriend marked the spot as a future pre-nup photo shoot location…

… Until I blew it for them. Props to Miss Portarcs for the quick snapping reflexes. I think their future children are gonna want to see this.

Cape Bojeador, also known as the Burgos Lighthouse, is said to be the tallest of its kind in the Philippines.

Aaand purportedly haunted.

I did NOT see that coming.

I guess it never hit me at the time (despite going there during Halloween season), because restorations were ongoing – or were they?

There wasn’t much to see inside the lighthouse. Once you climbed the thirty odd steps uphill and entered the once-megastructure, all you had were four unfurnished rooms standing opposite each other down a narrow hallway which led right up to the lighthouse itself.

Still, they did have very sweet selfie spots. Though in retrospect, I would probably not have wandered around the rooms by myself had I known they were haunted.

The sunset would have looked splendid from the top. I mean, would you look at this sweeping view of the West Philippine Sea?

No filters, I swear.

But for some reason, we were herded back in the van faster than you can say, “Cape Bojeador!” Hmm… I guess that should have told me there was something about the place. Not that I had any personal ghostly encounters up there, but if you’re up for some spine-tingling tales, stay tuned for Day 3 when we descend upon the very old City of Vigan.