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The Biscocho of Pasuquin (Ilocos Norte)

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Pasuquin Bakery

After breakfast at the Ilocos Norte Hotel and Convention Center, our Lakbay Norte 2 media group proceeded to Pasuquin, a farming (rice, onions, garlic) and fishing town, to observe making of biscocho and salt.  Joining us on the bus was local historian Rene Gluatco and our first stop was the Pasuquin Bakery.  My idea of biscocho is the crunchy and sugar-sweet pastry made from stale leftover bread.  Pasuquin biscocho is different, making use of freshly-baked bread specially made to be toasted. It is also soft and not sweet, being flavored with anise.

The immensely popular biscocho

The couple Sixto and Estefania Salmon, the assistants of the late Timot Josue who was trained in one of the Spanish style panaderias in Manila, were said to have been able to deduce, through careful observation and measurements, both the ingredients and the process of making this biscocho.  After World War II, Sixto, who served as a baker to the American forces temporarily stationed at Victory Road, south of the town proper, established Pasuquin Bakery with his savings. His only child, Esperanza Alvarez, better known as Manang Pansing, currently manages the bakery. Nowadays, the immensely popular, freshly-baked soft biscocho of Pasuquin Bakery is a must buy. It is perfect with cheese, condensed milk or Spanish-style sardines.

Pasuquin Bakery: Brgy. Poblacion 3, Pasuquin, Ilocos Norte.  Tel: (077) 775-0198.

Arrival in Laoag City (Ilocos Norte)

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Laoag City Hotel and Convention Center

After our Adams adventure, it was back to our coaster for the 2-hr. drive to Laoag City  where we were to have dinner.  We arrived there by night time and were dropped off at the City Hall were we were welcomed by Mayor Michael V. Farinas and other city officials.

Courtesy call on Laoag City Mayor Michael V. Farinas

After a short presentation on Laoag tourism and Cebu Pacific (one of our corporate sponsors), a delicious dinner of longanisa, fried chicken, bagnet, empanada, etc., was served.  It was now time to call it a day and we were all tired after our grueling hike to Anuplig Falls.  Media colleague Gabby Malvar left our group at this time as he had to return to Manila.  Travel blogger Nina Fuentes left even earlier, prior to our Anuplig Falls hike.

Our bus brought us to the Ilocos Norte Hotel and Convention Center at the city’s outskirts, 5 kms. from Laoag International Airport, where we were to stay overnight.  Kim Madridejos and I in stayed in one superior airconditioned double room.

Check out “Hotel and Inn Review: Ilocos Norte Hotel and Convention Center“

Double room


City Mayor’s Office: Tupaz St., Brgy. 10, Laoag City, Ilocos Norte.  Tel: (077) 772-1100. Fax: (077) 771-3168.

Ilocos Norte Hotel and Convention Center (INHCC):  Brgy. 41, Balacad, Laoag City, Ilocos Norte, 2900. Tel: (077) 670-8817.  E-mail: reservations@ilocosnortehotel.com.  Website www.ilocosnortehotel.com.

Return to Adams (Ilocos Norte)

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I finally made it back to Adams town proper, one of the last to make it.  My other companions were already feasting on a late lunch at a picnic shed by the river, dining, kamayan-style, on aba (a local version of laing minus the coconut milk), kiwet (a Yapayao term for palos or freshwater eel), shrimps, a green salad of lightly blanched young string beans mixed with fresh tomatoes on bagoong and lasuna (sibuyas tagalog), itlog ti abu-os (fire ant eggs), igado (stewed pork entrails), breaded fried frogs (tokak) and red highland rice.   

Lunch: Better late than never

After this delicious lunch, we proceeded to a souvenir shop with walls of inch-thick hardwood planks and a roof of gabut grass.  Here, we did some free wine tasting, sampling tapuey (Kankana-ey rice wine similar to Japanese sake) and tropical wines made from bugnay (wild blackberry), pineapple, cherry, santol, passion fruit, duhat and malubeg, manufactured from 40 local wineries, all backyard operations, within the town.   The list of locally-produced wines could go on as the people of Adams are constantly experimenting on other fruity combinations for their wine industry.

Souvenir and wine store

Totally sated and a bit tipsy, we now returned to our dump truck for the hour-long trip back to the National Highway (and, from there, to Laoag City) with the injured me now conveniently seated beside the driver together along with cramp-afflicted cameraman Roland Fontilla, Jr. and the foot-blistered Sheryl Songsong.  The allergy-afflicted Kenneth del Rosario still rode at the back, now provided with PVC chairs for our riding comfort. 

Locally-made wine

Mayor’s Office:  Municipal Hall, Brgy. Adams Proper, Adams, Ilocos Norte.  Mobile numbers: (0927) 668-1128 & (0921) 286-3470

The Adams Adventure Trail (Ilocos Norte)

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Ferdz Decena crossing a hanging bridge
The sun shone brightly when we finally arrived at Adams’ town gym.  Here, Dr. Bielmaju Waley-Bawingan, wife of town Mayor Eric T. Bawingan, and a merienda of fresh buko juice and kakanin welcomed us.  Once carbo loaded, Dr. Bawingan briefed us on our next activity – a hike to Anuplig Falls, the most impressive of the town’s 11 waterfalls. She furnished us with 5 guides and, laden with bottled water, we now proceeded on our 2.5-km. hike, normally a 45-min. “walk in the park” for the townspeople, but double that for me and my group (and even longer for the others).
A small waterfall we passed

Though long, the hike was pleasant, the trail moderately graded (except at the steep shortcut we took up a hill), sometimes wide but often narrow. Again, we had fantastic views of forest-cladded mountains, hills and valleys; small, verdant, moderately-sloping rice terraces similar to those found in the Cordillera Region; crystal-clear brooks and rivers (one we crossed via a hanging bridge) and a small waterfall. 

Lush rice terraces

The swirling sound of the Bolo River heralded our arrival at the 25-ft. high Anuplig Falls, its two basins inviting us to swim its bracingly cold water.  Some of us (including me) bravely did so, with Frank Dizon at the lower basin: me (spraining my right foot in doing so), Ivan Man Dy and Ian Garcia climbing up to the second basin, and Gabby Malvar, Ida Noelle and Karlo de Leon moving further up to the base and back of the falls itself.  

Anuplig Falls

Ian, sprained wrist and all, bravely jumped from the top of the cliff safely down to the pool below (not recommended however).  The others just dip their tired feet, took photographs or interviewed Juan Agudo, a septuagenarian local farmer.  After an hour, we all retraced our way back to the town with yours truly, accompanied by Dandi Galvez and a guide, hobbling along on a sprained foot.

Juan Agudo

Mayor’s Office:  Municipal Hall, Brgy. Adams Proper, Adams, Ilocos Norte.  Mobile numbers: (0927) 668-1128 & (0921) 286-3470

On the Road to Adams (Ilocos Norte)

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It was still raining and windy in the early morning when we left Kapuluan Vista Resort in Pagudpud, via coaster, for the nearby town of Adams, located at the foot of the Gran Cordillera Central Mountain Range. This fairly young (it became independent from Bangui on May 16, 1983 by virtue of Republic Act No. 337), 159.31 sq. km. town has a sparse 2007 population of 1,522 uniquely spread out in only one barangay with 8 sitios.   Our coaster backtracked towards the Cagayan boundary, again traversing the 1.3-km. long Patapat Viaduct  until we reached a junction at Brgy. Panzian. Incidentally, Patapat’s rocky shore is now littered with the unsightly, rusting hulk of the marooned Korean-owned MV Nam Yang 8 oil tanker which listed at the height of Typhoon Juan in January 2010, causing an oil spill.
The marooned MV Nam Yang 8

Our coaster finally stopped at the junction in Brgy. Panzian.  This was the end of the road for our coaster and, from hereon, we were to tackle the last, rugged 13-km. uphill drive to the town via a dump truck (the only suitable transportation for our group as the only other way was via single-seat motorcycles).  

Our transportation to Adams

Most, except those who sat beside the driver and on a cooler box, good-naturedly endured the hour-long trip standing up and clinging to the sides of the truck.  The going was really rough as the road was really bumpy and we had to watch out for overhanging tree branches.  

A sparkling stream
Rice fields

The hardships and rigors of the ride was somewhat offset by the rugged and pastoral beauty of the countryside which included sparkling streams and rivers; verdant rice fields; lush lowland and montane rainforests, colorful flowers and a number of narrow hanging bridges that traverse the streams and rivers.

One of the town’s hanging bridges

Arrival in Pagudpud (Ilocos Norte)

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The eco-friendly Kapuluan Vista Resort

We left the coastal town of Claveria, our last Cagayan destination, by 5:30 PM and it was already nighttime when our bus crossed the border into Ilocos Norte and the resort town of Pagudpud.  The weather still wasn’t cooperating with us and it was still raining when we arrived, by 7:30 PM, at Kapuluan Vista Resort where we were welcomed by Mike and Alma Oida, the resort’s gracious Fil-American owners.  Gabby Malvar, Dandi Galvez, Kim Madridejos, Roland “Jun” Fontilla, Frank Dizon and I were assigned to a six-bed dorm. Though not airconditioned, we certainly didn’t need it as the cool sea breeze wafted into the room.

Check out “Resort Review: Kapuluan Vista Resort“

Grilled fish and liempo main course

The gloomy weather was somewhat offset by the warmth and hospitality of our young hosts and their staff and our delicious dinner, served on a banig place mat, which consisted of cilantro soup and garden salad with dressing for starters, a main course of tender grilled fish and liempo (pork belly) with tomato salsa, and buko pandan with homemade vanilla ice cream for dessert.  Most of the herbs and vegetables served here are grown and picked daily from the resort’s organic garden.  Breakfast, on the still raining and windy early morning, consisted of a Filipino breakfast of Vigan longanisa with fried egg and garlic fried rice.

Pagudpud – a new surfing haven

While dining, Mike, an avid surfer and fitness buff who can still speak fluent Tagalog, and the Ilocano-speaking Alma (whose roots are in La Union) regaled us with their story of how these newlyweds, who both worked for Ikea, were drawn to the waves and rustic beauty of Pagudpud’s Blue Lagoon six years ago, liking it so much that they resigned from their jobs, packed up all their belongings in the US and decided to settle here. They bought an 8,000 sq. m. undeveloped piece of heaven near the Dos Hermanos rock formation where they built their eco-friendly dream home and resort.

Kapuluan Vista Resort: Sitio Baniaran, Brgy. Balaoi, Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte.  Tel: (072) 888-2809.  Mobile numbers: (0920) 952-2528 and (0920) 928-5273.  E-mail: kapuluan_vista_resort@yahoo.com.  Website: www.kapuluanvistaresort.com.

Enchanting Claveria (Cagayan)

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Claveria Cove

We left Buguey around 1:30 PM and our bus was to travel another 2 hours to get to Claveria, the last Cagayan town prior to entering Ilocos Norte.  It was now raining intermittently when we traversed the beach boulevard facing the town’s clean, 4 km. long brown sand Claveria Cove.  It was very windy when we alighted the bus for some photo ops and the waves along the beach were very turbulent.  On our left, we could sees the hazy outlines of the rock formations Punta Lakay-Lakay (“old man”), Punta Baket-Baket (“Old woman) and Punta Ubing-Ubing (“child”).  The onset of rain necessitated our return to the bus.

Lakay-Lakay Blue Lagoon

Back on our bus, we proceeded to Taggat to visit Lakay-Lakay Blue Lagoon. This lagoon is also located in a cove, albeit a smaller one.  As the bad weather prevented fishermen from going out to sea, the shore of this fishing village was filled with similarly-colored (blue and white with yellow stripes) fishing boats parked prow-to-bow and outrigger-to-outrigger. Minus the boats and in sunny weather, the panorama before us would have been a photographer’s dream.  Picture a lagoon enclosed by towering cliffs on both sides (the cliff on the right is topped by a cross) and jagged, rocky islands, all lashed and sculpted by the turbulent, churning waves of the sea.   Only in my dreams can I imagine such a scenery. In calmer weather and low tide, I could have swam to those rocky islets. Rain again woke me up from my day dream and we all had to run back to our bus.

Claveria town hall

Back in our bus, we next proceeded to the Claveria municipal hall where the amiable Mayor Celia Layus and other town officials welcomed us.  A merienda of buko juice, still in its shell, palitaw ( a sweet, flat and glutinous rice cake topped with brown sugar) and ginataan was prepared for us.  During the presscon, Mayor Layus narrated her plans to put up a zip line facility in the lagoon.  Personally, I would prefer that they leave the lagoon as it is and set up the zip line somewhere else in the town.

Buguey: The "Crab Capital of the North" (Cagayan)

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El Presidente Beach Resort

After breakfast at Eastern Hawaii Casino and Resort, we next headed west, to Ilocos Norte, with stopovers at Buguey and Claveria. We arrived at Buguey by 10 AM and were dropped off at the El Presidente Beach Resort where we were welcomed by town officials led by Mayor Licerio Antiporda III and his wife. The skies were overcast and it was very windy.  Before entering the conference hall, we were given a welcome drink of fresh buko juice, still in its shell, plus crab sandwiches.  While waiting for the start of the press conference, some sampled the Lamba Sparkle Berry Delight, a cocktail consisting of a 1/3 cup each of the following: native Buguey lambanog (nipa palm wine), sparkle and red berry juice, plus half a teaspoon of sugar; then garnished with lime and cherry and, finally, all the ingredients are shaken, strained and poured into a cocktail glass.

Lamba Sparkle Berry Delight

In his speech at the presscon, Mayor Antiporda enumerated his efforts to further boost the town’s tourism potential as well as to fortify its claim to being the “Crab Capital of the North.”  He also informed us that the local government-run El Presidente Beach Resort will soon be undergoing a total makeover, thanks to a PhP32 million loan from Land Bank, and will be turned into a U-shaped, bungalow-type hotel with 15 guestrooms and two dorms and will be renamed as the Buguey Crab Hotel.

Crab claws anyone….?

Afterwards, we were all invited to partake of the feast prepared for us: steamed shrimps; brackish water crabs, both steamed and cooked in the half shell; breaded prawns; seaweed, oysters, fresh fruits (mangoes, bananas) and bocayo (coconut candy). Some, foregoing the use of spoons, forks and knives, decided to dine kamayan style. While we were doing so, we were regaled with a bevy of native dances performed by schoolchildren and young adults.

Driftwood by the beach

After dining, some of us slipped out the conference hall to burn the excess calories gained as well as to check out the windswept black sand beach, observe people harvesting shells or children playing and to admire the high, turbulent waves breaking on the shore, a consequence of the converging waters of the South China Sea, the Pacific Ocean and the Cagayan River.  Prior to our leaving for Claveria, everyone in the media group was gifted with a bottle of Buguey lambanog to take home (I was given two).

A Second Taste of Luxury in Sta. Ana (Cagayan)

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Eastern Hawaii Casino and Resort

After our half-day Palaui Island excursion and lunch at the port, we were again picked up by our CEZA bus and brought to Eastern Hawaii Casino and Resort where we were to spend our second night in Sta. Ana.  Our media group was welcomed, with cool welcome drinks and face towels (in lumpia form), by Front Office supervisor Mr. Carl Dulay and his cheerful and attentive staff.  Surprisingly, I was assigned my very own spacious ground floor airconditioned room .

Check out “Resort Review: Eastern Hawaii Casino and Resort“

My spacious suite

Just like Sun City before, it used to just cater to Chinese from mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau but is now opening its doors to Filipino tourists, we being the first to do so.

The infinity pool

Since it was still early in the afternoon, some of the ladies went for a swim at the pool while Kenneth del Rosario, Sheryl Songsong, Ron Rivera, Kim Madridejos and  I had a pansit merienda and a chat with Mr. Dulay at a picnic shed by the beach.  Later, tired after our Palaui hike, I had a late afternoon siesta at my room.  I totally forgot my complimentary 15-min. massage. Dinner, consisting of a number of ihaw-ihaw (barbecued) dishes (fish, pork, etc.), sizzling sisig, grilled prawns in butter, etc., was served at the nearly finished clubhouse beside the pool.  After dinner, Ms.Ma. Theresa “Tess” Liwanag, the resort’s Asst. Gen. Manager and HR Head, hosted a number of team building games for our group.  My breakfast the next day, at the Chinese restaurant, consisted of longanisa, fried egg, garlic fried rice, coffee and fruits. C’est la vie.

Eastern Hawaii Casino and Resort: Sta. Ana, Cagayan.  Mobile numbers: (0918) 916-0645, (0927) 808-5432 and (0917) 448-2123.

Breathtaking Palaui Island (Sta. Ana, Cagayan)

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Palaui Island

We woke up very early in the morning to overcast skies and rain.  After breakfast at the Cagayan Holiday & Leisure Resort, we all checked out of our villa.  We left our luggage at the hotel lobby for transport to the Eastern Hawaii Resort, later to be our second home in Sta. Ana.  Thus unburdened, we all boarded our CEZA coaster for the fish port at Brgy. San Vicente. Point Escarpada, in Brgy. San Vicente, the sailfin capital of the Philippines.  It has the best fishing grounds for marlin, being at the confluence of several ocean currents that carry baitfish and the larger pelagic predators that hunt them.

White sand beach at Punta Engano

At the port, 5 motorized outrigger boats were chartered to bring us to the undeveloped and seldom visited, 3,850-hectare and volcanic Palaui Island, a 7,415-hectare Protected Landscape and Seascape with a shoreline of 20.6 kms., a length of 10 kms. and a width of 5 kms..  The island is inhabited by a community of Dumagats administered by a Filipino church group and is also home to different monkeys, wild pigs, deer, sea turtle and various endemic and migratory birds.  

Cape Engano Lighthouse

The skies were still overcast when we left port.  With me in the boat was Astra Alegre, Izah Morales, Kara Santos, Nina Fuentes and Kim Madridejos.  Our 45-min. boat ride was uneventful until we reached open water when the sea suddenly became choppy, creating mild to wild panic among the other boats but childish exhilaration (except for the visibly worried Astra) with me and my companions with every rising wave.  We first made short landfall at a gray sand Siwangag Cove for some photo ops then returned to our boats for our final landfall at a gorgeous bay with a curving white sand beach and well-preserved coral.  The beach looked really inviting but we weren’t here for swimming or snorkeling.   Instead, we opted to visit its picturesque old Cape Engaño Lighthouse (Faro de Cabo Engaño), the northernmost Spanish-era lighthouse in the country.  Located on the windswept headland of Punta Engaño, it was designed by Engr. Magin Pers y Pers, started in 1887 and completed on December 30, 1892. Upon reaching the end of the beach, we began our ascent up a mildly sloping to steep trail up the 92.75 m. high, cone-shaped hill, pausing at intervals to admire the Batanes-like scenery of its surroundings.

Dos Hermanas

After a 30-min. hike, we finally reached the lighthouse.  Though now run down and a little eerie, it was obviously a sight to behold during its heyday.  The back of the lighthouse had a panoramic view of the rolling waves of the Pacific Ocean breaking on the beach and rocky shore, the rolling, green-carpeted hills below, the two rocky islands of Dos Hermanas beyond and, farther off, the Babuyan group of islands, leaving all of us awestruck by the sheer beauty of nature before us.  It was already drizzling when we went down the hill and returned to our boats.  The return trip was just as exhilarating as the previous.  Upon arrival at the port, a prepared lunch adobo and rice awaited us at the nearby picnic huts.