North Invasion (First Part)
Relph Desingano| Fri, 26 Jun 2009 03:22:22 PM | 
2
A lot of Filipinos aspire to go to different parts of the world to witness its beauty firsthand. First on the list is Europe where they can see the culture, tradition and scenery which attract most of the luxurious people in the world. America has also its own pride with the high-rise buildings, technological infrastructures, beaches of carnivorous sharks and top-ranking universities in the world. Asia as the biggest continent has a lot to boast of with its exotic culture and tradition as the Westerners would say. Even Africa has the potential to be a tourist giant if given the right leaders, motivation and education. But where does the Philippines lie? Ask a foreigner of what he/she thinks of the Philippines, and often they would say BORACAY. But the Philippines has more to offer than just Boracay, much more beautiful than Boracay I shall say. Last June 12-14, my friends from Lauan and I went to Region 1 of the Philippines to appreciate the not-so-commercialized scenic spots it has to offer. And for me, it is yet the most beautiful region I have had visited in my whole life.
The first church we visited in our trip was the Sta. Maria de Assunta in Ilocos Sur. The interior part of the church is huge as the exterior part of the church would reflect. Local people gather here to worship God. There are also a lot of images and replicas of the Virgin Mary and of the saints inside, showing the artistic side of the Ilocanos.
The next destination was the famous Vigan City and its old Spanish style Kalye Crisologo. The street itself still captures the ambiance of Spanish colonization and of 1880's Filipino culture. The road is somewhat gray brick and the stores are of old Sari-sari store style selling pasalubong. My friends bought here a wheel of the kalesa for 2,000 pesos and had a pair of free horse shoes; well, the deal is economical for both parties.
The next church we visited was the Paoay Church. Although we were not able to go inside because it's already closed, we can infer that this is a well visited church because of its architectural beauty and wide grassfields. And the evening effect added to its dramatic complexion in the picture.
As the night falls, we stayed in an accommodating dormitory where we slept peacefully. On the second day, we first attended Mass and after that we ate breakfast at Jun's home (by the way, this is also a homecoming for Jun Ballesteros). After the usual morning ceremonies, we continued on our journey. Jun showed us a surprising part of Ilocos Norte. And this part is a dry desert. Near the desert is a body of water as one of the pictures would show. And we saw some trails of some sort of a reptile on the desert.
I noticed that there are a lot of big Roman Catholic churches in Ilocos Norte. Include the San Agustin church. The lot allotted for this church is relatively big for a Philippine church. But don't be fooled because there's a museum owned by and attached to this church. The interior is still relatively big for a Philippine church. I remember that we were not allowed to go near the altar by the guard of the church. But we insisted that we were only there to visit and pray. In the end, the power of prayer prevailed.
In every road trip, who would miss the museum? The concrete time machine of the museum connects the place's past to the present. The main museum in Ilocos Norte portrayed culture, tradition and history it has been up into. Many early tools and clothing are showed in the trail to be followed inside. It also offers the past events that helped Ilocos Norte to be formed of what it is now.
The watchtower of Ilocos Norte was the highest peak we visited in the region. We didn't stay long there though because there are a lot of people in line and we are in a hurry. I can say that the place is worth seeing but it needs to be renovated because its materials are already ancient and observably weak. /To be concluded.