LDR Homecoming Date: Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte

Dodong recently bought himself his dream car, a 2010 Mitsubishi Lancer EX if I am not mistaken (I am not exactly into cars…they are all the same to me. Hehehe!). Of course, the timing of the purchase and delivery of the actual car was during this homecoming so that he would be able to break it in. And what better way to break-in his new Mitsubishi Lancer EX through a nice long road trip to the tip of Luzon: Pagudpud Ilocos Norte.

So last Wednesday, we took a very loooooooooooong drive to Pagudpud. The drive was around 11-12 hours through 600ish kilometers of highways and side streets from Manila.

So was the drive worth it?

DEFINITELY!

The roadtrip was the perfect opportunity for us catch up and reconnect more in an isolated setting (Yes, it was just the two of us) with such a limited time (Huhuhuhu!). Here are the things we did in Pagudpud:

Rest!

We stayed at Kapuluan Vista Resort, where we originally booked only one night. BUT since we were really pooped from the long drive, we decided to extend our stay and added another night.

Dodong (the driver, of course) was so tired that we actually spent rest of the afternoon and evening just sleeping!

Explore the beauty of nature

Pagudpud is not just beaches. Though it was my second time to go there (the last time was around 15 years ago. Hehehe!), I discovered so many other things we could do aside from swim.

I personally would not recommend swimming in the Pagudpud beaches because the waves are just too big and the undertow too strong even a strong swimmer like myself can't survive. So we did take a nice leisurely stroll on the rocks and picked up nice shells as souvenirs for our respective houses.

Beside the beaches are hike friendly hills, which we did explore too. It was a quick 5-minute walk from Kapuluan Vista and a 15-minute hike up the hillsssss. The climb will give you a spectacular, breathtaking view of Pagudpud! We felt so blessed by God when we saw the beauty of his creation Really! If we would have more time, we would have hiked some more. Maybe next time

Eat the glorious local specialties

For us, who really love to eat (me in particular), the food is a highlight I was so glad that part of our package with Kapuluan Vista was free breakfast and Ilocos longganiza (sausage) was one of the choices. I definitely went for it and enjoyed every bite. YUM!

We also ate the famous Ilocos empanada, deep fried local delicacy of a flaky pastry dough stuffed silly with veggies, Ilocos longganiza and egg. Unfortunately, the picture is just crappy (it was just too dark!) so I won't upload it. Hehehe!

Take lots and lots of pictures

Of course, there must be proof that we were there…together! The only downside of being just us on the trip is that we couldn't take as much pictures of us together. Hehehehe! Most of the pictures in my camera is of Dodong, while his camera is full of my pictures

But we were creative enough to use the timers of our cameras (well, mostly his camera) to be able to take pictures of US. All we needed was a stable and sturdy base to place the cameras on with a nice view of course.

Would we go back to Pagudpud? Hmmm…of course, since we still had a lot to explore. We missed out on one of the other rock formations, the falls, and the long hike up the hills. But instead of driving there, we'd be flying in the next time. You can actually take a plane to Laoag and have the resort pick you up from there. The drive was just too tiring. Hehehehe!

Would you go to Pagudpud as a homecoming date too?

Love the distance,

Inday I. Nagintay

P.S. So sorry for the crappy quality of the pictures. My camera seems to be acting up. Huhuhu too!

Love the distance,

Inday I. Nagintay