UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE - PAOAY CHURCH.....

St. Augustine Church of Paoay, Ilocos Norte.....






Temples of Angkor Wat?






From Another Angle.....





Visitors Inside The Church.....






The Restaurant Across The Church.....






Pinakbet Pizza Anyone?






I Suggest You Improve Your Service.....






Feel The Heat.....






I haven't been to Paoay Church or St. Augustine Church of Paoay in a long time. And the last time I was here, I didn't have a camera with me hence I failed to take pictures of the church. And I just tagged along with my cousins who where suppose to be going to Laoag to do an errand.

The church was the second in our itinerary for the day. But we had to eat first since we have not eaten breakfast yet. A restaurant which was just across the street was the only place to eat. However, service was slow that we could not wait that much longer anymore and were famished. We ended up eating at a turo-turo which had some cooked viands left. Me? I was happy to have chicharon with kamatis, bagoong, lasona as my lunch.

The weather became extremely hot that I developed headaches as the day wore on. By the time we were at Fort Ilocandia, I just had to take a nap inside the van while the rest of the gang went to the Malacanan of the North, which was actually the summer house of the Marcoses during their reign.



The New Bridge.....






The Historic One.....






Excuse Me, Bless.....






A Study Of Light and Shadow Series.....





















Planning a Shot.....






A Jump Shot.....







It is actually the day when we have to return to Manila. And one of the things we missed shooting was the Quirino Bridge which connects the town of Santa to Vigan. I was impressed with the way we tried to catch up the time as the driver literally stepped on the gas and the van flew by. We momentarily stopped by Vigan to buy pasalubong and to eat Vigan empanada. We were way ahead of schedule of catching the sunset at the bridge.

IN AND AROUND STA. MONICA CHURCH, SARRAT, ILOCOS NORTE AND OTHERS....

The Church Of Sta. Monica In Sarrat, Ilocos Norte.....






The Altar In Different Views.....









Statue of Sta. Monica.....






Detailed Interior.....















Open Sesame!






The Belfry.....






One Of The Stations Of The Cross.....






The Parish Museum And Convent Ruins.....





















The Real Adobe Up, Close And Personal.....






The Edralin House Of Ferdinand.....






On the third day of our trip we went to Sarrat, Ilocos Norte. Compared to other towns which features a well known church, one can say that this was off the tourist track. For one thing, Sarrat is not a town close to the national highway like for example Sta. Lucia, where the church can be seen from the national road instantaneously. I am not so sure if this church happens to be the largest in the whole of Ilocos Norte but its massive structures can make this church lay its claim to being one.

One can not mention the church of Sta. Monica without mentioning the name of the late former President Ferdinand Edralin Marcos immediately after it. Marcos was born here in Sarrat. And during his term as president, his daughter, Irene Marcos was married to Greggy Araneta in a very ostentatious and grandiose wedding ceremony. Imagine a red carpet that stretched for kilometers and there was even a talk of opening up a private airstrip for guests to use when arriving for the wedding. How ironic that two months after the wedding,on August 7, an earthquake of intensity 7.6 affected Ilocos Norte and destroyed the altar and belfry of the church.

A huge hotel like building was erected and served as the guesthouse for those who attended the wedding of the former presidential daughter. Nowadays, the building has been transformed into the municipal town hall which houses the offices of the local government.

THE WIND FARM REVISITED THEN ONWARDS TO FOODIE HAVEN.....

From The Watering Hole.....
















From The Shore.....











Me, Myself And My Shadow.....









Car Stickers?






A funny thing happened as we proceeded to the Bangui Wind Farm. I could not find the famous yellow house! And the terrain that we went through was a different one, as I suddenly found ourselves near a brook where cows hang out and abound. I could not find the trail which leads to an area where a bare shelter exists. All I know is we did not enter the alley where the tricycle terminal is. Have we entered that, then perhaps, I might have seen the yellow house.

I did not expect to see the cows meandering though. I mean, the last thing I would want to see is a bovine get freaked out by the sudden appearance of us humans and then decides to attack us as it goes berserk. It is after all the animal's territory and we were the trespassers. I do admit I was very cautious as I took pictures of the site.

I also noticed the change in the gusty wind when we were at the beach. The last time I was here, I arrived around noon, the wind from the South China Sea coming in towards the shore was too strong, enough to topple someone off balance in some instance. My tripod had to be supported further as I took pictures of the scenery. As we arrived at the farm at around dusk, the sea was calmer and a light breeze can be felt.

Shucks! And I could not think about taking photos of the wind turbines during this time of day as I still thought about that effing yellow house! Ever since we saw a shot of a fellow club member of this yellow house that landed him on the pages of Reader's Digest, there has been a significant interest to photograph the house! And its location has been a mystery since no one in the club has seen it until I finally saw it the first time I was here.

But I am so glad though, as my friends seemed to enjoy prancing through the calm waters as they also took pictures not only of the scenery but also of themselves.

Time to hit the road and head back to Laoag as our day was about to end with the fading light.

After a few moments though, we passed by a bridge and saw the setting sun. A few of us decided to go down in a hurry and run as fast as we can to capture the scene. The others were busy taking sunset pictures but I took photos of other scenes.









Special thanks to my friend Sam Blas, owner of Saramsam Cafe and Balay de Blas. I asked for his help when we failed to secure a decent accommodation in Laoag. He actually made a call to his friend who owned a good hotel in San Nicolas, which is the town before one enters Laoag called Mira de Polaris. I was blown away! He even was kind enough to bargain for the rooms in my behalf! Oh yes, I wanted to go to his place but it was fully booked since it was a long weekend hence the referral.

So we did the next best thing, ate at his restaurant. I wanted to try the Pinakbet Pizza (and take pictures of it too) but the waiter brought us poque-poque pizza instead. But it was delicious! I also ordered their crispy bagnet for Bless, Erwin and Buboy to try. So glad they loved it!



The Crispy Bagnet.....









Vulgar But Delicious, Poque-poque Pizza