This is my third time in Ilocos Sur, but my first time to actually tour. Our Selected destination is Candon City. We stayed at Smurf Cottages (http://smurfcottages.com/). It is a beach front resort located in Darapidap Beach. It features soft gray sands and clear waters.
Getting to Ilocos Sur is not a short trip, you have to travel by bus for 8 hours. For this journey, we chose Florida Bus Lines. The station is located at Lacson St., Near UST, Manila. It is the pink colored bus. We were on the De Luxe bus with CR and the seats were wide and comfortable all for only 460 pesos. We only had two stop overs and the travel time is fast and smooth. We left the station at 11:00 in the evening. We were supposed to reach Candon City by 7:00AM the next day, but we reached our destination at 5:00AM. It was still dark so we stayed at the park for a while and wait until sunshine. We attended the 6:00AM mass before going to our resort. We bought firewood on our way for our planned bonfire by the beach. Check-in time was supposedly 1:00PM. We waited for the rooms to be cleaned before we were allowed to check-in at around 11:00AM.
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| Candon Church |
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Upon checking-in, we immediately prepared our lunch. We already brought cooked Adobo with quail eggs with us. After some rest, we dipped at the resort's pool and had a stroll along the beach. Later that night, we prepared our bonfire, and set-up the grill beside the beach. We grilled some hotdogs, pork chops, and toasted some mallows over the bonfire. After some fun chats, we went back to our rooms to sleep and prepare for tomorrow's activity.
Day 2. We woke up early to have our breakfast and prepare going to Vigan. We rode a van from Candon City Center to Vigan for only 80 pesos each. Upon reaching Vigan, We had our pictures taken at the Cathedral and rented a Kalesa which will tour us around. The ride was cheap, but I forgot the exact amount but it is on a per hour basis. The driver took us to Bantay Bell Tower, Hidden Garden where we tasted our first Vigan Empanada, and our last stop was at the Heritage Village where you can find the famous old houses. We bought some souvenir items and walked our way to the plaza where we ate cheaper yet equally delicious Empanada. The van waited for us at the terminal so we didn't have to worry waiting for a ride back. When we got back to Candon, we went to the market to buy food for our dinner. Back at the resort, we had grilled fish and steamed veggies. We used the huts inside the resort facing the sea. After dinner, we played billiards. All amenities at the resort are free for checked-in guests. We also had some drinks at the bar.
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| Road going to Vigan |
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| Vigan Marker |
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| Vigan Cathedral |
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| Bantay Bell Tower |
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| Atop the Bell Tower |
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| Hidden Garden |
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| Vigan Heritage Village |
Day 3, our last day. After breakfast, we enjoyed the beach for a final swim. We checked out at exactly 12:00PM and headed our way to the City Center. We tried a different kind of Empanada. In Candon, empanadas have color while Vigan empanada has none but tastes better. We looked for a local eatery where we can eat traditional Ilocano dishes. We were referred by some people at Bistro Candon. It's just a tricycle away and yes, they serve the best Ilocano dishes in town. The chef noticed that we were tourists because of our bags. Then suddenly, the waiter brought us complimentary iced teas. We enjoyed the famous Dinengdeng, Bagnet, and Longaniza.
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| Pool Side View outside our room |
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| Yummy Pinakbet! |
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| Crispy Bagnet |
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| Special Dinengdeng |
There are no major bus stations in Candon, so we had to take chance on whatever bus that will pass by. This time, the first bus was Partas. We were so disappointed because the fare is much higher but the seat pitch is smaller, No CR and yet the conductor said it is a deluxe bus that is why the fare is higher. It had three stop overs, and travel time is way longer. We hardly slept during the travel because it was not that smooth. I recommend everyone to always take Florida Bus instead. We should have waited more, and should have saved more time.
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