Ilocos (Salomague), Philippines

As we disembarked the ship this morning we were warmly greeted by young people who had come out to meet the ship and hang their "welcome to Philippines" garlands around our necks. I think this city in the Philippines has been the friendliest and most appreciative of visitors of any country we’ve been to so far. As we boarded our respective buses and headed out of the port area, almost every person we saw gave us an enthusiastic wave.

 

off our balcony - this is what we woke up to this morning!

 

greeting us as we exit the ship

 

putting "Welcome" garlands on each passenger as we exit ship

 

girls in traditional dress

Since much of our time away from the ship was spent riding on the bus, I'll post a few "bus window" photos to give you an idea of the kind of things we see. There are so many different transportation modes that we don't see in the US. I'm not sure what these are called, but there are a lot of them here, in addition to motor bikes and cars.

bamboo is used a lot in new construction

motor bikes with side cars are everywhere

hope this little guy is belted in!

bike with side car

garlic is one of the main crops in the Ilocos region

 

Today’s excursion was called “Paoay Sand Dunes Adventure” and it definitely was an adventure. First we were driven to Paoay (about an hour and 20 minutes from the port) and then to Suba Sand Dunes where we boarded 4x4’s, with 4 guest per vehicle. There were no seats in the back – the only option was to stand and hold on! Even 3 was a crowd so I decided to ride up front with the driver, which turned out to be a smart move. Three minutes after boarding I realized why we had to sign a waiver for this excursion before even getting off the ship. Let me just say that it was a wild ride! 

 

Suba San Dunes where we boarded

 

giggin' em in his Aggie socks

up and down...

 

beautiful blue waters of Suba Beach

crystal blue water

Ilocos Norte, Luzon, Philippines

 

We rode with another couple from New Zealand. Ronnie was chatting with them and they asked where we were from. When he told them Texas, they asked where. When he told them College Station, the man immediately said “Texas A&M" - small world! Turns out they have several family members who have attended A&M! 

After boarding the 4x4s, we were taken on a very bumpy ride through the dunes to the beach. At the beach, we got out and snapped a few photos, then headed back, stopping only once to grab a quick shot by the stacked rocks. After returning to the area where we initially boarded, we were offered the opportunity to ride a sand board down a dune. Of course Ronnie wanted to try and the second time he even tried going down standing up, making it about 2/3 of the way down before falling off.

Kiwis and Us

stacked stones

 

I took some video during our ride over the dunes but am having trouble posting it - maybe later. After re-boarding the bus, we were driven about 20 minutes away to the Saint Augustine Church (commonly known as the Paoay Church) which is part of the UNESCO world heritage list. The Paoay Church is one of the oldest churches in the Philippines, completed in 1710. Some local young people were dancing when we arrived. 

 

high school students performing a traditional dance

 

 

After seeing the church, we had a little extra time to wander around the area before heading back to port. Our guides do the best they can but with English being their second language, they are often very hard to understand. I'm pretty sure he told us that the church was made of stones, shells and eggs or egg whites. However, in writing this post I looked it up and Wikipedia says the mortar used in the church is made from sand and lime with sugarcane juice boiled with mango leaves, leather and rice straw. Whatever, it was an amazing structure given it’s age and history.

 

Paoay Church

completed 1710 - UNESCO site

 

interior - Church of Paoay

rosaries for sale

please buy some pearls?

There is always something to buy when we're out and about. The boy above was so nice - I wish I could have bought something from him, but I didn't need pearls. Returning to the ship, some locals were cooking traditional foods to sell. The lady below was rolling out an orange dough, then filling with vegetables and deep frying. All in all, it was an enjoyable day except for the heat and humidity, which were pretty awful.