My wife and I went to the Ilocos region last Monday to have my Visa renewed at the China embassy in Laoag. It took less than an hour to complete the application and the submission of the passport. In Manila it will take almost the whole day because of the large number of people doing the same thing.

We were done at the embassy by 10:30am and we have the rest of the day to do a side trip so we decided to visit the Bangui windmills and the ivory beach in Pagudpud. We reached the windmills an hour later and did some picture taking of the spectacular view. Also drove on the sandy road beside the windmills.

I was enjoying my drive on the sandy road and was overconfident that I drove on a softer pack of sand to get to the other side of the road and got stuck in the process :). I can't use my winch because there were no nearby tow points. Some guys came to help but all four wheels were in deep sand that my truck won't budge. One of the guys finally recommended that we ask help from the nearby NPDC office. I spoke with the manager about my truck’s situation and he was eager to help with the recovery. With my tow strap he pulled my Strada using his Frontier. Just a short pull rearwards my Strada was freed from the bog. The manager told me that even their 4x4 vehicles don’t pass through the sandy area where my Strada got stuck except when the sand is wet.

-ganda mamasyal dito sa ILOCOS, last time i went here was last april 2009.


i also did a trip to north from baguio-la union- ilocos sur-ilocos norte-cagayan then to my province isabela....and back to baguio via nueva ecija..



post some more pictures Sir GU...


- dito din ata punta sila ACER this holyweek eh..

@ sir GU,

glad to hear that someone came to help you out of the sand...


"kitam man nga talaga ti ILOKANO, managtulong".

Sir Benidict, we're indeed glad someone helped us get unstuck :).

We drove on to our final destination which is the ivory beach in Pagudpud. We ate lunch in one of the resorts while admiring the beauty of the beach. After having our lunch we checked on the other resorts to see which one is the best and concluded that the resort where we ate lunch is the best place for visitors.

While on our way back to Laoag we came across a welcoming billboard to Cape Bojeador Lighthouse. We drove up the hill to see what’s in there. We entered the lighthouse and walked up to the topmost area of the tower. Aside from the nice surrounding views we got to see what the inside of a lighthouse tower is and we’re really glad that we dropped by.






It was already almost 6pm when we reached Laoag City. Spent the night in one of the hotels and in the morning went back to the embassy to retrieve my updated passport then we headed home.

whhoaa.... very nicensir GU





i just missed the north, especially pagudpud, whateher at SAUD beach or at BLUE LAGOON. the beach especially at summer is a good view, parang walang alon at sobrang tahimik.



i still have a few days to work on my schedule and change plans para makapamasyal ulit sa pagudpud, mawawala ang pagod sa biyahe at pagdrive sa ganda ng views,


not to mention the BEACH BABES...

did you happen to reach PATAPAT viaduct sir GU?



antay na lang muna ako ng mga ibang posts mo, for sure there's a lot more pictures you have there.

Haven't seen any beach babe during our trip :D .

No sir we haven't reached Patapat. But we've been there 15 years ago :) .

nice adventure!!!nakakainggit ka sir. :thumbs up: :thumbs up:

Thank you, sir Conzky :).

More pics:

nice pics. sir! ganda talaga dyan sa pagudpud... nabalaho din kami dyan sa may wind mill nung nag-punta kami dyan nung mga kaibigan ko, strada din gamit namin kaso yung GLX na 4x2 lang, buti na lang madami kami nun kaya nadaan sa tulak..hehe.. (nabalaho kami dahil sakin)..

galing ng adventures ninyo sir. :thumbs up: ... dami talaga nagagawa pagka 4wd.

Ang cool ng mga adventure nyo with ur strada...
:thumbs up:

Anong reason sir bakit nabalaho nang dahil sa iyo?

wow ang linis nung beach na kinainan nyo sir a! last time i was there medyo madami pang kahoy at dahon dahon na kalat hehehe

Nice shots =D

@ Sir GU,


yung sa may parang lake na may mga ducks, where is it in Ilocos?

WOW! nice pics sir GU!


very nice place to go to relax!


been there 'bout 2 or 3 years ago (twice in a month pa. hehehe).... just like what sir benidict had mentioned, Saud and Blue Lagoon are some of the wonderful beaches to go when in Pagudpod. Dos Hermanos at the blue lagoon are a beauty. Not to mention the Viaduct and the Kabigan falls!


Hope to visit Ilocos again! :thumbs up:

It is actually a swamp beside Saud Resort. Nice place to do bird watching :).

A relaxing place, indeed. Got to see Blue Lagoon and the Kabigan Falls next time we visit Ilocos :).

nag-pipicture picture kami sa mga windmill sir, tapos naisip ko dalin sa malapit sa pampang yung pick-up tapos dun magpa-picture, tapos pagka-picture nung ibabalik ko na dahan-dahan lang ako dahil napansin ko medyo basa yung buhangin tapos ayun na, unti-unti na bumabaon yung gulong sa likod..hehe.. halos isang oras din bago namin nai-alis dun sa malambot na part.. nag-sisisi nga yung may-ari nung strada na bakit daw kasi hindi pa yung GLS sport ang kinuha niya.. :D (nag-tipid kasi)

eto sir yung mga picture namin habang naka-balaho.. :D

- I got it sir GU, the swamp is in between the road to Saud and the beach, just being hidden by coconut trees.

one of my best buds family way back in high school owns PUNTA GARVIDA.




-hayyyy, summer na summer na talaga....


PAGUDPUD- boracay of the north

saya naman, trip trip to the summer guys!!!! :thumbs up: :drive: :thumbs up:

sir bonspeed,

si master ZOILEX ba itong poging nasa harap?

ay OT na pala...

Sir Bonspeed, and dami ninyo ah :D. Counted 8 people sa group ninyo :).

Good thing the sand is wet noong dinala mo yung Strada malapit sa pampang kasi pag dried yan mas malambot hehe. Nice pixs BTW :thumbs up: .

Baka interested yung owner to become a member ng The Strada Club of the Philippines (TSCP). We will be having a fun run to Mount Pulag on April 9 baka interested siyang sumama and be a member at the same time ;) .

@ benidict - hindi po sir.. kapatid ko sir(kuya) yung kalbo na asa harap na yan..hehe...

@ GU9126 - oo sir 8 kami, bali 2 sasakyan pala yung dala namin yang strada tapos yung isa Mitsubishi Fuzion(ubos pera namin sa gas)...

oo nga sir eh, kung malambot yun at talagang lumubog ng husto malamang iwanan na nila ako dun sa windmill.. :D

actually sir gusto niya mag-member kaso tinatamad naman siya pumunta ng manila para sa mga meet.. kaya lang nabenta na din ata sir niya yung strada eh, last december ata...

Hoping he bought a GLS or a GLS Sport as replacement :D.

Nice trip and pics sir GU!

Nastuck rin kami sa may bangui during our trip before.. nakakataranta dahil walang katao tao dun hehehehe buti nalang may rumoronda at nahila yung kotse hehehe

It's good that eventually meron humila sa inyo, sir Burnout :). Kailan kaya fun run nating BAF members papuntang Pagudpud :??: .

wow! nice pagudpod getaway sir! :D dami na talaga ninyong napuntahan... :D

Plus one on the pics! Galing Sir GU! Lalim ng kinain ng sand ah. :D

Thank you , sir Ulrich. Daming places na gusto kong puntahan pero have to balance attending to my work and the urge to go places hehe.

Lalong lumalim noong nagback-up ako :D . Yung mga differentials medyo nakabaon na rin sand so talagang hindi na kayang itulak ng mga boys.

sama din ako mga Ser...






sana dis summer na, after holyweek para medyo konti tao, and of course weekends...



-mga batang BBR, ihanda ang mga OTO

Boss ben, sabihan mo kami kung lalarga tayo ng pagudpod, para matono na mga sasakyan. hehehe....

VIGAN tayo dis weekend...


long weekend ito...

waaa

i miss going back to pagudpud

sobrang ganda duon promise...




1st time ko duon di ko ineexpect na may ganun pala sa pilipinas hehehe



sir gu,

hindi po kayo napadaan sa kapurpurawan white rock formation? pwedeng pwede yung strada niyo duon! napakaganda dun! :D

Nasaan po location ng Kapurpurawan Rock Formation, sir Marvs?

Might be going to Pagudpud again next month :).

wow! ang ganda talaga sa Pagudpod

:jaw drop:

:cool pics:

nice adventure sir GU9126 gusto ko din mag punta dyan sa lugar na yan kaso hindi ko alam kung pano mag punta dyan eh :(

Sir lowprofile69, it is actually easy going to Pagudpud. All you need is a compass and a map :). Just follow the major road ahead going north and around an hour after passing by Laoag you won't miss the Banggui Windmills which can be seen at a distant from the left side of the road, then the signboard to the Pagudpud Beach, and then Patapat Viaduct. Sa Laoag City meron turns that may be missed, like I did, but you can ask the locals to point you to the right direction when you notice on your compass that you're no longer travelling northwards.