Ilocos Norte Road Scenes

This is the Sinking Bell Tower in Laoag City. Older folks said that a man on horseback can enter the tower in the old times. Now the tower has sunk such that those who are allowed to enter have to bend. The bell tower is just a walking distance from St. William Cathedral. The cathedral was built in 1612 by Augustinian friars to replace a wooden chapel.

The bell tower has been a common sight when I attended junior high school at the MMSU Laboratory High School that I did not give it much attention. Today, the sight of it also means "I am back home."

The following photos were taken along the road during my last trip to Ilocos Norte via bus.

                         Entrance to Vigan
 

Somewhat blurred...well they are really blurred...

..

Some nature shots

                     

This intersection is so memorable. This is located in Batac, Ilocos Norte.

 

Manong vendor who sells those native household tools is about to cross the intersection towards the city center of Batac. He came from the Paoay-Batac road in front of the sprawling main campus of Mariano Marcos State University. The pedestrian lane bypasses the national highway.

The San Nicolas municipal hall

Park beside San Nicolas municipal hall

The San Nicolas rotonda, on the far right you can see the municipal hall and its red rooftop.

Just a glimpse and yet so excited! Laoag!

Another pic of the welcome arc of Laoag City

The Gilbert Bridge that connects Laoag to other towns

                                               

      The Aurora Park is like an island at the foot of Gilbert Bridge

                  

The Marcos Hall of Justice Building is the 2-story building in the background

A shopping square near the provincial capitol of Ilocos Norte

The Dingras municipal hall. From Laoag to San Nicolas, on to Sarrat, the town of Dingras comes next.

                     

                     

                     

Provincial feels

     

               

                   

I realized that you also have to reconnect sometimes...

Solsona - brooks sing in my town

Its been so long now since I last visited the place where I grew up. From my relatives’ stories it seems that a lot of infrastructure projects has changed the town.

I love the morning breeze and the fog that envelopes the town and its barrios. Bucolic. Sounds old and a bit corny but for me — that (!) is the right term. (How long it will last, that, I am not sure).

A cousin gave me copies of some photos that I’ve been asking from her. I was awed when I saw in some of the pictures that fog still envelopes the town in the early morning. The air at such hour is so cold, very fresh, your exposed extremities get numb and you may even get the chills. It is at this hour that a short dip in one of its rivers or streams is best. The water may be cold but it totally refreshes you and gives just the right shot of adrenaline to power you up for the day! The water that nourishes the town flows from mountain streams. In some places you can still dig holes beside riverbanks, let the water settle and get clearer, then you may drink the water from your small well right there. The water tastes sweet and refreshing, yes, it is still clean.

The people in my town are very hardy, more so the barrio folks. They farm well and they know how to make use of their environment efficiently. They gather freshwater shells from the rivers and stream. They cook these into unusual but yummy dishes when fish is hard to catch and the harvest is low. They may use kaingin in their farms but they plant trees not only for subsistence but also for shelter. I believe that an increasing number in migration and global influence are somehow causing a difference in my townmate’s ideals. A lot of them are in a hurry to catch up with the rest of the world. Some are not aware of the grave consequences that their efforts to improve their lives has produced.

I feel sad when I last visited my town. The town may have progressed into one of the most progressive towns in the whole province of Ilocos Norte, but sadly the landscape has changed.

I get emotional whenever I am in the open field. I love open spaces. I love breathing in the fresh air, more so of my town. I love to look at the green fields, the meadows, paths criss-crossing streams into the woods, wide rivers whose waters turn from crystal clear to green and to deep blue. Brooks sing in my hometown, the sound of the water sound like melodies to my ears. I get so happy just by gazing at streams slicing farmlands, even in irrigation ditches and canals (built by the local government and a Japanese construction company). If you are an outdoorsy person you will understand what I am trying to say here.

I love how nature is in my town, I just hope that the quarrying, illegal logging, and other practices that are accelerating its environmental destruction will abate. I hope that the local officials or NGOs will see to it that the town’s natural environment be saved. I am hoping too that reforestation and saving the water sources, as well as saving the river shorelines from too much dredging and quarrying be given immediate consideration, before it’s too late...

other photos in Ilocos

here are some of the pics that we took during or vacation last December '06 in Ilocos

Elmer and JB were relaxing in Aunty Pil's sideyard when this was taken (during our 1st day)

this is Solsona's municipal hall

the "teatro." this is where i saw a lot of programs (be it during the town fiesta, school presentations, etc.) since childhood until my teen years. i can "vaguely" remember a Marcos political sortie when i was still small, that was the 1st time i saw Marcos and Imelda from afar, there were a lot of people then, and there were bus loads of artistas...

the "improved" basketball court in Solsona now doubles as the tennis court

taken infront of the water fountain in Solsona's town plaza (December 2006), taken in the afternoon of our 1st day there

JB and Joy infront of the new unpainted statue at Solsona's town plaza

this was taken in aunty Pil's frontyard after we went swimming in Gasgas (river)

This was taken in Laoag, Laoag's Sinking Bell Tower can be seen in the background, as well as the park with its December 2006 holiday decorations

Elmer infront of the Tobacco Monopoly obelisk in Laoag's town plaza

the building behind Elmer is the Hall of Justice. the young Marcos lawyer was incarcerated in one of the rooms in that building while being charged as Nalundasan's assasin

mom at Laoag's town plaza. the grand building behind is the Ilocos Norte Provincial Capitol