A journey through the Ilocos region of Luzon reveals a Philippine heartland bursting with character and attractions, from the historic sites of Vigan and the sand dunes of Paoay, to wild beaches on the South China Sea where an adventurous spirit is a prerequisite, but roughing it is not. - By Gabriel Malvar
The island of Luzon harbors plenty of architectural relics from its colonial days, from Taal's massive Basilica de San Martin de Tours-the largest church in the Philippines-to the 17th-century walled city of Intramuros in Manila, where I live. But in the somber light of dawn, nowhere is more transporting than Calle Crisologo, the half-kilometer-long stretch of cobblestone that runs through the old Mestizo district of Vigan.
It's 6 a.m., and the street is still slumbering. On either side of me are rows of two-story ancestral houses dating back at least two centuries, built in a grand fusion of Spanish, Chinese, and Filipino styles. The only sounds are the distant clip-clop of hooves on stone from a kalesa (horse-drawn carriage), and the faint murmurs of early risers from behind capiz-shell windows or stone gateways. There's a magic about it that has me conjuring scenes from the past when Vigan-the country's third-oldest Spanish settlement after Cebu and Manila-was a bustling colonial trading port. I picture merchants counting sacks of tobacco or clay jars of basi (sugarcane wine), and ladies sitting on the windowsills above, fanning themselves under terra-cotta-tiled eaves.
Read the full story in the print or digital edition of newbielink:http://www.destinasian.com [nonactive]'s June/July 2011 issue newbielink:http://www.destinasian.com [nonactive] newbielink:http://www.destinasian.com [nonactive]
