Baluarte, Ilocos Sur

Baluarte is just a ten-minute drive from Vigan City. This place is owned by Governor Chavit Singson. It was his rest house before he decided to open it to the public so that more people could enjoy his animal collections. Construction of the facility is still ongoing. Here's what will pique your interest in visiting his zoo: there are no entrance or parking fees here. Yes, it is free!

Bantay Bell Tower, Ilocos Sur

When you visit Vigan, include visiting the Bantay Bell Tower, which is just a neighboring barangay outside Vigan's Poblacion Area. More photos are below.

Vigan : A must place to visit

Vigan Heritage, Calle Crisologo

 It could have taken us a very long journey to reach Vigan City, but in return, it gave us back more than we expected.  I am proud to have visited this place and will not forget an extraordinary experience comparing it to other regions in the Philippines that I have been to.  Some people do not enjoy traveling because they only see places that have no differences at all.  Typically, what you'll see traveling in the whole Philippine Islands are the views of the mountains, seas on the other side of the road, and rice fields.  Looking at that point of view will really make you realize that there are no differences at all, and you end up thinking of wasting time and money going out and visiting other places.  Pakner4lyf and I love to travel.  Whenever we visit new places, we try to observe and search for things that are not in our place, and you'll be surprised that there really is a difference, and we still appreciate the common things we share as we are connected as Filipinos.  That's how we enjoy traveling and most of all at the end of our travel we go home with lots of ideas we learned from the new people we meet.

Long Road Trip with Children: From South to North Luzon

Photo taken at Ilocos Sur

 I never thought this trip was really going to happen. A few months ago, Pakner4lyf told me that he had received an invitation to speak at a church in Mangaldan, Pangasinan.  He said he wanted us (me and the children) to join him. For some reason, I hadn't taken his word seriously.  It's hard to travel with the children, and that's one major concern. I have seen how serious my husband was about this trip.  He informed my parents about the planned out-of-town travel and asked if they could join us. At first, they seemed uninterested, but on the scheduled date of departure, I saw that they were as excited as we were.  It's great that they can come along so we have someone to share the expenses with.  Our original plan was to use my parents' SUV (Sportivo) because it is bigger and more spacious compared to our car (Toyota Vios). However, due to unforeseen circumstances, one of the SUV's tires was flat and badly damaged, and we learned that the tires were no longer suitable for long travels. Therefore, it needed a new set of tires. Unfortunately, we didn't have enough time to buy new tires and change them, so we ultimately decided to leave using our car.

We left Batangas City at noon on November 16, 2013.  We stopped at Petron in Lipa Star Tollway and filled up there while buying the limited Chevrolet Toy Car.  We always took the opportunity to fill the tank outside Batangas City because gas is cheaper there.  On our way to South Super Highway, Mom and I noticed that Eu-La started to look pale and complained of her stomach.  So we immediately found a nearby gas station to take a break and have our late lunch, which made Eu-La feel much better.  We asked Eu-La to sleep whenever she felt dizzy, and I was glad she was cooperative.  Our little girl slept most of the time during our road trip.