The road to Vigan

It was time to leave the mountains to head for the colonial city of Vigan, near the coast. I did so with mixed feelings. The amount of rain we'd had in the last few days had been disappointing but I loved the mountain landscapes and fresh air, and knew it would be hot and humid at lower levels.

It was cool but dry as we set off, after a good breakfast that had included homemade rolls straight from the oven. Jezzy asked Edwin to stop several times as we left Sagada, to show us more of the hanging and cave coffins, including one on its own with a sign proclaiming it the ‘Lonely Coffin'!

We also stopped at several viewpoints to look down at the rice terraces in different stages, from flooded and empty (for cleaning) through young plants to those almost ready for harvest.

The road wound down via interminable hairpin bends, testing Edwin’s driving, to reach the valley of what Jezzy told us was the Chico River, although Google maps suggest that it was the Lagben. There, rice still grew but on flat paddy fields.

We crossed the river and started to climb again, up the mountains on the far side. But here the weather was much brighter, with blue sky, sunshine and just a few clouds to make the sky interesting. At the highest point we made a longer stop at a more developed viewpoint, the Quirino Skyline. There we could look back over the valley we had crossed to the mountain ridge that hid Sagada, as well as to more mountains in the other direction. There were also some beautiful cloudscapes.

From here we dropped down to the coast where we had a good lunch in a hotel in Santiago Cove. Then it was on to the UNESCO listed church in Santa Maria, La Nuestre Senora de la Asuncion. A rehearsal for a First Communion mass was in progress so we couldn’t really look around properly, but Jezzy told us the story of how the church was previously located elsewhere but the image of the Virgin from the church kept going missing, always to be found in a guava tree on this site. Eventually therefore the church was moved here as people understood that to be her will. Unusually for a church in a region colonised by the Spanish it is situated on a hill overlooking the town rather than on its main plaza.

Our last stop was at a bridge over the Lagben River, a new replacement for one washed away in flooding two years ago.

Soon after that we were driving into Vigan and pulling up outside our hotel, the Luna. This is an old colonial building, with a beautiful atmosphere and some lovely old decorative touches. It is what the Filipinos call a 'museum hotel', with lots of original art work on display, both paintings and sculptures. Rooms are arranged on several floors around the courtyard. Ours was in a corner on the third floor and while not large was comfortable with a few odd touches. I really don’t see the need for frosted glass doors on toilets, and in the sultry heat of Vigan we definitely didn’t need a Japanese style toilet with heated seat!

We settled in, doing some unpacking in the hope that with three nights here our slightly damp feeling clothes would dry out.

In the evening we met up again with Jezzy to go to see the fountains show. The takes place twice every evening in the Plaza Salcedo. For fifteen minutes the fountains ‘perform' to music in an impressive colourful display. Jezzy (being Jezzy!) had secured us a spot on the roof of one of the buildings on the Plaza so we had an excellent view from above and were able to take lots of photos and videos.

After the performance finished, we went to nearby Café Leona, where Jezzy had reserved a table outside, and enjoyed some great Filipino dishes. I especially liked the sizzling vegetables, as there was lots of variety and all perfectly cooked.