The itinerary for Day 2 of our Ilocos holy week vacation was a half day swimming excursion at Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte.

Here are some early morning shots of Fort Ilocandia taken from my mobile phone:

Here are some pictures taken while on the way to Pagudpud, which was roughly a one and a half hour’s drive from Fort Ilocandia in Laoag.

We came across the scenic coastline of Cape Bojeador in the municipality of Burgos, Ilocos Norte:

Here are some pictures of us featuring the awesome windmills of Bangui, Ilocos Norte (the first power generating windmill farm in the country) in the background:

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Holy Week 2008 – Fort Ilocandia and Pagudpud – Day 1

After two years, Conne, CJ and I finally decided to revisit Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte for the holy week. We decided to stay at the Fort Ilocandia Resort Hotel and Casino, in Laoag, Ilocos Norte. We were accompanied by our close friends, Cocoy and Li-ann.

We left Manila yesterday at around 11:30AM but had to make an initial stopover at Clark, in Pampanga, for lunch and some provisions. We also had to meet up with Li-Ann, who had to come from Subic.

We left Clark at around 7:30PM yesterday evening and arrived in Fort Ilocandia at around 5:30AM this morning, which makes it roughly about a 10-hour drive (9 hours on the road, 1 hour for stopovers) . Cocoy and I took turns at the wheel, where I drove the first half of the journey, and Cocoy the final half. Our first stopover was at 8:30PM at the Hacienda Luisita in Tarlac. We stayed there for about 30 minutes to have dinner. Our next stopover was at 12 midnight at a gasoline station somewhere near the border of Pangasinan and La Union.

Here are some pictures taken today.

CJ in the shade:

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Holy Week 2008 – Fort Ilocandia and Pagudpud – Day 2

Today is Ash Wednesday. It marks the first day of the Lenten season and occurs forty (40) days (hence the local term,“cuaresma”, for Lent) before Easter.

I’m glad that Conne and I were able to go home in time to attend the 7:30PM mass and have ash imposed on our foreheads. And I noticed that the queue heading up to the imposition of ashes wasn’t that long, this is probably because most parishioners already attended the early morning and afternoon services.

So what’s next? Well, the forty day period gives us ample time to reflect on our lives, make amends, and prepare for the coming Holy Week. So let’s do it!

God is good! Cheers!