Philippines Guest Book

One of the most memorable places I’ve gone through in our country is Ilocos Norte. My family and I were given the privilege to be invited by my “balik-bayan” cousin whom I saw sixteen years ago. I never thought that I would still have the chance to go to this place because since I was a child, I was dreaming of visiting Ilocos. This is actually
my mother’s province. So, when the time has come for me to meet Ilocos, I just enjoyed my entire stay in this place together with my family.

We traveled for as long as five hours from Manila to Baguio, and another six hours from Baguio to Ilocos. The travel was indeed very tiring though, but having experienced the beauty of nature; mountains and seas, plus the refreshing air which I lovingly embraced. Added to these are windmills I encountered for the very first time.

I seldom saw groups of people originally from the province. I guess if I happened to see several people, they were also tourists like us. I encountered few people from Ilocos but I must admit that these people are very accommodating and warm in welcoming us from their place. They were always ready with a sincere smile and often told us how proud they are about Ilocos. Natives of Ilocos offered us various kinds of foods from their place. Some of which that I still remember were Pinakbet, known in Manila as Bulanglang, another was Diningding and Empanada which fillings are egg and togue. There were also tasteful condiments called as Sukang Iloco, a kind of vinegar and Basi which is liquor.

We also visited places in Ilocos Norte which truly amazed me and made me ask myself if I was still in the Philippines. We visited the Paoay Church where we stayed for one hour just to pray and we also went to different beaches where we experienced the true beauty of nature.

It was indeed a different kind of experience; a great family reunion and a dream come true for me.

Ilocos is where my heart belongs!