North Luzon Loop - CHECK!

Before anything else, I would like to defend ourselves for not inviting anybody to join us in our ride. hehe. This has been an on-going issue with our rider friends.

1st - I wanted to go to Calaguas but they said it's a long travel. Most of them only have at max 2 days off from work on holy week.

2nd - As I said, that was a long vacation. imagine 5-day vacation? And I can only use 2 days out of it? hell NO!

3rd - The ride was unplanned. The decision came just hours before we took off. We initially planned to go to Hundred Islands - Baguio. But I assumed since we will be going during the most peak season of the year, enjoying that tour would be impossible since the place will surely be packed with tourists.

4th - Since Hundred Islands-Baguio is off the list, I suggested we go to Pagudpud. D agreed since it will also be a great chance to retrace the route where he once crashed (the reason why I was not allowing him to join long rides anymore).

5th - It would definitely be a great bonding experience for D and I.

And we actually sent out invitations! Well not formal invitation but D mentioned it in one of the threads in our FB page. I guess they thought it's a joke since we posted it just before we sleep the day before.

Ok enough of being so defensive. haha. Let's start with the Ride Diary!

DAY 1: Pasig - San Juan, La Union

We woke up late! waaaa. We initially planned to rise at 3am so we can take off at 4am. Dang! We woke up at 6:30am ang took off at 8am. aww  

we are late! aww

We were barely out of Manila when D halted. Twice!

1 - CB problem (need to call Royden); 2 - GPS problem

And then finally, at past lunchtime we stopped by Mang Inasal San Fernando, Pampanga.

Back on the road, we were entertained by a bunch of religious devotees. Pampanga is really famous for their devotion. But we saw some also on Tarlac. An awful sight if you ask me.



Some roadblocks:

1 - Refreshment @ Petron Gerona, 2 - Traffic! 3 - Bikers slowed us, 4 - Penguin Ice Pops @ Petron Agoo 5 - GPS prob again

And then finally, we reached the place where D crashed on our recent Vigan ride.

Revenge is sweet @ Bauang Bridge

Before the sun set, we reached our Destination - San Juan, La Union. One of the most famous surfing destinations in the country.

posing by the Town Hall

But much to my dismay, we weren't able to find an accomodation by the beach. We were still on the road by 7pm that we decided to just check-in at the nearest traveller's inn (technically it's on Bacnotan already). Bright side - i saw the beach and the waves. Down side - my feet didn't even touch it.

1 - our cheap dinner, 2 - despressed me for the unfortunate 1st day

Here are the towns we passed:

Bulacan (np), Pampanga (np), Tarlac, Pangasinan, La Union
np - no picture

Day 1 statistics:

Day 1 Damage:

Lunch - P301 Mang Inasal San Fernando

Gas - P350 Petron Gerona

Drinks - P55 Petron Gerona

Drinks + Ice Cream - P47 Petron Agoo

Dinner - P180 Carinderia

Accomodation - P595 Traveller's Inn

DAY 2: La Union - Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte

This day we promised that we will wake up early so we can reach Pagudpud before lunch time. I cannot afford another day of being near the beach but unable to dip even my feet in it! aww. So we woke up around 4am and left the inn by 5:30. Our GPS was set to find the Bangui Windmills then Pagudpud beach.

still dark. yey!

The ride was definitely better sans the scorching sun. This time I was able to really appreciate the greeny scent of the provinces. I felt like sleeping, if not for my growling tummy. Gosh im dead hungry! In fairness, it kept me from falling asleep. haha. After 2 hours of drive, we stopped by McDonalds. Oh yes! we didn't try any local food. D said he wanted 'clean' food. So arte! 

1 - the bugs D killed; 2 - us eating mcdo; 3 - geared up again

We started the journey again, but had to stop for some call of nature. Number 1 for me. D did number 2 at McDonalds earlier so I wasn't able to pee after because I can't take the smell of the coed washroom. haha! We rested and replenish body fluids at Petron San Nicholas for a while and waited for the jet plane to disappear from our view. Whew! I has been a long time since I last saw a jet plane.

1 - awkward Dada smile; 2 - me posing; 3 - the jetplane

Same as with our last Vigan ride, we stopped for some shots at the famous Quirino bridge.

Somewhere in the middle of our traverse up the mountains, we got curious with a bunch of vehicle stopping in a nearby building. As we were parking, I learned that it is a viewing deck of the Bangui Windmills. So people can watch the windmills from afar. So cool!

But wait! This is definitely not it! I saw pictures of my friends and they were in various poses just an arm away from the windmills. And the GPS also said we were yet on our destination. So we followed all those vehicles down to some narrow road to the beach. And yes! Choco Banana have touched the sands of the Bangui Windmills.

1 - representing Club CB110; 2 - the fan; 3 - the mills; 4 - the boastful Choco Banana in the sand

This was when I noticed that the black blotch in the camera seemed to get bigger. And this time the position of the blotch was consistent. aww. But we still managed to take some photos of us.

Now, we set the GPS to our destination. Hello Pagudpud!

As we drove through the long stretch of road to the beaches, we decided to stop for lunch. We saw this first 'clean' resto in the area - Sarabo Snack House. The ambiance was so cool. They made us seat in a table under the tree. So cute! But they took almost an hour to serve our orders. aww. As with the food - the sizzling mixed seafood was just a bunch of squidballs, fishballs, crabsticks, a little true squids and a few small shrimp. All for 250php - what a waste of money!. The sinigang na baboy was so disappointing also, imagine 5 small pieces of pork fat swimming in a soup spiced with maybe one tamarind fruit only along with a few pieces of kangkong and labanos. The soup tasted strongly of ginger. Oh well. At least the buko juice was deliciously fresh.

As expected, we spent more than an hour finding accomodation. None of the resorts have space for us except for one that offered us his tent for 1000php a night. aww. We can't be choosy now.

1 - the beach; 2 - pitched the tent by the beach; 3 - the view from inside

We walked to the side of the beach without the big stones and swam under the late afternoon sun. It was so good! After 30minutes of soaking, we went back to our tent for some photo ops (Silhoutte shots only so the black blotch will go unnoticed).

1 - the mighty Choco Banana; 2 - D doing the macho pose

sweet-sweetan poses

After the sunset, we walked around the area to find something to eat for dinner. We found this resto in one of the resorts. Too bad I wasn't able to get its name. The food was better than that of Sarabo's. But I noticed that the sinigang has the same gingery taste to it. Maybe that's how Ilocanos season their sinigang.

Then we saw a bunch of guys who offered henna tattoo. D wanted full-sleeved tattoo but it was priced 2000php. Aww too expensive for a henna tattoo. We just settled on some grilled hotdog, chips and a bottle each of beer. We consumed it inside our tent while viewing the now-dark sea. 

1 - our  dinner; 2 - us during dinner; 3 - booze time

So that was our Day 2.
We passed by two very large provinces:

And stopped so many times:

1 - GPS problem AGAIN; 2 - some stretching on the roadside; 3 - rough road ahead; 4 - kalesa watching

 Day 2 Statistics:

Day 2 Damage:

Breakfast - P230 McDonalds

Drinks - P68 Petron San Nicholas

Gas - P350 Petron Vigan

Lunch - P515 Sarabo Snack House

Dinner - 336 Pagudpud

Chips, Hotdog, Beer - P115 Pagudpud

Accomodation - P1000 Klasik Resort tent

DAY 3: Pagudpud - Penablanca, Cagayan

I always loved doing outdoors stuff, camping for instance. But that time, i have mixed emotions. After our one bottle of liquor a piece to help us sleep soundly, we dragged ourselves to sleep. We were up for a very promising ride the next day. We will be doing the loop now, edging the North Luzon and going down towards Manila via the other part. But the sleep came very hard with all the chatting and laughing around. You see everyone's on vacation mode! Who would want to sleep early while on the beach? Only us! haha. And the constant wind beating our tent made me uneasy. Good thing we have mattress, I dont have to worry about uneven sand on my back. At 4 in the morning, we started to pack our things and head to the resort for a good bath. I noticed the dark skies as we were leaving Pagudpud. Uh-oh Not good!

but still we have to go

And true, as we were passing the the northest part of Luzon, the rain accompanied us. But although we were already drenched, we were so afraid to stop. If this rain caught more power we will be left stranded in the secluded area. So we drove though the bad weather. Pity we haven't even stopped to take pictures of the famous Patapat Viaduct. I only managed to have a snapshot of it while we were moving.

1 - with flash, look at the rain; 2 - this was the best shot i have aww

After an hour, the rain became strong that it was impossible for us to continue without raincoats on. And without a wiper for D's helmet visor (someone invent that please!). We decided to stop at the first civilization we saw - Sta. Praxedes.

1 - D removing the GPS; 2 - D sad by the shed; 3 - me cam-whoring

We were so starving when we reached a more civilized area (I can't remember the place). Good thing the rain has stopped here. We stopped for breakfast at Max's Carinderia and ate pansit.

the pansit was so yummy

Well-fed and now slightly dry, we continued all the way to Piat, Cagayan to visit Our Lady of Piat Basilica. It was not my first time in the church. I was here two years back but I wasn't able to go inside the church because it was full of people then. Now, the church was so silent with just a few people visiting the dead Jesus Christ on a Black Saturday noon.

After saying our prayers, we headed towards D's father's hometown. We stopped at Jollibee to have lunch first and to buy something to carry to the folks.

yes! it was another chicken-spaghetti meal!

And then we reached home. 

Dodan, Penablanca, Cagayan

D's relatives were completely surprised with our visit. And as with our usual homecoming, all their relatives paid visits. weee. At last home-cooked meals. yey! We were also able to hang our wet clothes.

Left - they made me milo when they noticed i do not drink coffee aww sweet; Right - wet clothes

The news reached Pasig - thanks to Facebook! D's mom called us to say How Dare you? haha and instructed us to give some moolah to Nana before we leave. Nana is Lola Victoria. She is D's father's mom. I'm not really sure of her exact age, but with her built I'm guessing more than 90. After seeing his Lola, D said she might not make it to our wedding in December. aww
We decided to go around the area after the chitchat. The place has definitely changed much since our last visit - and it was just last year.

1 - i swear i heard them talking; 2 - with my lost sisters; 3 - kalabaw; 4 - we were in the province

That was by far the most comfortable night I ever had in our trip - nice comfy bed, full-meals and a bunch of good people. Before going to sleep, we planned that we will wake up as early as 3am because we will do a sidetrip to Baler, Aurora to follow our Club CB110 friends. That was a little bit off our original plan to go up to Ifugao.

The roadblocks:

1 - cornetto break; 2 - gas up in Sta.Praxedes

Day 3 Statistics:

Day 3 Damage:

Gas - P200 Sta.Praxedes

Breakfast - P180 Max's Carinderia

Gas - P350 Petron Cagayan

Ice Cream - P65 Petron Cagayan
Pasalubong Piat - P135
Lunch - P284 Jollibee Junction

Chicken - P200

Accomodation+Dinner+Breakfast - Free

DAY 4: Penablanca - Baler, Aurora

Come morning, the rain continued to pour and we were forced to change our plans or at least delay it for a few hours.

Nana and the naked D checking out the rains

By around 8 in the morning, the rain has subsided and we decided to leave. 

1 - D with Nana Victoria; 2 & 3 - Us with the folks

Unlike our usual average daily travel, the road to Baler was longer. And we were expecting some difficult roads like Aritao and Sta.Fe. And look at what the weather promised us.

Not another rainpour!

Aritao somewhat disappointed us. We were expecting major twisties but we were welcomed by rough roads and heavy traffic caused by big trucks.

Sta. Fe was where we experienced the thrill. All the twisties were here. They were so close that the road in the GPS looked like pink isaw.

1 - D posing; 2 - the pink isaw GPS

We stopped for lunch at a resto in Total Gas Station just after entering Nueva Vizcaya.

tapsilog for lunch

We continued with all the crazy rough roads until we reached San Jose, Nueva Ecija. With butt too sore and bladder so full, we decided to rest before continuing with another 100+kms to Baler.
Before we lost momentum, we started the trek to Baler. With maybe 3/4 of the way to Baler, we bumped with the group. They were leaving already. aww. D wanted to join them already but I opposed. We travelled almost 80kms and he will not let me see the waves? Hell No!

1 - just a few kms more; 2 - we saw them leaving

Just before the darkness completely swallows us, I realized I should have agreed with him. The only light we were seeing was Choco Banana's headlight and some occassional headlights from other vehicles. The road to Baler was totally not friendly - rough roads, no street lights, twisties. Plus we were running low on gas in the middle of it. We were so relieved when we saw some house lights and a gas station. A few minutes more, we reached Baler proper. We tracked the way to the beach and looked for a place to stay. The lodge by the beach were all full due to the holidays. We settled on a simple Elaine MM Lodge Inn and changed into some dry clothes.

look at boots after the tragedy

We then looked for a place to eat. With that very tiring drive, D wanted delicious food. We had grilled meat and fish at Bay's Inn.

Darkness has completely covered the beach so we decided to call it a night.

The Arcs:

Roadblocks:

1 - the pink cathedral; 2 - playing with the shadows; 3 - Gas Up! 4 - checking Choco Banana

Only in the Philippines!

Day 4 Statistics:

Day 4 Damage:

Gas - P350 Petron Cauayan

Drinks - P22 Petron Cauayan

Lunch - P236 Total Gas Station

Drinks+Ice Cream - P75 Petron San Jose

Gas - P250 Petron Baler

Dinner - P415 Bay's Inn

Accomodation - P1000 Elaine MM Lodge Inn

DAY 5: Baler - Pasig

The next morning was still cloudy. We went back to Bay's Inn for another full meal.



We now saw the famous Baler waves. We decided to take a dip before heading home.



As we prepare to our journey back home, D decided we will take another route back to Nueva Ecija. Instead of the Baler via Pantabangan, we will take Baler-Bongabon. This will lead us to Cabanatuan which is closer to Manila than San Jose.
We stopped by Sentro Baler first for pictures.

We passed by the church hoping that we could take pictures. But the all our camera devices were dead, except D's celphone which is our GPS.

Initially, the road we took was promising. D even said that that was better than the other road. But hell we were mistaken. Shortly after the concrete road, we were forced to pass through continuous streaks of rough roads. At first, D was not scared of all that loose gravels and stones. It was just like the other road. He started to worry when we were faced with soft mud. The tires might get stuck deeper if the mud is so deep. So to avoid this, I always get down the motorcycle so as not to add more weight. I was convincing myself then that we will be ok as long as it will not rain. But the rain came which made the stones more slippery and the dry dirt to turn to mud. There were also a lot of puddles. The depth of which we cannot determine by just looking. So again I have to get down to seize the depth. The one on the picture below sank D by up to his knees.

one of the mud puddles we crossed

But the worst part came when we were forced to take a detour because of a broken bridge. The detour was to cross the river! Yay! And since it just rained, the water in the river was deep. I jumped into the water to find a way for our motorcycle. From where I was standing then, it was impossible - the rocks were so big and slippery and the water current was dragging me. An angel came (a local man in motorcycle) and taught us the way across the river. Since I cannot cross the river from my first route, I followed them. And gosh it almost wet my panties! That deep! After the dip, I was just shaking my pants to get rid of the water when I saw D submerged in yet another river again. Waaaa! I wish we had pictures but my camera was safely secured already inside our box.

After a few hours, I already saw establishments and gave out a sign of relief. We are safe now hehehe. We passed by Jollibee Cabanatuan to grab some lunch. D spent some time drooling over riders wearing one-piece suits.

When we reached Bulacan, I already felt vacation's over. We just stopped by a buco stand to refresh, buy chicharon and then we went back to our journey home.

This is D after the 5-day North Luzon Loop:

so wasted but triumphant!

Day 5 Statistics:

Day 5 Damage:

Breakfast - P240 Bay's Inn

Ref Magnet - P100

Lunch - P235 Jollibee Cabanatuan

Ice Cream + Coffee - P57 Shell Cabanatuan

Chicharon Pasalubong - P95

Buko Juice - P2

Gas - P200 Petron Baliuag

It was a 5-day vacation well-spent. We experienced everything and I'm so proud of my miel for this accomplishment. Choco Banana had some performance problems after the loop - his tire hugger is at Ramir's as of this moment for some repairs. But we enjoyed it.

Will I come back? Definitely YES! But next time, I want company. Our ride was fulfilling because we finished it all by ourselves, but I realized it will be more fun if there's someone to watch your back. There are also some spots that we missed - like the watch tower near Bagui Windmills. I want decent pictures also in the Patapat Viaduct. But please. Let's go anywhere else, just not Baler. And I want to eat local food! D eats 'dirty' food if his friends are eating it. So if we are with them he'll agree to eat local food. yey!

To sum up,

TOTAL GAS CONSUMPTION: P2050 (approx 35liters)

TOTAL DISTANCE TRAVELLED: 1556kms

Next adventure:

North Luzon Loop Part 2

South Luzon Loop (Matnog)

Panay Loop

So are you coming with us this time? :)