VoyForums
[ Show ]
Support VoyForums
[ Shrink ]
VoyForums Announcement: Programming and providing support for this service has been a labor of love since 1997. We are one of the few services online who values our users' privacy, and have never sold your information. We have even fought hard to defend your privacy in legal cases; however, we've done it with almost no financial support -- paying out of pocket to continue providing the service. Due to the issues imposed on us by advertisers, we also stopped hosting most ads on the forums many years ago. We hope you appreciate our efforts.

Show your support by donating any amount. (Note: We are still technically a for-profit company, so your contribution is not tax-deductible.) PayPal Acct: Feedback:

Donate to VoyForums (PayPal):

[ Login ] [ Contact Forum Admin ] [ Main index ] [ Post a new message ] [ Search | Check update time | Archives: 1, [2], 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 ]

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Date Posted: Sun, Mar 16 2014
Author:  
Subject: Photos taken in Sulvec, Narvacan, Ilocos Sur, Vigan, Ilocos Sur and the 1st Death Anniversary of Manuela D. Valdez



Vigan At Night
To view the rest of the photos, please click:
Slideshow


Sulvec, Narvacan, Ilocos Sur
To view the rest of the photos, please click:
Slideshow


Manuela D. Valdez, 1st Year Death Anniversary, Tagudin, Ilocos Sur
To view the rest of the photos, please click:
Slideshow


I just want to share a few photos taken in Vigan, Sulvec, and Tagudin during the time we commemorated my mother’s first year death anniversary last December of 2013. I’ve been wanting to share them with you but never got a chance to upload them. We commemorated my mother’s death anniversary in two places – Sulvec, Narvacan where she was born and Tagudin where she grew up and spent most of her life.

A day before the event in Sulvec on December 6, my sister and I drove up north from Tagudin. Instead of staying in Sulvec for the night, we decided to go and stay in Vigan City because we wanted to experience how it feels staying in one of the old Spanish-era houses and to experience Vigan at night. We go visit Vigan every now and then when we go to the Philippines for vacation but it is always during the day when we go there. We arrived in Vigan already late in that afternoon because of the stops we did along the way. It was a long day but we had a nice time driving through this stretch of Ilocos Sur from Tagudin to Vigan. We were very happy to see relatives in Candon City and to see the different places of interest in the province. We did have no idea where to stay and if there would be rooms available for us in Vigan that night. I wish we’ve googled it prior to the trip. It would have been a lot easier for us. We started looking for a place soon as we got to Vigan. We drove around first just to see what Vigan had in terms of accommodation and to have a feel of the place. After we got our little orientation of the city center, we parked our car and walked around to check out the different places we saw earlier. We were pleasantly surprised that there were plenty of rooms available considering it was a holiday season during that time. There are all kinds of accommodation in Vigan from the cheaper hostel/dormitory type of accommodation to the more expensive hotels in the 3 star category. I don’t think they have a five star hotel yet in Vigan as of this time. It is also even possible to arrange a home stay with a family in Vigan from what I heard especially during the peak season such as the summer months. This might be arranged through the Department of Tourism I believe. Rates vary depending on the type of hotel and the location of the hotel. Rates of hotels are generally reasonable in Vigan. A hostel/dormitory type of a hotel might be a better option if you are travelling on a budget. However, you might have less privacy since you would have to share the bathroom (usually in the hallway) with other people. This type of accommodation that they have in Vigan is similar to what they call pensions in the West particularly in Europe. The summer months (March to May) are usually the busiest time of the year in Vigan especially during the Holy Week and during one of city’s festivals such as the Viva Vigan Binatbatan Festival of the Arts (first week of May), so you might have to do some advance preparations such as making reservations before you head up to Vigan during the peak season. After seeing a hostel and few other hotels, we settled for a hotel right in front of Plaza Burgos. I think the hotel is owned by the Singsons. It is an old Spanish-era house converted to a hotel. It has a restaurant, close to everywhere, and it has a nice ambiance. All in all, that one night in Vigan was a great experience for us. It was a treat to see the beautiful Christmas decorations and lights around the plazas. Strolling around Calle Crisologo at night was fabulous. Calle Crisologo is where they have the old houses and the cobblestone street for those of you who have not been there. Some of the restaurants put their tables and chairs on the street at night for outdoor dining similar to the outdoor cafes in Europe. We felt like we were in Seville or Madrid when we were having dinner in front of Café Leona . There were tourists from abroad as well as local tourists from the different parts of the Philippines just sitting around there and having conversations just like us. For only a few pesos, you can have a little taste of Europe in our own backyard through Vigan. There’s no need to spend a fortune like you would when you go to Europe.

The following day, our friends who are also from the states came and meet with us at the hotel before we all headed down to Sulvec for my mother’s death anniversary event. They drove all the way from Batac, Ilocos Norte just for the event. They said they also like Vigan and they sometimes go there just to spend a night on certain weekends. Sulvec is the last barangay of Narvacan if you are going north, and it is only around 20 to 25 minutes away from Vigan. Sulvec is a beautiful place. It has mountains on one side and the beach on the other side. The scenery kind of reminds me of some of the sceneries you would see in some of the islands in Hawaii. Sulvec has an old watch tower made out of bricks and lime which was built by the Spaniards and a place called Paraiso ni Juan which was also called Paraiso ni Imelda at one time during the Marcos regime. Paraiso ni Juan is where you would see a grotto with the statue of Blessed Virgin on top of a big rock and the defunct resort called Bagong Lipunan Lodge which was owned by the government if I am not mistaken. I believe the Singsons already bought the property from the government, and they have plans to restore this property. In fact according to the folks in Sulvec, the lodge is not the only property they bought there but other land properties as well. Perhaps the Singsons have a big plan for the area. This rocky shore of Sulvec in Paraiso ni Juan can be a good place to go snorkeling. I snorkeled around the rocks here once or twice when I was younger during my vacations in the Philippines, and I could tell you that snorkeling was good in this area (at least during that time in the past when I snorkeled here). However, it is not advisable to go and snorkel at Paraiso ni Juan if the sea is rough. Sulvec has a good potential to be a tourist destination. One of my relatives is aware of this fact so he is already thinking of converting his residence into a bed and breakfast inn which might include fishing expedition packages sometime in the future. Fishing is good in Sulvec. This is probably the reason why they have the Narvacan School of Fisheries here. There is one resort in Sulvec as of the moment but from what I heard there are other resorts being planned for the area. Developments in Sulvec are inevitable but I hope that they would take good care of the place. When Vigan gets full especially in the summer, perhaps tourists can go to stay in Sulvec in the future since it is not that far from the city of Vigan. It might be a good side trip for tourists visiting Vigan because it offers attractions that are different from what Vigan offers.

We had the event at a resort in front of the beach along the highway. It was a simple gathering with my relatives whom we have not met and seen in ages. My mother loved Sulvec and the people especially her relatives. It is a special place for her, and this is why we thought of commemorating part her death anniversary here. I am sure our mother would have been very happy to know that her relatives were there to pay respects and to honor her life. My sister and I certainly were very happy to see our relatives. For us going back to Sulvec to commemorate our mother’s first death anniversary there did preserve our connection to the place and to our dear relatives up north in Narvacan, Ilocos Sur.

After saying goodbyes to our relatives late in the afternoon, we drove back down to Tagudin that day to get ready for the main event on the following day, the the 8th of December, 2013. The commemoration of my mother’s first year death anniversary inTagudin also coincided with the feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary whom my mother was very devoted to as a catholic person. We were very happy to see that many of her friends and relatives came and attended the event to remember her and to celebrate her life which was held at Seaside Park in Dardarat.

On behalf of the Valdez family, I would like to thank each and every one who came and attended the first year death anniversary of our mother, Manuela “Nelly” Dauz Valdez. Thank you to Mayor Bunoan, her former co-teachers in Las-ud, the retired teachers association of Tagudin, all of her friends and acquaintances, relatives, and to our neighbors and the prayer group in Barangay Quirino. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]
[ Contact Forum Admin ]

Forum timezone: GMT-8
VF Version: 3.00b, ConfDB:
Before posting please read our privacy policy.
VoyForums(tm) is a Free Service from Voyager Info-Systems.
Copyright © 1998-2019 Voyager Info-Systems. All Rights Reserved.