The Lighthouse and the Bridge Up North: Cape Bojeador and Patapat Bridge at Ilocos Norte

Julie Salazar
Feb 2, 2018
3 min read

It's been almost ten years since my last visit to Ilocos and until now being here feels like I'm in a place magically stuck in time. After a long time of being kaput with the holiday family trips (mother side) finally, we were able to patch up our schedules and decided to spend our precious three days far north.

I was nothing but ecstatic when I knew of the plan, who wouldn't be, Ilocos is one of the oldest and historical regions in the country, that's why I was pretty sure this trip will be such a great spectacle. So let me take you to this another adventure, bear with me because it's just 1 of 3 :)

I really believe in the saying that when you're in search of something beautiful and magnificent you must prepare yourself to experience the opposite, this couldn't be more true bec. I've never experienced such butt-hurt (literally) in my entire wandering life, since it's a family trip I wasn't able to stretch a lot, but I'm happy we got to bond longer on the road. After 10 hours of travel, we finally reached our destination. Our first stop was Blue Lagoon, Pagudpud, unfortunately I wasn't able to take a lot of photos since a storm accompanied us, but nevertheless, we still enjoyed our trip to the beach (just had to battle the strong wind and rain haha we were laughing so hard) I'll try to blog about it using the photos I took on the second part of this blog. Meantime, let's head on to the famous bridge in Ilocos also known as the Patapat Viaduct which connects the Ilocos Region to Cagayan Valley.

It's still raining when we arrived on the bridge but to be honest I wouldn't have this view any other way, I mean I know it might look a bit chaotic but in a good way, it almost looks like a painting for me. It made me realize how enormous the ocean really is, much bigger than any of my worries. The waves, the view of the coast, and the rain it all gave me this strange, beautiful and calming feeling (cue in Yiruma's Kiss The Rain).

When I was here ten years ago, our tour guide said that if you turn on your radio on this bridge you'll hear Taiwanese radio stations, I wasn't able to do that last time but I made sure I was able to do it now. Finally, after ten years of wondering, I proved that...our tour guide wasn't lying haha.

On the other side of the bridge were these twin falls :)

Pardon mi bare face and selfies, no rain can stop this :)

If there's BTS then there's also BTB (Behind-The-Blog), I was sleeping en route to the bridge, I got very excited to see the view, hence, forgot to wear ze shoes #naalimpungatan

Next stop, another breathtaking view, the Cape Bojeador Lighthouse aka Burgos Lighthouse. It was established during the Spanish colonial period and has been standing for over a century, and the best part is, it still serves it's purpose.

The beautiful view from the top, the scenic Cape Bojeador. By the way we just had to pay P20 each for the entrance fee.

The tower is located on top of the Vigia De Nagpartian Hill and stands 66-foot-tall, though it's not the highest elevated or tallest of it's kind, it is said to be the highest elevated still original and active Spanish era lighthouse in the country. Getting stronger through time huh. Life goals.

Raindrops on my hair and the peeping charger cable as you can see, but this is my favorite picture with the tower :)

The right side of the veranda before you enter the tower. I love how the fog made the view even more interesting.

And the view on the left. Trust me I'm not mad here.

I find it so amusing to touch and just be merely near to something so old. I'm sure these walls hold a lot of secrets, a hundred year's a long time.

(Cue in Stranger Things intro).

The stairs leading to the watch room, sadly, we were not allowed to go inside.

Inside the gallery.

Got these mini pen holder lighthouses as souvenirs, 3 for a P100, not bad right?

My face screams sleep but my heart screams more adventures haha! Anyhow the heart always wins so off to the next destination :) Thanks for dropping by :)