THE 7 CHURCHES OF ILOCOS – VISITA IGLESIA 2010

For our Visita Iglesia Ilocos road trip, we visited 5 churches in Ilocos Norte and 2 churches in Ilocos Sur as follows:

Ilocos Norte | St. Andrew Parish of Bacarra and the Bowing Belltower where according to history; the leaning position was caused by an earthquake and was preserved by the supports placed in the remaining structure of the walls until another earthquake finally destroyed the tower leaving the present look of a flattened top.

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ILOCOS ROADTRIP (Day 2 – DINNER AT CAFE LEONA, VIGAN CITY)

ILOCOS ROADTRIP (Day 2 – DINNER AT CAFE LEONA, VIGAN CITY)

It has been told that a visit to Vigan would not be complete without dining at Cafe Leona, so for our Ilocos-Visita Iglesia 3-day roadtrip, our day 2 dinner was at this famous restaurant that serves a variety of Japanese, Thai, Italian and Filipino dishes.  Among the favourites are the wood fired thin crust pizza, blue marlin steaks, Ilocano local foods like bagnet and longganisa, and more.... But for those whose hunger can’t wait any longer, buffet style pre-cooked menu is readily available.

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ILOCOS ROADTRIP (Day 3 -- A Day at VIGAN CITY)

The last day of our Ilocos-Visita Iglesia 3-day roadtrip was around Vigan City.  We crossed Crisologo St. again to reach St. Paul Metropolitan Cathedral.  It was beside the church that we were able to negotiate for a P240 kalesa ride.  

By 11:30 am, we’re bound to our last church just outside Vigan City– the Bantay Church or the Shrine of Our Lady of Charity St. Augustine Church in Bantay, Ilocos Sur.

The 1590 baroque and Gothic inspired Parish and the belfry are among the oldest structures in Ilocos Sur which was preserved until today.

 

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ILOCOS ROADTRIP (Day 2 -- A Night at VIGAN CITY)

After our Day 2 at Ilocos Norte of our Ilocos-Visita Iglesia 3-day roadtrip where we visited 5 churches for our Visita Iglesia tour, we’re down to Ilocos Sur particularly Vigan City to complete our mission.  At Vigan, we stayed at Vigan Heritage Mansion courtesy of our friend companion. 

The City of Vigan, the capital of Ilocos Sur, is one of Philippines’ heritage sites known for the Hispanic looks and cobbled streets like the Crisologo St. that is best photographed at night because of its vintage lighting effects.  So for this trip instead of having “socials” before our sleep, we wandered around Vigan City. 

Our hotel is situated just across Crisologo St. so as soon as we’re settled in, we’re off for a walk.  It was past 8 in the evening already and our tummies are whining for food, food, food, food...  For that walk, we passed through Crisologo St. for our Cafe Leona dinner– photo ops will be done later.  Afterwards, we checked the tiangge stores fronting a book store hoping for a good buy but unfortunately, we found none.  We left the place for St. Paul Metropolitan Cathedral where we had pictures with the kalesa outside the church after our prayers. 

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