Waves and the Waterfall

On Thursday we toured the Northern part of Ilocos Norte (the province of which Laoag is the capital).

Kathleen, Jasmine and the South China Sea

Our first stop was at a place where they were producing salt.  This is done by boiling seawater - it reminded me of doing maple syrup. They use rice hulls as fuel - a good use of something that would otherwise go to waste.

Our second stop was at a disused lighthouse overlooking the South China Sea.  It was on quite a high hill so the view was spectacular.  Some Filipinos would prefer it to be called the West Philippine Sea instead of the South China Sea as a way of staking their claim.  There are a large number of islands jointly claimed by China, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Vietnam. Potential oil rights are fueling the dispute.

Dragon Fruit Flower

Our next stop was at a dragon-fruit plantation. I had never heard of dragon fruit  but we bought dragon fruit jam and cookies and we enjoyed dragon fruit juice and ice cream.  The ice cream was particularly delicious.

 

Lunch in Pagupud

We had lunch at a resort on the beach at Pagupud.  
Nachos were followed by a buffet and I had to eat Kathleen's dessert as it had gluten.  Love that gluten!  The sound of the waves made me think of the traffic noise at our hotel in Laoag. Constant and soothing.

Even though the waves were very enticing our students were not allowed to go swimming here because of the undertow.  On a previous trip SSU almost lost a student here.  We had no desire to repeat that experience. Swimming was planned for our next stop at Kabigan falls.

Kabigan Falls

Kabigan falls is a 1.5 km walk along a mountain stream.  There were a couple of places where we had to cross the stream on logs and Kathleen handled it without a hitch - I was proud of her because that is something she has always been nervous of.  The waterfall was very high with a pool at the base and we all went swimming.  It was certainly a highlight of our time in the Philippines.

Bangui wind farm

On our way home we stopped in Bangui to visit a wind farm. There were 20 wind turbines lining a section of the beach where the waves were even more dramatic than in Pagupud.  It is the only currently operating wind farm in the Philippines (and I think in South East Asia), although more are planned.  It is a spectacular location and there is definitely lots of wind there.

Many thanks to our hosts from Northwestern University for organizing a memorable day.