Sunday, January 18, 2009

Avilon Zoo

My two nephews were in town for the Christmas holiday so we took the opportunity to visit (finally) Avilon Zoo, which is around 10-minute away from our home in Montalban Rizal but we have never visited yet since it opened to public a few years ago. Here are some pics I have taken:









Ilocos

We had a 4-day long holiday weekend last November so we took the chance to visit Ilocos. It took us 16 hours to get to Pagudpod, which is roughly equivalent to 3 nights of sleep for me. It was so unexpectedly long that there was a collective sigh of relief when we finally reached Pagudpod at 3 in the afternoon. I thought we would never reach it. Nobody among us expected the very long trip, which can be blamed solely to the slowest drivers we had the unfortunate fate of hiring.



We stayed at Kapuluan beach resort for the first night. The resort has a very laidback atmosphere, which I think is perfect for a romantic tryst, not that I had one. The beach was hardly inviting at all, though, as it was real cold, windy, and a bit rainy during our stay. It also seemed like a big tornado just passed through it, though I actually liked the messy look and secluded feel of the place.







Next morning, we started our road trip around Ilocos, on the way to the next hotel.
The first stop, which was the highlight for me, was the windmills at Bangui. The imposing presence of these windmills was nothing short of spectacular.






We visited Cape Bojeador for a quick tour of the 20th century lighthouse.



We ate lunch at the elegant Fort Ilocandia Resort and Casino. Food was great and the waiters were very friendly.





Next stop is at the Malacanang of the north, which has a very nice view at the balcony.





Last stop was the church of Paoay which was built in the 18th century!





The next resort we stayed in was Apo Idon Beach resort. This is the complete opposite of the other resort. This one is comparable to Puerto Galera, only better.







On the way back to Manila, we had a stopover at Vigan and visited Calle Crisologo, to buy some souvenirs and compulsory pasalubong.





Last place we visited was Baluarte Zoo where we saw a life-size dinosaur,



parrots making out,



some birds from out of this world,



and a very curious ostrich.