Pagudpud: Blue Lagoon

I had heard the best beaches of Luzon were in Pagudpud. We had debated traveling farther north after all the long bus and van rides through the mountains, but we were so close now that we just couldn't turn back. Laoag is on the way and has an airport so we could fly back to Manila from there once we had left the beach.

On the way to the bus station we ran into the Vigan Longganisa parade, luckily there was a bus to Laoag waiting so we were able to just get on right there in the street. We waited for an hour and then as the traffic cleared, we followed the parade down the road. This was a moment of absolute ridiculousness. I had thought this entire time that I was being stared at by Filipinos because I was tall, white, and tattooed, but I realized on the bus that the tall and tattooed had nothing to do with it. The sidewalks were still littered with parade spectators and as our bus slowly drove by I noticed them staring at me, cranking their necks back, notifying their friends. I decided that I must be the highlight of the parade so I started waving and smiling like a good Disney princess would do.

In Laoag, we took a tricycle to another bus and hurried aboard. A young girl stepped on and stood in the isle. She opened her bible and started preaching in Tagalog (thankfully). I figured she would get off when the bus left, but she just kept standing there, preaching for over twenty minutes.

Pagudpud signs kept popping up along the road. We didn't have a place to stay yet and had no idea where to get off. Another foreigner was on the bus and started asking if there was a terminal. (Everyone always has a different answer in the Philippines.) He stood at the front looking as confused as us. The bus made one of it's many stops and everyone turned to look at us. "Hanna's!" We said we weren't staying at Hanna's, we don't have a place yet. "Hanna's!" Everyone was so sure this was our stop that all three of us got off and the bus drove away. A tricycle driver took us down the hill to the beach-Blue Lagoon. There was a big resort (Hanna's) and some homestays. We chose a homestay and then went to explore. It was very windy and chilly and there was hardly anywhere to eat (except Hanna's). This was not what we were expecting. The water was beautiful though.

view from our homestay

Hanna's zip-line

Dos Hermanos

...and FINALLY some beach and sun for my banana