1:34pm. After our short stopover in San Fernando City, La Union, for lunch, we immediately continued our roadtrip and wasted no further time.
I was very disappointed upon seeing establishments and residences encroaching to the sea in San Fernando City, La Union. What could have been a long boardwalk (which could be have been a potential tourist drawer) is now filled with establishments that aren’t too pleasing to the eyes.
Also, this road (as seen in the photo below) shouldn’t have been built too close to the sea.
As we moved further north, we began to encounter more and more vast patches of green like this one in Bangar, La Union.
2:05pm. This is the Amburayan Bridge which separates the provinces of La Union and Ilocos Sur. Before the bridge, we were on Sudipen, La Union. The Amburayan River separates the two provinces. After crossing the bridge, we were already on Tagudin, Ilocos Sur!
*a new bridge, which is already open as of this posting, has been built beside the existing Amburayan Bridge to accommodate the increasing vehicular traffic and to further promote the trade and industry in Northern Luzon.
2:07pm. Finally, we have arrived in Ilocos Sur! It’s just 2 more hours ’til we reach the Heritage City of Vigan!
One of the things I’ve noticed in Northern Luzon provinces is that all their cities and municipalities have grand (not necessarily nice) boundary arches like this one in Santa Lucia, Ilocos Sur…
…and this one in Candon City, Ilocos Sur (I’d love to see boundary arches here in Cebu but instead of just being ordinary arches, I want to see arches that showcase what each town/city has to offer like their own unique festival or their one town, one product)
This is Stern Mall, a neighborhood mall in Candon City. I wonder what type of strict regulations are being enforced in this mall if they are indeed true to their name, “Stern”, haha.
Candon City’s Public Market. Notice that most establishments in the city are colored green (must be the choice color of their government leaders)
Candon’s Catholic Church. What is that mini-Eiffel Tower doing there?
The church is known to have the country’s longest oil painting of the mysteries of the Holy Rosary on its ceiling.
