Part 11 of a series
DAY 2
4:45pm. A visit to Vigan and Ilocos Sur will not be complete without a tour around the city on a horse-drawn calesa. For 200 pesos only, you’ll be toured around the city with a guide for at least 30 minutes.
Ilocos Sur Provincial Capitol. To the west of Plaza Salcedo (separated by Quezon Street or “Calle Quezon”) and the grand Vigan Cathedral is the Provincial Capitol of Ilocos Sur. This follows the common setup in most of the plazas in the country wherein the seat of power, whether of a city, municipality or province, sits beside a public plaza. While Vigan is known to be a Spanish colonial city, the Provincial Capitol of Ilocos Sur was more influenced by American Neo-Classical Architecture.
Vigan City Hall. Much like the rest of Vigan, the architecture of the city hall is very-Spanish colonial period inspired. Some people say that the blue color looks weird on buildings for this case, I disagree. It actually looks refreshing and blends with the surroundings. It is located south of Plaza Salcedo.
Calle Quezon Market.
Wellwishers. The locals in the north are some of the friendliest and the most hospitable people I have encountered in my entire life. That is probably why this part of the country almost always has ZERO crime rate.
Even trucks were friendly enough to make way for our calesa.
I didn’t know that Vigan had an airport until I encountered this sign. But unfortunately, no commercial airline companies are currently serving the airport.
A local kid waiting for a customer. I would have tasted his halo-halo if we weren’t in a hurry. Heehee.
(…to be continued)
