Stepping back in time in Vigan
Trip Start
Nov 30, 2009
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129
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Trip End
Jun 01, 2011
Vigan, Ilocos, Philippines
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Baguio provided some relief from the humidity of Manila as its perched high in the hills and much cooler than the city. Not the most scenic or interesting city, but after 7 hours on the bus we were ready for a break in the journey and it gave us time to find a courier and get our passports sent back to London for yet more visas for the final leg of the trip. Spent Sunday wandering the city, visiting the market and then making our way to the park. Seems the entire town's population head to the park at the weekend, with families picnicking and dozens of people bombing around all manner of hired bikes and tricycles.
From Baguio it was then time to head even further North, to the very atmospheric old city of Vigan. Its location by the Govantes River and the South China Sea mean that in its day Vigan was a key city on the Old Silk Route. It became a major stopping off point for ships between Asia, the Middle East and Europe, with locals trading in gold, timber and beeswax. As a result of all this trade it became a very prosperous city and lots of wealthy merchants, in particular Chinese, made it their home, building themselves fabulous mansions. Many of these mansions still survive today, although it has to be said that time and the climate have not been kind to them. This part of Northern Luzon gets battered by cyclones and rain in the wet season, so damp is a major problem for building conservation. We stayed in one of the old Spanish era mansions, now converted into the very friendly Grandpas Inn. With lots of original features like old exposed brick walls, polished wood flooring and lots of antique furniture it made a nice change from bland concrete hotels.
Spent a very relaxing few days wandering the cobbled streets, people watching and trying not to get mown down by the horse and carts trotting around. At night there are several restaurants that spill out into the streets in the old part of town, really atmospheric eating amongst the crumbling mansions and cobbled streets. Enjoyed lots of great local food, including the famous Vigan Longanisa sausage, and the best iced chocolates of the trip in the cafe attached to our hotel. Given a personal free guided tour of the museum, located in one of the old mansions. A slightly ramshackle collection of dusty bits and pieces telling the story of Vigan, for which our guide kept apologising. He told us he was sure museums in England must be much more beautiful! Seems the city has had quite a troubled past, with several uprisings for which three prominent rebels were publicly garrotted. The story was depicted in a series of paintings on display and colourfully explained by our helpful guide!
