We left our place at 7am, which was 3 hours late as per original plan.

Facade of Sta. Maria Church. Said to have been built on 1769.

But since it was a christmas holiday, the streets were still mostly abandoned. So the cruise through NLEX (north express way) and SCTEX (subic-clark-tarlac exchange) went without our usual cursing of the snail traffic.

The NLEX toll fee have reasonably increased since it was rehabilitated but I am not complaining as the road and traffic condition is way much better than it was. The fee to pass is P36 at Balintawak toolgate.

Drive all the way to Dau exit and pay another toll fee of P138. Around 2kms more is the SCTEX toll gate. Get your ticket and drive heading for Tarlac exit. Fee at the exit is P69 (P60 if you like to exit at Hacienda Luisita).

Midway through the climb, is the signage of the baroque church. Part of the leaning bell tower is also seen.

Though it is uberly tempting to cruise more than the maximum allowable limit of 100 kph (minimum 60 kph), try to be light on the pedal and enjoy the magnificent scenery that is unfolding before your eyes.

Travel time from Balintawak to Tarlac approximately 2hrs.

We reached our first tourist site, Sta. Maria Church in Sta. Maria by close to 6pm. That was of course having several stops for lunch, stretching, coffee and toilet break along the way.

You wouldn’t miss the The Church of Sta. Maria (unless you are sleeping for being on the road for 8 hours!) since it is at the dead center of the junction heading for Vigan. It was erected in 1769 by the Augustian friars. It was baroque in design.

To reach the church, you have to climb around more than 50, 300 year old steps.

At the top you will see the church and its leaning bell tower.

Just in time for sunset.

The parish and its ground is relatively clean and is conducive to visitors.

An hour away from here is the capital of Ilocos Sur, Vigan City.

Vigan is known for its Heritage Village, empanadita, the Baluarte, several museums, and pottery making among others.

Please see separate post for the details and pictures of our Vigan adventure.

One of the acts in a wakeboarding competition.

It was our sidetrip after climbing Mt. Guiting-guiting in the province of Romblon. It’s a 7-hour trip by an outrigger. I was still a student then and travels in a backpacker’s fashion.

I went back in the summer of 2008 but now via an airplane through asianspirit (which is now zest air). It is noticeable that the province has improved. Caticlan has now its own airport with majority of its passengers heading for the island of Boracay. From the airport, if you do not have airport transfer arranged by your hotels, you can take a tricyle going to the boat transfer terminal. Fare if I am not mistaken is merely, P20 per trip.

Boat transfer fare is 20 pesos plus the terminal fee of P5. It will just take around 20 minutes to cross to get to the island. From there you can take a tricyle or a multicab (a mini van) to get you to your accomodation. Of course, hiring a tricycle is much cheaper.

Just one of the reasons why tourists keep on coming back.

The accommodations in Boracay are now in abundance. It caters to class A, where a night can cost you as high as USD 1000 and to backpackers delight where a shared room can cost as low as USD 10 per night.

Boracay island is mapped as stations 1,2 and 3. Station one is where you can see the famous Willy’s rock, the sand is much finer in this area, the nights are much quiet here and there are less people walking around. And with that the restaurant and accommodations are of course much expensive.

Station 2 is where the action is. Here you can find the most sought bars, the Mall, a market, a 24-hr convenience store, various restaurants with average price, but don’t fret the food is not average taste. There’s a lot of activities going on, its a bit crowded but then all you need for a great party is here. So its just a matter of preference.

Now if you don’t mind walking all the stretch of Boracay, you can stay in Station 3. It is far from the center of Boracay, the finest sand, and serene waters but then you are still in the island and can still enjoy the same amenities the others are willing to pay extra for. The cost of a beach front accommodation here is comparable to a non-beach front cost if you’re in Station 2.

This is a lantern made of katya cloth. Just one of the souvenirs Boracay is offering.

You can get to Caticlan by plane through cebupacificair, zestair, seaair, and philippine airlines. It is also accessible by land, from Manila, go first to Kalibo by bus via RORO (roll-in roll-out) or by passenger ship (Negros Navigation), then head to Caticlan which is just a 2-hour drive by bus or a chartered van. RORO terminal is at Cubao Bus Terminal.

I still enjoyed Boracay, it still have its very fine white sand, serene waters I enjoyed 11 years ago. But of course in the name of progress (plus I aged 11 years too), the island has become a little crowded and noisy for me.