by:Lara Mae Dacay
Last
summer vacation, I was scrolling and browsing on my phone for a place to spend
the vacation. A four-month vacation is long and boring one if I would not be
able to find a place to visit. I can't find a new place to visit and I was
about to give up but then I spotted one, and it was at La Union. La Union is a
province in the Ilocos Region and it was just beside Benguet, my province.
So,
La Union is near and 90-93% of the population is and speaks Ilocano. With the favorable distance and familiarity
to the language, I quickly shared it to my friends and in the blink of an eye;
we are already planning for our trip to La Union.
We
are four members in total. We decided to commute from the “City of Pines”,
Baguio City, riding in an ordinary bus going to San Juan, La Union which cost
us 100 pesos each (estimated fare). After 3 hours, we finally arrived at San
Juan, and from San Juan to San Gabriel the fare is 19 pesos. From San Gabriel
to Tangadan Falls the fare is 50 pesos.
The
other alternative transportation is upon arriving at San Juan a tricycle can be
hired going to Tangadan Falls for a fare of 500 pesos.
First,
we went to Tangadan Falls. Tangadan Falls was a newly discovered destination
for tourists to go. The falls sits in the middle of the mountain of San
Gabriel. It was created by a big rock face blocking Baroro River’s flow. There
are two basins there. The main basin is bigger than the other one. The main
basin is so deep and it is a good spot for those who want to have cliff diving (but
only for those who knew how to swim).
 |
| TANGADAN FALLS |
 |
| THE MAIN BASIN AT LUNCH TIME |
Here are some tips when going to Tangadan Falls:
- It is best to go to Tangadan Falls before lunch to avoid the crowd.
- The falls is open from 6:00AM to 6:00PM only. We do not recommend staying late for the trek and drive back will be very difficult at night.
- Smoking is not allowed in the vicinity and there are stiff penalties.
- If there’s a storm, do not risk going. It can be difficult and dangerous as well.
After
we enjoyed our time in the falls, we searched for a place to stay for the night.
There is the “Circle Hostel” or “Flotsam and Jetsam” to spend the summer’s
night and we’ve chosen the Flotsam and Jetsam since they had affordable dorm
rooms.
The
next day, we decided to stroll down town that morning. But before that, we had
breakfast in the hostel’s kitchen bar.
After we had our fill, we went outside in the
hot summer day. As we walk in the streets one thing caught my attention, the “Halo-halo
de Iloko”.
Unlike Baguio, La Union is a hot place so people sell
cold beverages and desserts to ease the hot feeling. And it was the perfect
timing to have one!
Each of us ordered one halo-halo
and mine was in a coconut. I don’t have time to inspect what were its
ingredients for we quickly dig in and within a few minutes all what was left
was the container. And to end this trip, I can say that our trip to La Union
was just like the “Halo-halo de Iloko”, it looks nice upon seeing it and worth
it if you experience it.
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