­­We’ve only just Vigan

Weekend escape options have improved in the last decade or so. Budget airfares now make it affordable to fly down south to the Visayas or Palawan for a quick getaway. The success of interisland air travel has, however, led to traffic in the skies. It is not unusual to add one or two hours to flight times for destinations both inbound and outbound.

Faced with a long weekend, my wife and I decided to take a road trip up north to Vigan. Both of us had not been to the historic city for over a decade. We wanted to test the TPLEX route that promised to cut travel time by an hour or two. I checked with Waze two nights before our trip and the App confirmed that the trip was just under seven hours.

Even a slightly longer road trip did not deter us. Baguio had lost its attractiveness as a destination because of choking traffic and rapid urbanization. Vigan beckoned and we heeded the call. Besides, I received a special invitation to visit from the city’s charismatic Mayor Carlo Medina, whom I met at a conference on cities recently.

Travel through NLEX and SCTEX was a breeze. We did a short breakfast stop in Bulacan at one of those gas station complexes. The food options were okay, but I noted the facility’s lack of trees and landscape to mitigate the already-hot morning sun. By midday we reached San Fernando, La Union, and so took lunch at Rose Bowl, the popular Chinese restaurant more known for its original Baguio digs. Try the pata tim!

Along the route to Vigan, there was a flurry of road improvements, which is a good sign. We found our later (through the mayor of Vigan) that there are plans to extend the TPLEX all the way to San Fernando. This would cut the trip to Vigan and points north by another hour or more!

Reaching Vigan, we checked in at Luna Hotel, the top TripAdvisor recommendation. Like many in the central historic core of the city, the hotel was adaptively reused from a heritage structure. An extension housed four stories of comfortable rooms, hidden behind a two-story façade that replicated the original look and feel. Luna is distinctive also because of the Filipino artwork the owner liberally filled the hotel with: I noted BenCabs, Dans, Orlina and other contemporary artists in the main reception and dining alone. The second floor actually houses a full gallery.

The best thing about Luna is that it is just a block away from Calle Crisologo, the main heritage street of Vigan. The street has not lost its charm since we visited a while back. The pavement is now wholly covered in stone, as it was originally. I also found out from the mayor that he has plans for bringing back the cobblestones to more streets in the core. The only problem is the supply, since these cobbles are locally sourced and processed by hand.

We sauntered around Calle Crisologo and the two plazas connected to it: Plaza Burgos and Plaza Salcedo. While Calle Crisologo is now pedestrianized, the two plazas are closed selectively on weekends and holidays. What has changed, too, is the presence of the mainstream fast-food outlets. Fortunately they are housed in structures reused from heritage architecture or new buildings following the original styles and scale. Unfortunately two of the larger chains put in drive-throughs. We were told even calesas would queue up.

We had dinner with the mayor at the famous Grandpa’s Inn. Here we were treated to true Ilocano and Vigan cuisine. We had bagnet, poqui-poqui, sinanglaw and the de rigueur pakbet. We also got tips on where to buy the best bagnet, longganisa, bibingka, and suka to take home, and where to taste the best empanada (depending on whether you wanted the thin or thick crust — just like pizza).

Sunday is great in Vigan. Most of the streets are pedestrianized or with little traffic, except before or after the three masses at the Vigan Cathedral.  We went for a river cruise along the Mestizo River, and visits to abel iloko (cotton cloth woven with traditional looms) and burnay (local jars) factories. For lunch we tried out Hidden Gardens, a quaint native restaurant located outside the city’s core near the airport. In the afternoon we visited the Syquia Museum and the Vigan Conservation Complex.

The Conservation Complex was established by the previous mayor, Eva Marie Singson Medina, and completed last year. The modern but tropically designed complex houses three museums and the Vigan Skills Training Institute. The museums featured excellently curated displays on the themes of the church, the city, and the houses of Vigan.

We celebrated Father’s Day at Luna’s and ended with drinks at Calle Crisologo, which was full tourists, including many football players, all fresh from a match at the Quirino stadium nearby. I had glimpsed the stadium on the way into the city and it looked world-class. The match was one of the first in the season of the new Philippine Football League.

We left for Manila on Dr. Jose Rizal’s birthday, but not without a last breakfast of Vigan longganisa. On the way out of the storied city, we made a point of swinging by Mindoro beach. Most people don’t know that Vigan is really a seaside city and that it has an airport. Both are within minutes from the city center. The beach was great, with waves good for surfing (although that is seasonal).

I look forward to the development of this part of Vigan’s rich menu of attractions, which would also be boosted with the opening of regular flights to the city. Mayor Medina also pointed out that the city is now a regular stop for cruise liners. All this can only make for better access to this treasure of heritage, food and fun.

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Feedback is welcome. Please email paulo.alcazaren@gmail.com.