Ilocos Norte

Sorry for double-posting, but these were long enough as is without being all together.

For New Years, my dad and I flew up to Ilocos Norte, a northern province. One of my uncles is friends with a guy who owns a resort up there, so we spent two nights up there on the beach. 

All the fare was traditional Ilocano food, which apparently involves a lot of salt, overly boiled vegetables, and fatty meats. On the upside, I found a beachfront with some ancient coral formations towering above the water. The rocks themselves were really cool, because they had been built from all kinds of different coral (think variety of formations), plus they made some really good tidepools. I wasn't prepared for swimming, but I couldn't help but throw off my flip flops and hike up my skirt to go tromping around looking at little marine beasties.

I had to get torn away from the water by my family, because the day's agenda was really to go siteseeing. We saw a bunch of old buildings, and rode a rickety little calesa (buggy). 

Happily (for me, anyways), after we returned, I convinced my dad to go back with me to the coral formations. This time, I was prepared for full submersion tromping. And I definitely saw some neat things.

But really the scenery was the best part, especially as we watched the sun go down.