A Walking Tour around Santa Maria, Ilocos Sur

(This is part of my Ilocos Sur townhopping last June 15-16, 2013)

Santa Maria, Ilocos Sur has always been known as the town where one of the four Baroque Churches inscribed in UNESCO World Heritage list can be found. But aside from the famous Santa Maria Church, there are other heritage structures still standing in this historic town for everyone to see.

I was greeted by a conspicuous town plaza arch upon arriving at the town. Said arch serves as the entrance to the town's spacious plaza where town events are held.

The Heritage City of Candon

(This is part of my Ilocos Sur townhopping last June 15-16, 2013)

My Ilocos Sur townhopping is nearing its end when I finally got to reach the center of Southern Ilocos Sur : Candon. My travel from Vigan to this city has been very enjoyable because of the greeneries and sceneries I saw from the bus and after almost two hours, I finally saw the city's town hall which I considered a signal for me to alight from the bus.

Old Candon City Hall. Ilocos Sur.

The city hall can be found at the left side of the road if you are going to Manila from Vigan. Little did I know that the hall I assumed to be the city hall is the old town hall of Candon. I only found out about it when I researched about Candon for this post and discovered that a newer city hall was already built for the town. 

San Vicente : the Barrio Destined to Become a Town

(This is part of my Ilocos Sur townhopping last June 15-16, 2013)

In the northern boundary of Vigan lies a town unknown and unheard of to the many people who visits the famous heritage city. This town was once a barrio of Vigan known as Barrio Tuanong, but was converted to a municipality to better serve its folks, and now still waiting to be discovered by people.

I myself didn't know what to expect from San Vicente. As a townhopper who visits as many towns as possible in a day, I just included San Vicente in my itinerary without knowing and expecting anything about the town. I was surprised. So surprised.

San Vicente Welcome Arch. Ilocos Sur.

From Magsingal, I took a bus and after some minutes is back at Vigan. I bought some pasalubongs (bagnet and longganisa) and paid a visit to Simbahan a Bassit, and contracted the tricycle driver who brought me there to also bring me to San Vicente upon learning that it is just near. 

A short visit to Palayan City

(This is part of my Nueva Ecija townhopping last June 12, 2013)

The newly built Nueva Ecija Provincial Capitol

From Cabanatuan, my next destination was Nueva Ecija's official capital: Palayan City. Palayan has been the province's capital from 1965, when it was decided that a new government center be built in an otherwise virgin and sparsely populated area. The area between Cabanatuan and Bongabon was chosen and it was here where the planned city was built according to an urban design which allows for continuous development without much problem when it comes to space.

A walking tour on Historic Cabanatuan

(This is part of my Nueva Ecija townhopping last June 12, 2013)

I have been fascinated by historic places since I was in high school, and it is actually evident in most of my posts. Well, that was one reason why I decided to do a walking tour around Cabanatuan, even though most travel blogs and website dedicated to tourism doesn't have Cabanatuan at the top of their list of Philippine tourist spots. 

But, the very reason for this post is to expose the simple beauty of the city to many people. For me, the main source of Cabanatuan's beauty is its historicity and its silent way of preserving that history, many of which are starting to fade away from the new generation's memory.

I arrived at Cabanatuan City at around 8am that day. I first visited the city hall, which is just a walking distance from Jolibee Circumferential (along Maharlika Highway). There was a simple program that day to commemorate the Independence day so the place was teeming with people, city hall employees and students alike. 

Cabanatuan City Hall facade. 

I was not too impressed by the city hall's design because one cannot see a distinctive facade of the hall, and it seems the building needs some maintenance work. Nevertheless, I still took a photo of the city hall's front side for souvenir. Just in front of the city hall is a Rizal monument, full of wreath that day as well as people taking pictures with the monument. It's as if that was the first time people took notice of the monument. I have to wait for a chance to take a picture of the monument without anyone obstructing it... :)