I got the chance to finally visit Vigan back in June with JP. After staying a night in Manila, we took a plane to Laoag, stayed one night there and then took the early morning bus for the two-hour ride to Vigan. The road to Vigan is not unlike what you would see if you travel north or south of Dumaguete--farm land, sugarcane fields, houses, and small towns in between. I get the feeling that is what you would see if you hit any of the provinces in the Philippines. The only difference is that when you reach Vigan, you immediately feel a sense of history, start seeing images of 1900s Philippines, remember Jose Rizal and GomBurZa and all the other bits and fragments that make up memories of history classes in high school and college. I loved how the streets are lined with those old-looking streetlamps, how calesas ply the streets like it's 1910, and how people do modern day activities, like operate Internet cafes or go to the bank inside century old brick buildings. The sound of horses' hooves on the cobblestone streets add to the varied sensations and make those images really come alive.
Once we got off the bus, we started walking, weaving around town towards our hotel. We walked past Calle Crisologo and the other streets which were much quieter since only tourists and calesas are allowed. People were sitting outside souvenir shops, old men and women, young boys were playing, I could see other tourists buying T-shirts and local wine.
After freshening up, we went back out, since it was only a little bit after lunch. After grabbing a bite to eat at one of the restaurants located inside a really old building (no pictures, sadly.) we headed to Calle Crisologo to do some some serious exploring, since you can't really say that you've been to Vigan if you have not been to this street. Calle Crisologo is everything I imagined it to be! Century-old houses line the streets, calesas share the road with the tourists, and I've never seen so much antique pieces concentrated in one place. My eyes were immediately full with all the textures and details.
(*sigh*)
I'll let the photos do the rest of the talking.
