Pagudpud

After Cape Bojeador lighthouse, it rained hard, so we had to skip famous Kapurpurawan Rocks and the Bangui Windmills.  There was an approaching storm that was going to hit neighboring Cagayan province and Ilocos was somewhat affected as you can see dark clouds in the photo of Pagudpud below.

Pagudpud: Bangui windmills in the background

So the kind tourists who allowed me to hitchhike dropped me off near Pagudpud town after the skies cleared. I hopped on the next bus and hired a tricycle driver to go looking for modest accommodations.  I was optimistic that I could easily find one as July to October was off-peak season.

This is one of the bigger hotels at Pagudpud beach
Did not stay here though

It was definitely off-peak season, as I had to wait for a few minutes when the tricycle driver asked me to check out Sabrina's which he recommended. The owner's daughter was not at the front desk as she was fixing other stuff given she was the only staff there at the time.

It is easy to spot Sabrina's due to its different looking balcony

It was not really an issue as she was not expecting other guests given that only one out of the thirty plus rooms was occupied.  She was quite happy that I rented out another room (guest number 2!) and allowed me to negotiate the rate down to around $20/night for the room (with own bath below).

Given that I was in the heartland of the Ilocos region, I just had to have Bagnet for dinner, which is a popular  fried(roasted?)pork dish in that region.

Bagnet: Yummy, but watch the cholesterol

The waves of Pagudpud are quite strong after the summer season and were also enhanced by the approaching storm.  But this is also why it is also considered a surfing spot in the Philippines.

Anyway, here is one last photo of Pagudpud showing an awesome sunset given that its long coastline faces the west.