By Ron de los Reyes
A trip to the North is always a pleasant treat because there are always places to enjoy and discover. The past several years, many towns in Ilocos Norte have become popular. The northermost town of Pagudpud is famous for its fine golden beaches earning for the town the label “Boracay of the North.” The longest in Luzon, the Patapat Bridge which is at the Pagudpud-Claveria boundary is a favorite driving destination as it offers spectacular view of the sea from the slopes of a mountain and just above a coast of the China Sea. Mention the town of Paoay and images of the centuries old Paoay church, Malacanang of the North and the Sand Dunes easily come to mind.
Laoag City is also famous as it is the seat of the provincial government and the center of education and culture in the region. The international airport is also located there. Of course, who would miss the sinking tower of St. Michael church in Bacarra as one exits Laoag. Sarrat and Batac towns are the birthplace and resting place of the late President Ferdinand Marcos, respectively. Burgos has maintained its Spanish-era lighthouse where you can also have a good view of the Wind Farm in Bangui if you climb its tower.
Now comes Currimao. We used only to pass this town from Manila on the way to the places I mentioned above. But a recent trip with Honda Cars Philippines when we test drove the new Honda Jazz gave us an opportunity to get to know the town.
Currimao is located at the soutwestern portion of Ilocos Norte along the vast shoreline of the China Sea. It is 465 kilometers from Manila and 27 kilometers south of Laoag City. By car, it is about 10 hours of easy drive from Manila. We, however, came via a 45-minute plane ride to Laoag and were driven to the next town San Nicolas where Honda Cars Ilocos Norte, the first car dealership in the province, is located.
Currimao’s boundaries are the towns of Paoay on the north, Batac on the east, and Pinili and Badoc on the south. Currimao, according to our guide, gradually became popular when Laoag could no longer accommodate all the tourists from Taiwan, China, Japan and Korea. The small resorts in Currimao thus benefited from the spillover of both foreign and local tourists paving the way for the construction of more tourist facilities.
One of these facilities is the Playa Tropical Resort and Hotel built only last year. Playa served as home to some 50 motoring journalists who participated in the Jazz test drive on different weekends.
We were all surprised to see the Bali-inspired resort when we checked in after a drive to different towns and historical places in Ilocos Norte. It has a large inifinity pool and four villas with its own private family-sized swimming pool. Each villa is good for four to eight persons with a mezzanine serving also as sleeping quarters. When completed, the adjoining hotel will have 40 rooms.
We really stuck to our schedule of arriving in the resort by 5:30 p.m. so we could catch the beautiful sunset from the pool area. We were not disappointed as the sun magnificently settled slowly with the resort’s tall coconut trees stood in the foreground.
Another attraction – and perhaps the main draw in Currimao – is a heritage village called Sitio Remedios in Barangay Victoria which is a good 10-minute walk from Playa resort.
Our Cruising colleagues Pinky Colmenares and Anjo Perez were the first to see the village and urged us not to miss even a short visit before we headed for the next set of drives. Together with Butch Gamboa and Jenny Bleza of Motoring Today and Al Mendoza of Business Mirror, we drove a few minutes to the site and lo and behold, it was like being transferred to another time as the various heritage houses welcomed us.
According to writer Christine Dayrit, Sitio Remedios was named after a remarkable lady whose life and example inspired her children to be exemplary citizens. Among them is her son Dr. Joven R. Cuanang, a top neurologist and medical director of St. Luke’s Medical Center, who is the proprietor and visionary behind the resort.
Dr. Cuanang went to Harvard Medical School in the mid-60s on a China Medical Board Rockefeller Scholarship, then went backpacking across Europe for a year and worked in Davis, California before practicing medicine in the Philippines. He considers education as the best gift from his parents, particularly his mother, who was a schoolteacher.
The idea of building a heritage village was hatched during the birthday of Dr. Cuanang on Dec. 31, 2005. The doctor discussed it with architect Rex Hofilena of Bacolod who made three sketches of the dream destination. The rest as they say is history.
According to Rene Guatlo, trustee of Silangan, which is Dr. Cuanang’s foundation for art, culture, ecology and healing: “Each piece of vintage wood and brick was numbered, meticulously dismantled then reassembled on the new property.”
The villas are named after the towns from which the ancestral homes originated such as Balay Batac. Batac is popularly known for its famous sons Gen. Artemio Ricarte, Bishop Gregorio Aglipay and Ferdinand Marcos.
Balay Dingras is inspired by one of the eastern towns of Ilocos Norte made famous by its roofless church ruins and centuries-old houses. Balay Radrillo is highlighted by red bricks fashioned from Ilocos clay, which adorn the verandah at the house entrance.
Balay nga Puraw is inspired by the arrival of the Americans at the turn of the 20th century. Balay Piddig is inspired by the famous Basi Revolt of 1807.
We saw a room called “Kuarto ni Cecille” named In honor of its first occupant, piano virtuoso Cecile Licad. Balay Bacarra, made from wood salvaged from a Bacarra house.
A chapel made of stone and designed as a mini version of the Paoay Church sits almost on the center of the village.
It will be interesting to stay even for one night in the Sitio the next time we visit the north. Sitio Remedios, Playa Tropical, some fine beaches and quiet environment and friendly people are some of the reasons why we think Currimao will be the next star of the North.
(for the column “Ron on the Run”)
