Kapurpurawan White Rock Formation
Some photos from my recent trip to Ilocos Norte (I may blog about this soon). According to our tour guide, this spot is one of the least visited spots in the entire country, for the simple reason that it takes forever to get there. One has to traverse a kilometer's length of rough road which can get really muddy when it rains, climb down and walk across a pitted rock surface that stretches for roughly the same distance, before actually setting foot on the karst limestone cliffs you see in the photos. I'm proud to say that I was able to conquer Kapurpurawan in just Havainas. I'm awesome... Not. Lol.
If you look at it from a distance, it almost resembles a dragon unfolding its wings. 
This was the view from the side of the white rock formation. It actually overlooks the sea, and according to our guide, come high tide, the water reaches all the way to the cliff. That's why a the landscape is scarred, rough and pitted. It actually brought back memories of the Dead Marshes.
It was actually quite dreary that day. The sun only started to show up after we had reached the limestone cliff, and it only shone for all of thirty minutes. My camera was being problematic that day so I had to shoot all of it on manual focus, which is harder than it sounds. But then again, shooting 800 photos the hard way makes for good practice!
I'll try to post more photos when I can. I was also able to visit the mausoleum of the late former dictator of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos.. It was certainly quite an experience. Ilocos Norte is Marcos country and many people still address him as Apo Ferdinand or Apo Marcos, 'Apo' of course being the Ilocano word for 'Sir'. If I remember correctly, Marcos and Mao Zedong were close friends back in their days of power, and both former leaders seem to share the same fate after their deaths. I'll be sure to blog about that, too.
4 comments:
+JMJ+
So dragons really exist! I knew it!!!
I went on a trip to Ilocos Norte once, and all I saw was Vigan and a long, beautiful coastline. I had no idea there were such haunting and evocative white rock formations in the same region. They really do seem like a landscape from another world, don't they? (Or is that just a cunning effect of your manual photography? LOL)
Hehe I wish I were that good of a photographer, but nature is a far better artist than I. It is indeed a mixture of seemingly infinite landscapes; there were lush areas, rocky areas, wet areas, and dry areas all rolled into a single spot of absolutely gorgeous desolation. I have more pics here, but I have to edit them first since I overexposed some of them :)
And yes, Vigan was wonderful. Aside from the old buildings (the cathedral was just exquisite), the best part of our Vigan escapade was meeting the local police department's truly gigantic St. Bernard, Bernie. That dog was HUGE!
+JMJ+
Bernie would have been a puppy lolling about with the rest of the litter the last (and only) time I was there!
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