...if that symbolism was a music, it could have given me massive LSS (Last Song Syndrome) as massive as Paoay Church.

[Paoay, Ilocos Norte Province, Ilocos Region, Luzon Island, Philippines]

Love is powerful. It could change the world. When the love is great, the motivation is greater. In the town of Paoay, I felt love. The people's love for the inheritance that made them whole was immense, hence, motivating them to celebrate and preserve what they've got. The call to preserve their good age-old traditions was evident in the community spirit that unites them.

The Journey to Paoay

The Partas bus where I rode stopped near the crossing of Batac for me to alight. The traffic light turned red. Traffic is not a heavy problem in Batac but people here are disciplined enough to follow the traffic rules. I crossed the almost empty street that was gradually queued by vehicles waiting for the green light.

Batac served as my gateway to Paoay since there is no transport vehicle from Vigan that could directly bring me to the town of Paoay. I saw tricycles nearby but I was hesitant to hire them. I lingered for a while to see if there were jeeps plying the Batac-Paoay route. My waiting didn't fail me. I saw a jeep with label "Paoay" on its wind shield. 

Inside the jeep was an old Ilocana who was traveling alone. She was maybe 80-85 years old. Her eyesight was already poor but she was still strong relative to her age. With her was a bayong. She talked in hardcore Ilocano. The Ilocos Norte accent was so authentic. Another one was a woman probably in her early 20s. I asked her how much is the fare and she told me, "Sanga-pul'o sir" (Ten pesos, sir). Efficient and rightfully cheap indeed. You know, it's my first time to commute to Paoay. Yeah. On my past visits in Paoay, I was either riding my motorbike or on board a private car.

Hello Paoay!

After a few minutes, I was already in the town. The old woman and the young lady alighted in Paoay too. The jeep dropped me at the back of the Paoay Church. The church was the first thing I noticed because it was just massive that it was hard to ignore. That alone intensified the Paoay character I have in mind. Hello Paoay!

I texted Berniemack Arellano, a fellow blogger whose DNA is partly Ilocano, informing him that I was already in Paoay. I waited for his reply and his presence. 

The waiting time was spent reflecting on the new things I saw in Paoay. I've maybe seen some of these things in the past but it was only now that it caught my full attention span. Paoay has changed so fast!

Walking on the streets made me realize that there's a symbolism that's present everywhere I go and it was a visual force that couldn't go unnoticed. You know, if that symbolism was a music, it could have given me massive LSS (Last Song Syndrome) as massive as Paoay Church. Since it was a visual force, it was still LSS though but with different meaning, Last Seen Syndrome. That symbolism kept boggling my head why it was there.

Anyway, beside the church was a trade and food fair which is typical in the provinces during fiesta. I waited for Berniemack here. While waiting, I bought some refreshment to cope with the hot temperature that time. Afterwards, someone was calling my name from afar and I wasn't wrong, Bernie was in the house!

He accompanied me to the hotel where I was booked to stay for this activity. The hotel was new on my sight. I said it so because the last time I was in Paoay, there was no hotel like that. It's just amazing how Paoay's tourism industry is propelling the local economy rapidly.

I entered the hotel and I was surprised to see that the young woman whom I asked for the fare inside the jeep earlier is actually working at the hotel. We saw each other again. Destiny? *Blink*

MY HOTEL IN PAOAY

Entering the room was an instant relief. With my tired and rest-craving body secondary to short time of sleep last night (not the short time your naughty mind is thinking duh), I wanted to just lie down and get flat. The call time was 12:00 PM. It's 11 AM on my tablet's clock. I still have an hour to experience power nap.

Before my body fell to sleep, I was still thinking of those symbols and what are the significance of those symbols in Paoay. It was intriguing for me. One thing more, I had no idea yet what would be the things that we'd do. Who would be the people I'd be meeting? Who'd be the bloggers? Should I find the answers to these questions later?

...and in the first place, what am I doing in Paoay? Would this be an exclusive adventure in Paoay or there would be surprises outside the town? Why I was here and how long I'd be staying here? Shall I find the answer to that mysterious symbols? How does it look like? | to be continued... |

▼ PART 02

Map Showing the Location of #Paoay

► FOOTNOTES, DISCLAIMERS, ACKNOWLEDGMENT, ETC

[1] The above story is Part 01 of a blogserye (blog series). Come back soon for the Part 2.

[2] This post was filed under the category "Travel Diaries."

[3] The maps I used on this post are from maps.google.com.ph.

[4] All photos are mine.

[5] The insights, condition and name of places or properties I mentioned here are based on the facts and situation on the day of my visit. Take note that you may have a different experience when you try or see the properties or places mentioned here. Names of places and properties may also change by time so it's not my responsibility to update all the information on this blog because once published, I already consider it an archive and I won't update my narratives because I want them to become my references of what have happened in the past. I'm very particular of the dates because I want my amazing readers to understand that I am writing stories based on my perspective and insights on the day of my visit. You can see dates almost everywhere on this blog. Exempted from this rule are my travel guide posts that need to be updated.