Vigan, Ilocos Sur: Part 1 ~ Where Angels Emerge in Heritage Town

I claim that I always go to Vigan. I do not really go as much. I pass by all the time. Or stay hours. Not really stay stay, if you know what I mean. I pass through Vigan all the time because I love its romantic, lovely mood.

I carried my bike Purple Heart in the bus. Whatever is going upnorth. And bam! Vigan!

I slept in a deluxe bus and woke up past sunrise just in time for this picturesque view. Then I realized, since I biked from home to the main road in Manila to get a cab for me and Purple Heart, and I only carried the lightest backpack ever since I started to travel, I forgot all of them, my camera.

I did not worry, though. I am not after photos in this trip, anyway. But am thrilled to see this, even if it was the millionth moment, captured it, while I am in a speeding bus.





Before I got off the bus, angels started to emerge. Two beautiful ladies asked me about the bike that I tucked in the vehicle’s luggage area. After a chat, I got off running to the cobbled stoned road, Calle Crisologo. I sat on a drift wood and let people and time pass by, like waiting for olden times to become heritage.







I felt the need to do what I promised when the ladies I met in the bus told me to drop by at their bed & breakfast home. It is being courteous, I thought. And I was thinking too of having breakfast. So I did. What was funny was that I forgot their names while I chilled in Calle Crisologo.

I was stunned when I turned right and saw this.

What a big house! It is called Villa Angela. I asked the person in the garden, “Is this where the two ladies who just arrived this morning live? I met them in the bus. Sorry I forgot their names.” That was embarrassing right?




Then, Vida appeared. We had a chat. Then Tita Ima also came out of the room. We had a long conversation over my breakfast. This is the longest meal I have ever taken in my travels. The hours were enriching, learning about their family. This always happens in my trips. I meet families. I meet very fine families. And I am always overwhelmed by the instantaneous kindness. One, my breakfast was “on the house”, as Tita Ima said. Two, “please stay for lunch.” And three, “you can stay here.”





One thing I realized and acknowledged is not to talk about my job in my travels. Travelling for me is a break away from my scheme of things in the city. What I do is a complicated matter to discuss over my travels. And since people always ask, I either tell I do not want to talk about it or I simply answer “I travel.” And sometimes I tell about my GIVE Projects in one statement. Plain and simple. I am a free spirit when I travel. What you see is what you get. Take me as I am. And maybe my biography would not matter at all. And maybe even age. Because when I go places, I always think, I am what I am. And I love what I am doing.

The bagnet and the pinakbet were a blast. The cooking secret of Manang Claring lingers. She used to cook for the family from the time when Vida was still a young child while visiting Vigan.






It was a surprise to know that Vida, Tita Ima and I belong to the same faith. I was happy to hear too that Vida performs her lawyer job also for the poor. Amazing people! And there are a lot more of the stories about family, life, and love. 

I cannot write about them here. What I can say is, a mother remains a mother and will do everything, like sewing your dress for an event, or advising about love, or caring for a daughter endlessly, and retaining her amity and be vibrant in her humanitarian career and be brilliant with her wellness business. 

Same way, a daughter remains a daughter, who obeys and respects her parent, no matter how strong she is in her views, no matter how independent she is in her life, no matter how intelligent she is in her career, and no matter how beautiful she is inside out. Powerful women! Humility behind the prominence.



It is not about the residence, it is now about the family who owns this. This is where Piolo Pascual, a local celebrity, stayed. 

This is where Tom Cruise, the Hollywood actor, and his crew stayed when he filmed Born on The Fourth of July, way back then. 

So what? I like to say, what is more significant are the photos and touches in this ancestral house. It is a symbol of families who come together. The huge clan is engraved and reunited in every part of the abode. That is what matters to me. And that includes the people who stayed to take care of it. And they are my angels.