"Pagudpud - A World of It's Own" Top 5 Page for this destination Pagudpud by lissatagum

It all started when one of our very dear friends in highschool decided to held her wedding in Agoo, La Union. Our gang then decided to make a "sidetrip" to Pagudpud. Actually, it was more like my idea. I researched the internet and it was through Pagudpud that made me a member of virtualtourist.com. It made me decide to choose Pagudpud rather than Vigan or other places in Ilocos. We wanted first to go to Baguio but then all of us went there already. So we decided to try Pagudpud as a "sidetrip" thinking it was only a "few hours" drive away from La Union.

Or so we thought!!! From La Union, it was a gruelling 6 hours away. Of course my 3 friends were all crying their hearts out at me and I could hear their usual question, "Are we there yet?" Hehe.. Anyways, we had a lot of ordeal in going from La Union to Pagudpud. For one thing, it was our first time to go there and it was really late when we got to Laoag City where we need to transfer to another bus to go to Pagudpud. It was the last bus and if we don't get a ride, then we need to spend the night in Laoag which wasn't part of our plan.

A miracle happened and we were able to ride the bus considering there were probably about 50 people outside waiting. The trick was that we went to the ticket booth and came out of it emptyhanded. But then the bus conductor shove us inside the bus and luckily (through God's blessing of course), we were even able to get the last four seats at the back! Imagine that! The people behind me were all standing up for the last one or i think two hours maximum drive from Laoag to Pagudpud.

What was funny though is that our contact person (i haven't even met her in person!), told us to drop off in Shell. We all thought it was a shell station and even told the bus conductor. We got in a real surprise that the landmark of Pagudpud is really a shell (in Tagalog, shell means kabibe). We all thought it was a Shell gasoline station! But no, Pagudpud is well known for its shell! I should have known! We were all laughing our way all throughout the ride from the "shell" pick up point to the place where we will stay. :)

The shell it turned out is actually a gigantic shell with the words PAGUDPUD engraved on the top of the stone wall. The picture was taken during daytime where we realized it was actually a shell. When we first arrived, it was really night time and everything (save for the vehicle's lights) was pitchblack.

The townsfolk said that you will know if you're already in Pagudpud when you see the shell. . .

Our Picture Blog in a Nutshell

First off is PATAPAT BRIDGE/VIADUCT where we could see the vastness of the ocean. It felt like we can cross the ocean to go to Taiwan. Hehe...

Next off is PARAISO NI ANTON, where a traveller can get fresh water from the streams. You can actually drink the water. Quite a solemn place actually.

Then we went to AGUA GRANDE, a picnic/national park where one can swim in either fresh water or salt water. We were not able to swim due to lack of time so our local guide suggested we take a swim in our next two destinations. . .

BLUE LAGOON, the place speaks for itself. I wished we could spend more time here! :) This could rival that of Puerto Galera and even Boracay in terms of fine white sands.

KAIBIGAN FALLS where my friends and i stayed the rest of the afternoon swimming. Not sure if it was a good thing someone shouted there were snakes around so we got the whole place to ourselves the entire afternoon. Fortunately, we didn't see any snakes. Though the water is cold as expected, the falls is relaxing to the mind and body.

SAUD BEACH, the final destination, a few walks away from where we are staying. We didn't swim here but bought some souvenirs. We watched the sunset though i wasn't able to do so because i was busy buying some stuff. Hehe... But anyways, we had our first star gazing while we buried our legs and feet into the warm and fine white sands. Really cool! It was relaxing especially to our tired muscles in the back. It's like the sand offered a warm shield against the cold breeze of the ocean. The beach authorities even had some lights thrown over to us so they can watch us in case something happens :) It was summer so star gazing was really the best way to end the day.