Frannywanny

My phone's alarm clock began to ring loudly, fighting the urge to press the snooze button, I slowly sat up and did some stretching. It's 4:30AM and in thirty minutes I have to get dressed, prepare my day bag and meet the group downstairs. Today, we start early. Our goal is to catch the sunrise at the Bagui Windmills . I admit I was very excited for Day Two. Despite the early schedule, I can't wait to finally see a windmill up close! At exactly 5AM, we boarded the bus that will bring us to Bagui. I can't remember how the drive went as I fell asleep the moment I sat down. It wasn't until I felt Paul tapping my arm that I woke up and saw shadows of giant electric fans outside the window of the bus. I quickly got my camera, tightened my cap, zipped up my jacket, made sure I had my Globo Surf hiking sunglasses and followed Paul and the group as we got off the bus. It was still dark and the wind was very strong. Just imagine having fifteen 70 meter high electric fans...

The saying "time flies when you're having fun" turned out to be the biggest understatement during my recent weekend getaway at Ilocos. After 8 hours of restless sleep in the freezing bus, we finally arrived at our first destination. "Welcome to Bantay, Ilocos Sur", the church keeper greeted us. He was a jovial looking man who took the effort to wake up at 5AM to meet us at the church grounds exactly thirty minutes after. Speaking in fluent english, he narrated the story behind the St. Augustine Church and the Bantay Bell Tower that were both standing so high and mighty ready for us, travellers, to explore and appreciate. Here at the Bantay Tower was where the movie Ang Panday was shot starring no less than the late Fernando Poe Jr.. The Bantay Bell Tower was truly a sight to behold, its red brick colored facade shines as the early sunlight strikes it. Needless to say, Paul and I didn't waste any precious time was we allowed ourselves to go trigger happy...