Nostalgic in Vigan’s Calle Crisologo

I’ve always wanted to go up north and see Vigan, the famed city which has well-preserved streets and houses that serve as remnants of the Philippines’ colonial past under the 300-year rule of the Spaniards. (For those of you who don’t know, that’s the reason why we’re the only country in Southeast Asia with people who predominantly look Malay and Chinese but have Spanish last names). In fact, as of the time of this writing, Vigan is the only city in the Philippines that is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

And the center of all the colonial showcase that is Vigan is Calle Crisologo, where one can almost imagine being in Spanish times. I say almost because amidst the ancestral houses and antiques, you’ll find the tourist shops. Nothing can be more modern than this commercialism right?

We got there in the late afternoon, when it was just right to go about walking the cobblestone streets. Despite the modernity juxtaposed with Calle Crisologo’s colonial architecture, it’s still nevertheless so lovely to photograph. There are so many beautiful details all around. And of course, the calesas (horse drawn carriages) wheeling through the street only added to the nostalgic atmosphere. In fact, cars are not allowed to pass through the main area of Calle Crisologo. As it should be.

We looked around, ate dirty ice cream, took pictures, and of course shopped. 🙂

I love this photo of all of us 🙂

There are so many knick knacks, antiques, and small furnishings that one can buy for the home. The baggage restrictions on the plane really made me wish I was here on a road trip instead!

We thought that since this was the main tourist area, the prices of the items for sale will be more expensive. So we held off on buying stuff like blankets and table runners, thinking we’d get a better price in the Vigan market. However, we found out the next day that there’s really no price difference. So we were glad that we bought our super good find for the day along Calle Crisologo—these fabulous wide brimmed hats for just P110 each! 🙂

At twilight, we hired this nice calesa decorated with flowers for P150 an hour, because a calesa ride, no matter how touristy, is something one must experience in Vigan :). We learned from the cuchero that it was decorated for a wedding earlier that day. You can find this particular calesa right in front of Vigan Plaza Hotel (the hotel along the edge of Calle Crisologo, in front of the plaza and the church)

Aissa and ANT

B. and SGM

And even before our hour ended, we saw the lights go up on Calle Crisologo and it was still so pretty 🙂

The next afternoon (which was a Sunday), after a whole day of sightseeing and shopping, we went back to Calle Crisologo and good thing we already enjoyed it the day before since at this time, there were significantly more tourists milling about.

But this didn’t stop us from enjoying the simple joys of freshly baked bread in Heritage Bakery 🙂

Wishing all of us more travels. And more nostalgia too. Cheers! 🙂

 

 

 

{For Sunset Goddess Manila’s TRAVEL GUIDE TO ILOCOS, click here}
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