Travel Footprints

The beach of Fort Ilocandia is apparently a public fishing area. After I wake up, I always stroll towards the beach for a morning walk and see a group of fishermen doing this –

I was told this activity is called ‘daklis’ in Ilokano where fishermen from the same village would go and set up their net along the coastline to gather fish. Typically, there should be a spotter before they would cast their net. Then, together they would haul the net to shore.

The next morning, I stayed around long enough for me to see them actually bring in some fish. After about 30 minutes of hauling and swimming, I saw this group bring in just 5 small fish to shore. Very sad scenario. I felt sorry for the fishermen and the small fish who will never get to grow bigger to spawn more fish. I was told they would still divide the meager ‘harvest’ among themselves so they need to re-cast the net and hope for a bigger share the next time around for a decent meal.

One thing’s for sure, there ain’t never be any million peso-dinner for this folks.

After a long, long road trip we arrived in Laoag, Ilocos Norte and made our way to Fort Ilocandia, probably the best hotel you can find in this area. We arrived late evening and the hotel staff were very courteous to us weary travellers.

The next morning, I was greeted by the sun peeking through this hallway on my way to Cafe Ilocandia of the hotel. What striked me most during daylight was the vast and healthy gardens of Fort Ilocandia. Several staff tend to the gardens and with it comes the sprinklers on the pathway and smell of freshly-cut grass in the morning

GRAND. That’s my best description of the whole compound in all 3 relaxing days of stay in this hotel. I guess that also sums up the lifestyle of the Marcos – Fort Ilocandia was built to host their daughter Irene Marcos’ wedding reception a few decades ago.

View from my hotel room in Fort Ilocandia

There are a lot of amenities you can choose from to while away time during your stay in Fort Ilocandia. The sand dunes of Suba is also very near. Here is a picture of the area for golfing, horseback riding and the trail for the offroad ATV in Fort Ilocandia. As you can see, the beach isn’t too far away either.

Around Fort Ilocandia

Fort Ilocandia is easily located from the National Highway. They also offer free shuttle service to and from the airport. If you want to reach Fort Ilocandia place faster than usual by land, we discovered a shorter and more scenic route via Paoay if you’re coming from La Union. Along the Ilocos Norte National Highway, keep your eyes peeled for the sign ‘Batac Police Station’ on your right. That’s a crossroad with a stoplight. Turn left towards Paoay and go straight on, pass the historic Paoay Church and until you see the billboard of Fort Ilocandia. You’ll get to see a glimpse of the man-made Paoay Lake along the way too. I swear, this route cut down our travel time by about 45 minutes!