Ilocos Part III: Bantay and Vigan Tour

The next day, we were packing up our stuff (which really wasn't much) and saying goodbye to Room # 10.  We left the vicinity of Vigan to go to the neighboring town, Bantay. The Bantay Church is definitely one of my favorites and ironically, I do not have a picture of the facade (I know, I know).

The bell tower is a few meters away from the church, sitting on top of a hill.  It was possibly used as a watchtower during times of war.

The climb to the top was worth it; the views were breath-taking.  

The interior of the church is shockingly simple; mostly because the hints of baroque and Gothic architecture would usually be evidence to a grandiose interior.  The Gothic arches are consistent throughout the complex. 

A cozy and peaceful mini-forest sets this church apart from the others that we've visited.  

Tinubong, a local delicacy, is a bamboo tube filled with cheese, rice, coconut and margarine. 

The grumbling of our stomachs prompted us to return to Vigan for brunch. Before satisfying our hunger though, we decided to go over the Burgos museum first.

We had planned to eat at the little cafe beside Los Majitos mostly because we were drawn by its cute interior.  It reminded us a lot of our Dean's style.  The food did not disappoint either although the service was quite slow.

Bagnet Dinardaraan (Php 130)

Oatmeal-crusted Dory (Php 120)

Bagnet Sisig Carbonara (Php150)

  

And, a last-minute kalesa ride down Calle Crisologo before the bus ride back to Laoag.

Ilocos Tour Part I: Churches and Empanadas - A tour of Batac, Paoay and Naic
Ilocos Tour Part II: And Everything was Yellow - Beautiful, beautiful Vigan
Ilocos Tour Part III: Here and Back Again - More of Vigan and its neighbor, Bantay
Ilocos Tour Part IV: Here Comes The Sun - Pagudpud, Bangui Windmills, Cape Bojeador Lighthouse
Ilocos Tour Part V: When The Day Met The Night - Laoag, Vintar and our last hurrah!
Ilocos Part VI: It's All Gonna End - Sarrat and Paoay Again