Destination: Pangasinan Last Part

The next stop for the DasoLand tour was the cactuses. I never seen different types of cactuses that you can only find in one place. Then we proceed to the zoo.  Before entering, we had our shoe soles submerged in water to remove the mud.

The first area of the zoo was the aviary, followed by the reptile cage, where different types of snakes are confined, then, the stable. The horses here where mostly foreign and they will be used to rent out while within the premises. The zoo animals surely taken care of unlike some public zoos and there’s a veterinarian that comes on timely basis. 

Leaving the zoo, there’s a souvenir shop that looks like a typical structure in the Ifugao region and sells handicrafts. I also came across their chapel that has a non-traditional structure and was very open. They also have a boating facility also for renting boats. DasoLand is also a resort and lodging facility. After leaving DasoLand, we passed something what Pangasinan was named from: salt. We took a quick tour of the salt farm and saw different areas for the stages of making salt. 

Salt (sodium chloride) as I saw it was undergoing a process of solar evaporation in the field drained. After drained, it will be cleaned by fresh water and drain again and the salt is ready. Leaving Pangasinan, we parted ways after having a hearty dinner at Joseph and Jaemark’s  grill when we got back in Metro Manila.

Dinner at Joseph and Jaemark's. Courtesy of Mrs. Neneng Arceo

Destination: Pangasinan Part 7-DasoLand

Leaving Lingayen, we passed by a developing theme park/resort named DasoLand.  Owned and operated by Menardo Jimenez, Jr. It is not like a theme park you can compare with EK. 

After a delicious lunch provided by the staff, we started with the Santa Nativity Village, where you can walk the path and see the life-size scenes of the Nativity as it is chronologically arranged. After Nativity walk, we entered Santa’s House which is actually a Santa Clause museum where you can find mostly Santa Claus dolls and memorabilia from all shapes and sizes.

Our next part of the tour was the Butterfly Garden. We through a hall where there are preserved butterflies before going to the actual habitat. This was my first time to take picture of a butterfly up close.

Our next stop was an old-style house with antique furniture. Being here was like you’re on a set of a filming a movie set in 1800’s. We also see old devices or simple machinery from era when there was no technology yet but depends on muscle power drawn by cattle like carts. After the devices were the military vehicles from the Second World War. In my next blog post about Pangasinan, I will continue with the rest of the DasoLand tour.

Destination: Pangasinan Part 6

On our last night in Lingayen, we were also invited to join recognition night as part of the Pangasinan’s festivities. What I never expected was that there were also popular personalities like Jose De Venecia and Leticia Ramos-Shahani. After the event, we all have a souvenir group picture printed at the lobby. I went out by myself to look at the unveiled monument of the Pangasinan in the Capitol grounds and the government structures that also look good well lit at night and took a look at the War Memorial before I called it a night.

The following day, I went up early to take pictures of the World War 2 vehicles displayed in the Capitol area. Before checking out the hotel, I never thought I can have the experience teeing off at the golf range. After a few misses, I got to hit the ball. This is something I won’t forget because I may never get another chance to play an expensive sport again.

Before leaving Lingayen, we pay a visit to a photo exhibit and had our last group picture along with our hosts from the Pangasinan government. Along the way, we still have two stops which I will continue on my next Pangasinan post.

Destination: Pangasinan Part 5- Bolinao

Besides the beaches of Bolinao, we also toured the other main attractions. Bolinao is also a base for marine research. People enjoy beaches but it also comes with responsibility in taking care of underwater habitat. University of the Philippines’ Marine Science Institute Bolinao Marine Laboratory is dedicated to this cause. We were shown around the compound by Research Assistant Tin Edullantes.  

Giant clam

We were shown the largest clam I’ve ever seen. Too bad I can’t get closer to touch it. They are also breeding sea cucumbers because they are near extinctions due to demand of buyers from Japanese restaurants.

Sea Cucumber

 In their building entrance, I noticed how they serious they are with their concern for marine research that during our visit; we noticed a scratch paper with a warning written:

This reminds me of the adventures of my fictional hero of the Clive Cussler paper backs novels that concerns marine research.

Bolinao Lighthouse

The next tourist attraction in Bolinao is their lighthouse that is the tallest in the country. It doesn’t work like it used to because the storm damaged its solar panels and the residence for its engineers. It is over a century old and was built by the Filipinos, Americans, and British in 1905.

Underground river cave

One of the alternatives beside the beaches is the underground cave with a river. We went to one of the known underground caves called Enchanted Cave operated by a family. There’s a stairs that leads down a lighted area. It was never measured how long the river extends but I was told a foreign explorer reached just below the parking area. The river is naturally clean probably because of the minerals the cave has.

Destination: Pangasinan Part 3-Bolinao Church

St. Joseph Cathedral

On our second day, which happens to be my natal day, we went to Bolinao. On our way, we made a stop in a diocese of Alaminos named St.Joseph Cathedral Parish upon demand of Mr. Benjamin Layug, who wrote a book about Philippine churches. In Bani, one of the towns we passed, we stop again to for Benjamin so we could take pictures of old houses.

One of the old houses in the town of Bani

Upon reaching Bolinao finally, we came to take pictures of the oldest church in Bolinao. Not only it is one of the oldest In Pangasinan, it is where the first mass in Bolinao was held. It also had a marker for it. I saw Benjamin was overwhelmed with emotion after seeing the interior of the church because it was affected by a recent typhoon that left the church damaged. 

The church in Bolinao

Bolinao is also celebrating its fiesta. Bolinao also has the sites for beach resorts. Our next stop is El Pescador Resort.

Marker of the first mass in Bolinao

Destination: Pangasinan part 2

Arriving at Lingayen after lunch, we went directly the Capitol area where I saw the most scenic public office compound I’ve ever seen. We went to Malong building where the Pangasinan tourism office is located. In the lobby, we were watching a documentary of Pangasinan’s tourism before we were given the itinerary of the whole Pangasinan trip.  I also got to see the different handicrafts displayed Pangasinan had to offer. What really caught my attention was the swordsmanship. They even have a collectors’ item William Wallace sword in Braveheart that Mel Gibson used.

Also that afternoon, we were waiting for the parade of different municipalities. I was really entertained by the creativity of the parade from the colorful marchers and decorative floats. One of the floats that attracted me was the float of the town of Bautista. It  was decorated with the pattern of a walis tambo or broom because it is considered the home of the walis tambo and the Lupang Hinirang, because that was where Jose Palma composed the music for the national anthem.

Another float that I fancy was shaped as a bakya or wooden slippers. Another float has the model of the Capitol Building, Lingayen church, and the Lighthouse. All participants went straight at front of the real Capitol building where the stage is located. The program is part of the week-long celebration of the Pangasinan foundation. The next part of the Pangsinan blog is Bolinao.

Destination: Pangasinan Part 1-Manaoag

Pangasinan is located in the west central area of island of Luzon along Lingayen Gulf. The local language is called Pangalatok or Pangasinense in exception of Bolinao, which has a variation of its language. My first time in Pangasinan was years ago when my father and I stop over our relatives in Asingan before going to Baguio. I was invited to feature Pangasinan for my blog upon invitation of PR consultant Bernard Supetran. 

Manaoag Church vicinity

We left Manila around 7:00 in the morning and arrived around just in time for lunch and in Manaoag. We also made our first stop for the journey here. Manaoag is bordered by Pozorrubio in the north, Urdaneta City and Mapandan in the south,  Binalonan in the east, and San  Jacinto in the west.

We had lunch at Hardin Sa Paraiso Grill and Restaurant. Hardin Sa Paraiso literally meant paradise garden in Tagalog. We also made our lunch venue worthwhile since the place was ideal for a good photo shoot. We took pictures of the place while waiting for our lunch.

After our delicious lunch, we proceeded to Manaoag’s town center to visit Manaoag’s church, Our Lady Of Manaoag.  The church is known to draw pilgrims and devotees from all walks of life. I saw an area where people come and light candles for prayers.

Within the church vicinity was the church museum that housed old religious artifacts. It was here that I learned more about its church history.  Christianity in Manaoag was introduced in 1600 by the Augustinians Dominicans five years later. The next part of the Pangasinan trip blog is Lingayen.

Church altar