More than 100 Automobile Association Philippines (AAP) members and friends in 37 cars joined AAP’s Ilocos Norte Drive Tour Caravan last month not only to go sightseeing in Region 1. but also to gather signatures for the Decade of Action for Road Safety Pledge. The AAP Caravan to the Solid North was organized by AAP Director and Tourism Committee Chair Mina Gabor with the cooperation of Region 1 local government officials and Department of Tourism (DoT) Region 1 Director Martin Valera, who was one of her executives during her term as DoT Secretary.

Fueled by Pilipinas Shell Petroleum, which provided complimentary full tanks of gas for all the vehicles at flag-off in Manila and before leaving Laoag three days later, the 37 vehicles were divided into two groups, with the first group led by a Ford Everest SUV and the second by a Ford Focus TDCi compact hatchback. Two frisky Fiesta subcompacts served as sweep cars. Immediately behind the Everest was Mina Gabor in a Great Wall Hover SUV, followed by AAP Director Aida Sevilla Mendoza, three journalists and an AAP driver in a Hyundai Grand Starex Limousine. Next were Malaysian Ambassador and Mrs. Datu Seri Dr. Ibrahim Saad in a Mercedes-Benz S350, Pakistan Ambassador and Mrs. Mohsin Razi in a Volvo S80, Greek Ambassador Polyxeni Stefanidou and her husband, a retired rear admiral, in a Nissan Teana 350XV and Brunei Ambassador Malai Halimah Yussof, the Embassy’s Second Secretary and other staff members in a Toyota Grandis and Toyota Fortuner.

PERFECT AVENUE. The four diplomats and their entourage participated in the pledging sessions together with the local government officials, their staff and the AAP Caravan participants. During the first pledging session and the first stop at the Pangasinan Provincial Capitol Complex in Lingayen, Vice Governor Jose Calimlim said: “This advocacy initiated by

AAP was a perfect avenue to promote the local tourism of I locos and at the same time discover the hidden treasures of the province.”

The Pangasinan officials welcomed the AAP Caravan with a cultural presentation of local dances and songs and hosted lunch at the huge, newly renovated Sison Auditorium in the Capitol Complex.. After Lingayen, the next stop was the La Union Provincial Capitol in San Fernando, La Union for another Road Safety Pledging led by Governor. Manuel Ortega and Vice Governor Aureo Nisce, DoT Region 1 Director Valera, the Provincial Board members and transport group leaders also took and signed the pledge, after which they received from Ms Gabor and the other AAP directors the symbolic Decade of Action for Road Safety tag designed for the United Nations as a reminder of their promise to be safe road users.

Before proceeding to Laoag to check into the Plaza del Norte Hotel, the AAP caravan made a brief stop at Vigan to take photos of Ilocos Sur’s splendid historical cathedral. Early the next morning, the third and last Road Safety Pledge ceremony took place in front of the Provincial Capitol in Laoag, after which the team motored to windy Burgos to admire the Kapurpurawan Rock Formation jutting out into the South China Sea that shows the power of the wind and sea waves to shape rocks and corals.

WIND FARM. The second day of the tour began with a visit to the wind farm in Bangui, officially referred to as the North Wind Bangui Bay Project that produces clean, renewable energy and thus helps reduce the greenhouse gases that cause global warming. This wind farm, consisting of 20 wind turbines, is the only one in the Philippines and the entire Southeast Asian region. It provides 40 percent of the energy requirements of Ilocos Norte via Transco Laoag.

The next scenic stop was Pagudpud, where Mayor Maja Sales welcomed the travellers with a sumptuous lunch. Pagudpud is famous for the creamy white sand of its beach in Saud and the geographical fact that it is the northernmost tip of the Philippines. After the lunch, Ms Gabor and the AAP staff conducted a trivia contest with cool prizes up for grabs.

After returning to Plaza del Norte to freshen up, it was time to leave for Paoay, where the Malacanang of the North, the official residence of the late President Ferdinand Marcos, is located beside the beautiful Paoay Lake. Ilocos Norte Governor Imee Marcos graciously hosted dinner at the large veranda of her family’s mansion, which has been converted into a museum.

LOOKING FORWARD. On the third and last day of the tour, the travellers visited the Marcos mausoleum and museum in Batac. Because it was raining, the scheduled morning activities such as sand boarding on the La Paz dunes and bird watching beside Paoay Lake had to be cancelled. Instead, some of the travellers attended the 11:00 o’clock Mass at the historic St. Augustine church in Paoay while the others proceeded to the Herencia Restaurant nearby for lunch. After lunch, it was souvenir shopping time behind the restaurant where vendors’ stalls were set up. Then back to the hotel to check out and return to Manila.

There was a refreshing last stop before departing the Ilocos region: late afternoon snacks of the famous Vigan empanada and bibingka at Baluarte, the farm estate of Ilocos Sur Governor Chavit Singson.. This is the site of Gov Singson’s famous zoo where visitors can see a tiger, ostriches, deer, Shetland ponies and a black Vietnamese pot-bellied pig that performs tricks.

The trip back to Manila took some eight hours to cover as many sections of the national highway were under repair. However, the exhausted travellers were glad that they had joined the AAP Ilocos Norte Drive Tour Caravan and looked forward to the next AAP-conducted travel adventure in 2012. Perhaps this time to the South?