The heat was becoming intolerable so we all decided to leave Baluarte at 02:30 PM. There was nothing much to see there anyways. I wanted to visit the other museums in Vigan but we were already exhausted from walking along Calle Crisologo and Baluarte on a very hot day. We thought we didn't have any energies left to even walk because it seemed like the summer heat had sucked all our power but the sight of the picture-perfect Quirino Bridge in the town of Bantay made us jump from our seats and got us excited to explore the rocky beach that we had seen earlier in the day.
The initial plan only consisted of stopping by the beach in the Santa-Narvacan area but we spotted groups of people in what seemed to be a shrine just a few meters away from Quirino Bridge. Curiosity got the best of us and so we begged Tatay to wait for us in the car while we check out the viewing deck, which is aptly called -- well you guessed it right -- the Quirino Bridge Viewing Deck.
It is a regular 300sqm-ish viewing deck overlooking the Abra River. Three things that caught my attention: (1) the statue of a couple, (2) the tall transmission tower, and (3) the spacious area that was probably built for photo-hungry tourists [like us]! XD
It is a regular 300sqm-ish viewing deck overlooking the Abra River. Three things that caught my attention: (1) the statue of a couple, (2) the tall transmission tower, and (3) the spacious area that was probably built for photo-hungry tourists [like us]! XD
I'm sure anyone who'll go farther into the deck will first notice the statue of a man giving a woman a back hug, both facing the river. So when you enter the deck area, you will first see their backs. At a closer look, I noticed that both are sporting 1700s Pinoy fashion -- probably representing the era when Diego and Gabriela Silang fought for the freedom of the Ilocanos. Unfortunately, I couldn't identify the couple because I didn't see anything under the statue, something like a description to explain why the statue has been built, why it was put in the viewing deck and most importantly, who these people are supposed to be. What's more unfortunate is the fact that a few vandals decided to ruin the statue by spray-painting what I consider ugly doodles all over it :((
Just a few meters away from the statue, a huge transmission tower stands like a boss. There's nothing really special about the tower, it's just that it's not everyday that I get to be this close to a transmission tower. Okay, that sounded a little bit weird but yeah XD
And the best thing about the deck is that it's as if it was built with tourists in mind. It is very spacious and it has this aura that encourages people to take out their cameras, showcase their best we're-on-vacation-b*tch poses and leap as high as they can for epic jump shots. We couldn't resist the temptation of taking too many tourist pictures of ourselves and ourselves alone that we weren't able to track the time we've actually spent on trying to look good in these photos. So please bear with me as the succeeding photos will illustrate how we usually behave when we're on turista mode XD
The visit to the Quirino Bridge viewing deck was kind of like a breath of fresh air (can also be taken literally) because we could walk around the area without bumping into someone, unlike in Calle Crisologo and Baluarte. It also helped that the clouds decided to momentarily protect us from the heat of summer sunshine so we could take photos. In the heeeeaat of summer sunshine, I miss yoouuu like nobody else...♪♫♪♫
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All photos used in this post are properties of Juan "Toto" Luna and Kert Tria.
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All photos used in this post are properties of Juan "Toto" Luna and Kert Tria.