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Published: November 7th 2011
After spending a day with my high school buddies catching up & planning our Boracay trip, Rene & Eric dropped me off to my cousin's (Joel) whom I have not seen since he was 7 or 8 years young which was over 30 years ago. It was 2 AM by the time I got to his house and finally met in person his wife Gina whom I had been corresponding with the previous 2 months planning out trips for my stay.
Joel and I briefly exchanged our past memories but had to prepare for our road trip in just a few hours. So I cleaned up and packed 1 bag for the road.
The weather has been rainy since noon on my first day in Manila. It continued to rain as Joel, his wife Gina, and I made the drive to Cabugao, a town in Ilocos Sur. It is located 450 km north of Manila and about 10 km from the South China Sea. It is famously known for its wonderful garlic and spiced vinegar. The drive, which normally takes 6-7 hours, took 9 hours as it rained the entire time until we reached our destination.
Upon arrival
in Cabugao, we proceeded to Dioci's (Gina's cousin) home. Dioci has just finished serving his 6th term as mayor of Cabugao. He & his wife Chita have prepared a dinner feast for us.
The appetizer menu consisted of thin slices of shasihimi made from Tanigue – a local fish. It was so fresh & so good that it just melts in my mouth like butter. It also included Kilawin – the Philippine equivalent of Mexican Ceviche but made of water buffalo meat. So if you like Ceviche (like I do) then you will love Kilawin. Dinner entrees included Rice, Fried Shrimp, Pinakbet (Celina's favorite), Kare-Kare, Fried Chicken, & Tinola.
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Gina Resultay
non-member comment
Happy to know you are enjoying your trip back home to the Philippines so far, 'Tol. We wish others would do the same and relive those memories.