"Planning on How to Spend the Long Christmas Break"

Christmas is the most important event in our lives as we in the Christian world would commemorate the birthday of our savior JESUS CHRIST. Since it is a holiday, Christmas is always a family get together affair, a time for reunion, a time to celebrate Jesus birthday together as a family.

This Christmas season, is significant considering that it is a long vacation, I count it 8 days! Time to relax with our love ones. Where to spend it in a more memorable and significant way, that it what I intend to share you today.

I had long been thinking of spending holidays in the Philippines’ Ilocos region or region 1 . Originally, I was thinking of driving my family to this part of the Philippines starting with a day in Hundred Islands, Alaminos City in Pangasinan, then another day in Bauang, La Union, a day inVigan, Ilocos Sur, a day in Laoag City, Ilocos Norte, another day in the beach of Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte, a day in Aparri, Cagayan then 2 days in Tuguegarao City – the birthplace of my wife.

However, we have to make adjustments when my youngest daughter told us that she has lot of cases to read during the Christmas break. You see, she is now in her second semester in the UP College of Law. Her professors told her to study their cases as there will be oral and written examinations upon the resumption of classes.

So instead of daily overnight stop over in significant places in the northern part of the Philippines, this is our new itinerary:

We will leave early morning of Christmas day ( that is on the 25th of December) and drive to barangay Lucap in Alaminos City in Pangasinan. I have browse the internet using google search to reserve for a room in a resort in Alaminos City. We hope to arrive in Lucap before 9 a.m. and after settling in our rooms, we will then hire a pump boat to have an island hopping in the Hundred Islands till about 5 p.m.

We will then have an evening in a resort in Alaminos. At 8 a.m of the 26th, we will drive to Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte. I will see to it to stop for an hour in Vigan and another hour in Laoag before we will finally settle in Pagudpud. We hope to arrive in Pagudpud by 3 p.m. We will then spend time on the beach and let the night pass in a resort in that beach town. I will also make a reservation on line for our accommodation.

We will then proceed to Tuguegarao City. We will meet my mother-in-law and other relatives. We will then go back to Bulacan on the 30th of December. I shall give you a blow by blow account of this trip to northern Philippines!

Merry Christmas to everyone!