Things were going on fast for our year end road trip. It was not as if that just a day before we were navigating a challenging drive in Apayao to see Mt. Kilang, and when we had a laid-back exploration of the town of Dingras and of the vicinity of the Paoay Lake. The time to go came in swiftly.

We hit the road at 05:30 AM en route to Pangasinan, the last stop of our year end Ilocandia journey.

The province of Pangasinan got its name from pang-asinan, literally for salt-making. As a coastal province that is hugged by the Lingayen Gulf and the West Philippine Sea, it is not hard to see why the place has a strong association with the sea.

From Ilocos Norte, we drove through the provinces of Ilocos Sur and La Union before we finally reached Pangasinan, effectively breezing through all the provinces of the Ilocos Region. It took us seven and a half hours before finally reaching Barangay Capandanan in the capital town of Lingayen. There, we were met by Clark, a work colleague and a very good friend who lives in Lingayen. It would be a trip of three with him from thereon.

Much to our delight, Clark and his family prepared lunch for us. There were just two of us, but what was prepared could very much well feed 10. It was way more than hospitality that capped our more than seven-hour journey.

Dishes of pork, vegetables and fish to fill our famished bodies.

After the sumptuous lunch prepared for us, we rested for a while before Clark accompanied us to the neighboring barangay Estanza where we would be spending the night. He actually did the coordination for the place, Coby’s Lounge.

It took a 20–minute drive from Capandanan to the accommodation in Estanza. Located just along the road leading to Estanza Beach, Coby’s Lounge features three air-conditioned cabins that can fit three persons in each, perfect for the three of us. There is also a kitchen and dining area in the compound where the cabins are located, hence if one is into cooking, then it would be an easy undertaking.

We unloaded our luggage from the car, rested for a while, then prepared ourselves for the afternoon ahead. It may seem that there was nothing much we can do anymore since we arrived late in Pangasinan, but one must not underestimate the flare of a traveler. More often than not, travelers manage to make it happen. We make it happen.

As it turned out, our seven-and-a-half-hour long journey was not to be met by a finale but by a start of something new. Actually, a lot of things new.