How much have you retained from your Elementary Science lessons? Things seem to always come in groups, doesn’t it? Solid, Liquid, Gas. Go, Grow and Glow. Very basic, right? What about Igneous, Sedimentary and Metamorphic? That’s right, they are rock classifications. I asked you to recall because our next stop is The Kapurpurawan Rock Formation or as I would call it, The Most Famous Sedimentary Rock in the Philippines located in Burgos, Ilocos Norte.
Yes, we are still in Burgos. In fact, this is only less than 10 kms from Cape Bojeador Lighthouse. Are you willing to take a short hike to get a closer look?
Along the main highway, a Tourist Center outpost serves as the entrance to the Rock Formation. The site itself is only 3.5 kms away from the highway but the access road is a total punishment. Be prepared for a very bumpy ride. The good news is, it looks like renovations are under way.
A map showing the Cape Bojeador to the tourist center (top photo) highlighted by blue line, then the additional drive using the access road (red highlight).
The entrance fee is collected at the Tourist Center
the on-going construction of the access road. Pic taken April 2013
Your vehicle can only take you as far as the edge of the hill overlooking the rocky coast. The Rock Formation is still half a kilometer away but you can already see the iconic rock from this vantage point. You’ll need 20/20 vision though.
left-most part on the mao is the jump-off point. The rock formation is labelled in the satellite photo.
I parked the motorcycle and made my way down the stairs. At this point, most of the tourists are already on their way back up. Even the sari-sari store was packing up and some of the “horsemen” are leaving. I guess their horses are demanding OT pay if they work past 5.
This is at the foot of the hill where the parking area is (that elevated part with flags)
From the looks of it, the pathway was just recently constructed. It was safer and more comfortable than walking on the rough terrain of slippery rocks, patches of shrubs, and small pools or water. It’s about a kilometer-long walk and takes 15-20 minutes.
The pathway is to the right. The trail up ahead is rocky and used by those on horseback. Center of the photos is the white rock formation.
the rocky beach, pathway under construction, and some pools of water..
As I got closer the features of the rocks became more prominent. Sure, it is just a rock. But it’s white! And it’s huge! There’s also quite a few of them, rock formations I mean. The star of the show though is obviously the unique formation farthest out to the sea.
There she is… proud and steady.
A sedimentary rock is formed when minerals or organic particles settle and accumulate at the Earth’s surface and within bodies of water. It’s a very long, undisturbed and slow process that can take hundreds, if not thousands of years. As shown in the picture above, the strata or the horizontal lines show the different layers that was formed over time. Anyone knows what those vertical lines are that are like veins that runs across the strata? Let us know in the comments 🙂
This is as close as I got but you may still trek a little further to get to the foot of the structure.
Tourists are no longer allowed from scaling up the rock formation which is about over 10 feet tall and 20 feet wide (my rough estimate) because it was being vandalized. But don’t worry, there are still other white rocks you can examine up close especially if your a rock hound like Andy Dufresne.Â
This one is not visible from the jump-off point so the trekking has an added reward.
Studying the rock beddings up close.
There’s a lot more rock formations here other than the Kapurpurawan Rock. By the way, Kapurpurawan is from the Ilocano word “puraw” which mean white.
more rock formations..
and still more rocks around..
there’s even Lam-Ang
Somewhere to the east is a rocky cliff that only got more beautiful as the sun sets lower. I saw it on the tourist map in Cape Bojeador and know it is called the Marugnay Rock Formation. I only found out later that is better known as Palpalokada.
The Marugnay Rock Formation aka Palpalokada.
a closer look..
Palpalokada is an elevated view point where you can see the Kapurpurawan Rock (west) and the Bangui Windmills (east). It’s something I need to visit on my next Ilocos trip. Meanwhile, daylight is fading fast so I need to get going. Everyone else has left.
At the parking lot, I chatted with a couple of motorcyclists from the area and they don’t know any hotel in Bangui. In the end, it looks like I will spend the night in Pagudpud which is still 30-50 kms away. I thought about stopping at the Bangui Windmills but opted for the view deck instead since it’s already 6PM.
At the Bangui Wind Farm view deck. Man, they are huge!!
By 06:30 PM, I was already in Pagudpud. I thought of making a run for Maira-ira Beach. Then I realized, I have to come back to Bangui for the windmills the next day so I turned around and headed for Saud Beach instead.
Looking for a place to stay in Pagudpud.
This part of Ilocos is a little remote and doesn’t really have a lot of streetlights and houses along the roads so it’s really very dark at night. Good thing was there’s hundreds of homestays in Saud Beach. I checked at least five houses before making my choice. See the house and the windmills on the next post. I had a good Day 2.
riderako 