ILOCOS SUR | Vigan's Calle Crisologo at Night

Friday, October 19, 2012

Vigan's Calle Crisologo

The night was not so young, but it was our last hour in Ilocos. Everyone decided it was best if we revisit the often visited Calle Crisologo in Vigan City before we board our van and let the darkness of the road swallow us back to Manila.

The weather was erratic the whole day, we constantly tried to outrun the rain, zipping between Vigan, Batac and Currimao, but somehow it always managed to locate and catch us.
Ancestral House Reflection on Wet PavementThere was still a light drizzle as our steps echoed through the deserted streets of the old city, our reflections flitting across the wet pavement. We turned a corner and there was Vigan City’s grand Calle Crisologo.

Night at Calle CrisologoIt was the same as I remembered from my first solo journey some years past.

The faded white walls of the stone houses still reflect the bright and warm lights of the lamps, the cobbled street still has that after-rain shine, the wooden doors still peeling, the signboards, the people and even the small graffiti painted on a niche under a bench that I first noticed the first time I visited Vigan was still there.

Everything remained as it was.

A Puddle Reflecting an Ancestral HouseAnd this is really what Calle Crisologo is all about. It is a time machine. Here, minutes don’t count and clocks do not tick.

Everything’s moving; the horse carriage transporting tourists, the vendor hawking souvenirs, passersby briskly walking along, but time is forever on standstill.

Calle Crisologo at ViganThe houses appear as they probably had for millenniums, way before trucks rumbled through streets and jetliners soared across the skies. Its interiors may have changed from grand old houses where Spanish mestizos lounge on balconies smoking cigars to less than glamorous souvenir stores selling printed t-shirts and keychains, but one can still see the history etched on the details of these rough walls even without looking hard.
Moon Rise at Vigan CityI walked on and the moon rose, lighting the darkened sky with an electric shade of blue. It was the second time I had seen the same moon on the same spot on this same place.

The moon has confirmed it and now I am certain. Time indeed stops at Vigan’s Calle Crisologo.


Vigan Location Map

Calle Crisologo
Address: Crisolog Street, Vigan City, Ilocos Sur
Hours: Open 24 Hours

GPS Coordinates: 17.572441,120.389055
View Location on Google Maps: Click Here
 

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12 comments

  1. Ang ganda niya kapag gabi at katatapos lang umulan :D

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  2. the photos are interesting, in dark and eerie way. i was waiting for something lurking in the darkness would suddenly pop out. it is perfect for halloween. maybe vampires lurking in the dark streets, seeking blood...

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  3. Would love to visit Vigan. But I think I prefer going through the streets in the am or late pm. =)

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  4. The last pic with the moon and the all-blue lighting, the drama of the picture was superb! Travel magazine cover-worthy!

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  5. madalas ako sa friend ko sa Candon kaya pag pumupunta kami ng Vigan eh hapon lagi, di pa ako inabot ng gabi, maraming salamat sa mga pictures,the best way to describe eh "nakaka-relax"

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  6. perspective perspective perspective... good job christian! :)

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  7. love the charm of the heritage village kahit na sa gabi. I arrived there during my visit of Vigan at night and it just stopped drizzling exactly seeing the same state of the village as you depicted on your photos. love the puddle reflection. Hindi ba open that night yung bar sa kanto? I saw a TV ad of that on a regional channel once LOL

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  8. Micamyx
    I agree Mica, yun yata ang best time talaga ng Calle Crisologo

    Fifileigh
    Haha no vampires here definitely

    Journeyingjames
    Thanks James :)

    Tin
    Late evening Tin, deserted na sya :)

    Ian
    Thanks Ian! :)

    Tatatyjoni
    Naku you should visit Crisolog at night sir!

    Blissfulguro
    Thanks ma'am :)

    Turista Trails
    I think di pa ata sya open nun haha

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  9. Wow you made the place look more beautiful. I tried taking pictures there at night but my camera phone didn't do it justice.

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  10. Galing! I've been wanting to capture Vigan by night too..

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  11. Marjorie, Xambau
    Thanks! But I'm really not that satisfied with my photos, I can't seem to get the lights right


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