Pagudpud beyond the beach

By Rene Guatlo
Philippine Daily Inquirer

FOR MOST people, Pagudpud is Saud Beach, the Blue Lagoon and Patapat Viaduct. But the town has more to offer the intrepid traveler.

I spent the day in Pagudpud some time back – a leisurely drive before noon, with lunch at a karinderya near the town plaza.

The paksiw na baraniti (local galunggong) cooked in native onions and tomatoes was just heavenly. The pork adobo was very dry but flavorful, while the adobong sili with saluyot was its perfect counterpoint. The imbaliktad (beef kinilaw boiled for a few seconds to half-cook the meat) was just kapritso.

From the town center, it’s a 20-minute drive to Barangay (village) Ayoyo – through the well-kept dirt roads of Caparispisan, with wonderful views of the surf and sea, a small promontory with sheep and goats grazing on the grass between crags and cracks, while the view from the hills reminds you of a savannah.

In the coming months, 40 new wind turbines will be built on these hills, which will generate 80 megawatts of power, complementing the 20 turbines already standing along Bangui Bay.

There’s a resort called Hidden Treasure on a beautiful cliff. The view of the sea and the waves crashing on the rock formations below are captivating, if only they would improve the cottages.

There are also a number of beachside homes and resorts along the way.

Main livelihood

Barangay Ayoyo’s main livelihood is fishing, but you must go very, very early in the morning as they bring the catch to the town market at dawn. They also make beautiful and sturdy sleeping mats from a hardy plant called budak, a spiny and thorny plant with pineapple-like fruits. They remove the thorns using nylon string, then cut the leaves into three long strands. The strands are then softened using a dull knife. The mats and walis tingting (broomstick) provide additional income to the community.

Beyond Ayoyo is a stretch of black pebble beach and the Stingray Memorial in the adjacent Barangay Caunayan. A monument for the series of submarine drops of men and matériel for the guerrilla operations in northern Luzon toward the end of World War II features the replica of one of the submarine anchors dropped while eluding Japanese patrol boats.

The view of seemingly unending surf is a fitting backdrop to the monument. More than 1000 ha of land in Caunayan is now being used to plant coconut trees for the production of biofuel in a processing plant in the nearby town of Pasuquin.

Pagudpud’s natural gifts – a beautiful coastline, a hardworking people – are the reasons for its being recognized as an exciting center for tourism. New technologies being adopted will also provide livelihood for its people and energy for the development of the countryside.