16
Jun
09

Ilocos: The Tour (Second Part)

It was still raining heavily on our second day in Ilocos Norte. We are headed for the northern towns of the province.

The rain made the travel comfortable due to the cold, refreshing air. The rain poured from drizzle to torrent and vice versa.

Bangui Wind Farm

Our first official stop is the Bangui Wind Farm.

The Bangui Bay Wind Power Project (aptly called as “Bangui Wind Farm”) is the first commercial wind farm in Southeast Asia. Built by the NorthWind Power Development Corporation to take its share in reducing the emission of harmful greenhouse gases, the windmills provide 33MW of electrical power or 70% of Ilocos Norte’s power consumption.

When it was inaugurated on June 18, 2005 it consisted of 15 wind turbines spaced 236 meters apart on-shore. Now, there are 20 wind turbines lined up along Bangui Bay.

The turbines’ hub height (ground level to center of nacelle – that part holding the blades) is 70 meters high (roughly equivalent to a 23 storey building).

Each blade is 41 meters long.

Each wind turbine has a 6-meter diameter base.

I was in awe when I saw these structures. I was held by that feeling of amazement and wonder that I haven’t noticed the number of shots I made. I eventually used 72 frames of film. The boring, overcast sky did not impede me from taking shots at different angles.

What amazed me basically was the size of these structures. The photographs I have seen have not provided enough scale. So these two pictures will tell you how gigantic these structures are compared to men…

We stayed for more than an hour in this place. What forced us to leave was the torrential downpour.

To be continued…

Related post:

In case you want to have a tour of Ilocos, and you’ll be staying in Laoag, you may get in touch with Mang Lito, the man who offered to tour us around. His service is significantly low compared to arranged tours or packaged tours being offered by the hotels in Laoag. He may be contacted through his mobile phone: 09273387969.
I will not promote the hotel we stayed in. Although they had reasonably low room rates, good food and courteous staff, their water supply is not good – it’s yellow. Their room rates are also a bit tricky, as this caused a slight argument when we checked out


36 Responses to “Ilocos: The Tour (Second Part)”


  1. June 16, 2009 at 10:09 am

    i too am surprised to see them Mark, I think it is more beautiful over there since it is right by the ocean :) here, our windmill farms are by the desert, coz our desert has the most wind and also just very consistently windy. love your shots, especially the 2nd one.

    Yes, Miss Beth, I think the ocean made it more beautiful… I really prayed hard for the clouds to clear even for an hour, but it remained overcast. During our last day, the rains finally let up and the sun appeared. I was so tempted to go back to this place, however I have apprehensions on making it on time for my return flight to Manila, so I did not push through. Thanks!

  2. 2 Gingging
    June 16, 2009 at 10:29 am

    Hi Mark!

    Amazing photos! Very witty blogs too! Wow, Wow and Wow!!!!

    Thanks for sharing.

    Regards and God bless!
    -Gingging-

    Thanks Ging for taking time to visit my blog… :D God bless you too and your family!

  3. June 16, 2009 at 12:29 pm

    impressive ang mga photos. galing! all thumbs up ako!

    Salamat kapatid… :D Pero nakakapanghinayang lang na cloudy ang day na yun…

  4. June 16, 2009 at 6:02 pm

    ITONG MGA TURBINES KALA KO SA EUROPE AT AMERIKA LANG MERON…..NGAYON KO LANG NALAMAN NA MERON PALA SA PINAS……ASTIG….ANG GAGANDA PA NG MGA SHOTS MO……SANA ONE DAY MARATING KO RIN….HAYSSSS…..NAKITA KO NA ITO SA IBANG PANIG NG MUNDO DITO PALA SA ATIN MERON RIN……SALAMAT SA POST NA ITO…VERY INFORMATIVE….

    Hehehe… Salamat Kuya Blu… At talagang dumalaw agad… :D Hanggang ngayon ngumingisi pa rin ako sa matang yun… :D
    More to come in the coming days…

  5. June 16, 2009 at 6:38 pm

    wala na, inggit na talga ako.! Hahaha. Hays, pupunta rin ako jan, haha.

    Biyahe ka na kapatid!

  6. June 16, 2009 at 7:21 pm

    as usual.. magaganda mga kuha ;)

    medyo mahal nga lang ito pero laking bagay ng naitutulong nito sa Ilocos at nakakatulong na rin sa environment.. sana sa ibang parte ng ‘pinas malagyan din!

    Kapatid, may mga nakasabay kaming mga Koreano pabalik ng Manila… Natanaw ko lang sa mga binabasa nila – mga feasibility studies ng mga wind farms sa ibat ibang coastal areas ng Pilipinas… Sana nga matuloy… Pwede ito sa mga mahahanging lugar… Renewable energy source at malinis sa kapaligiran… :D

  7. 10 Ax
    June 16, 2009 at 7:38 pm

    hm, hindi kaya nakasabay mo yung mga high school classmate ko nung pumunta sila dyan? hehe. nung June 12-14 sila nandyan!

    Ax, mas nauna kami sa kanila ng isang linggo… :D June 4-7 kami…

  8. June 16, 2009 at 8:25 pm

    mark ang ganda….lalo na yung second pic lalo na siguro kung blue sky yan no?

    Oo Miss Powks… Mas magiging maganda kung malinaw ang langit at hindi overcast… :D Pero okay na rin… Ganda ng experience at talagang napanganga ako sa ganda nila… Hehehe…

  9. June 16, 2009 at 10:04 pm

    Na-amaze ako sa last picture. The people look like dwarves with the towering height of the turbines. :)

    Amazing indeed… I walked far to fit the nearest turbine in the frame… :D For the last pic, I was standing on top of a small sand dune… :D

  10. June 16, 2009 at 11:45 pm

    I think that the overcast skies made the photos more impressive.We have a windfarm here in No. Illinois…I love to drive by it. It seems that so many people don’t want these in their area…I can’t see why. We need to change our ideas of energy to save our precious planet.

    You are right Balisha… We really need a paradigm shift. The effects of our hard-headedness are showing in the erratic weather that we have here… Thanks for dropping by… :D

  11. June 17, 2009 at 9:59 am

    Marky, the pictures are beautiful! You make me want to go there too. Good job, Mark, and keep it up! :-D

    Thanks Cory! :D

  12. June 17, 2009 at 10:23 am

    weird. but i always dream of windmills. bisaya ka? :D

    Hello Tinay… Thanks for dropping by… Bisdak jud… :D

  13. June 17, 2009 at 10:28 am

    Kapatid, thank you for this photo treat. I’ve never been to Bangui. This is really an engineering feat…The more i stare at those windmills, the more it occurs to me they are like conscious living beings, silent yet powerful…

    Welcome kapatid… Yes, an engineering feat indeed and they held me for a while there… When you stand still and be quiet, you could hear the sound of the wind as it makes the blades rotate… :D

    • June 17, 2009 at 1:40 pm

      With our comments kapatid, i feel like we’re no different from Don Quixote hehe except that that we see those windmills as giants that harness nature’s power and not to be slain:

      “Look at them better, master,” said Sancho.”Those are not giants; they are windmills. The things which you call arms are sails, and they flop around when the wind blows.”

      Bull’s eye kapatid… Our main advantage against Don Quixote is that while he sees the windmills as giants, we see them as they truly are… :D Thanks!

  14. June 17, 2009 at 11:08 am

    anlalaking, baka higupin ako nyan…

    Naku, hindi naman Alvin… Hehe… :lol:

  15. 20 dencios
    June 17, 2009 at 1:43 pm

    alam mo bossing, gusto ko talaga makita iyan. nakaka curious sa laki kasi at balita ko ang laki daw ng naitutulong nyan. para tuloy gusto ko malaman ang specs at design nya hehe.

    i like the 2nd and last foto :)

    Sabi sa mga internet sources, it supplies 70% of Ilocos Norte’s power… Malinis din ito kasi walang by-product ang energy generation process… :D Byahe na pag-uwi mo dito kapatid!

  16. June 17, 2009 at 9:46 pm

    congratz tama yung sagot mo sa blu eye!…basahin mo ang hindi ako si blu eye!

    Haha! Pagkatapos ng napakaraming panghuhula… Nabasa ko na po… Salamat!

  17. 22 AC
    June 17, 2009 at 10:29 pm

    kakainggit. *sniff sniff*

    hehehe..

    maghintay ka lang ilocos at darating din ako jan. :lol:

    Hehe… “Makisaya, byahe tayo. Kilalanin ng husto na kakaiba ang Pilipinas…”

  18. June 18, 2009 at 1:24 pm

    kailan kaya ako makakapunta rito and the rest of ilocs.. sigh!!!!

    Uy, salamat sa pagdalaw Herald… :D Naku, madali lang yan para sa yo… Nasa Luzon ka na eh… :D

  19. 24 isay
    June 18, 2009 at 1:39 pm

    nyaaaa! wala ko kabalo nga pwerti kadaku gale kung wala ko nakita ang last picture nga may tao. haha!

    Hehehe… Daku gid, as in namangha gid ko gani… :D

  20. June 18, 2009 at 5:35 pm

    galing ang ganda talaga ng netherlands.. hanep sa windmill!!

  21. June 26, 2009 at 8:58 am

    Mark.nice shots. why are the windmills not turning? guba na guro.

    Thanks… Oh, you know the drill, aperture speed set faster than the rotor speed. Result = freeze. :D

  22. 32 Baden
    February 2, 2010 at 5:32 pm

    nindot, balik balikan ang lugar…pero very expensive if mobiyahe ug balik ;)


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