Hitchhiking in Philippines: Saud Beach
18th of March, 2025.
A car comes back for me, only after some time that I’m standing here. They are Lidia (a gorgeous 63 years old woman), Janet (a young woman), and Bob, who is driving. They are all working together, as engineers, in Baguio, so they could drop me off in Vigan City if I wanted, instead, I tell them I’m only going to Pagudpud, which they all know.
We have a great time together. They are surprised not only about my travels but about “my skills”. Being all engineers, they say it’s funny that I know how to do construction work and they don’t. The way is also beautiful, full of gorgeous views of the beach. And the weather changes really fast too, after only some time driving, the sky becomes blue and the temperature increases.
We stop in a view point for some photos, and also to drink some delicious coconut water. It’s a huge coconut, most likely half a litter inside. Laugh. And we also have some chichiron, the traditional Filipino snack made out of pork dried skin.
They drop me off in the highway, and now I must either walk or hitchhike to Saud Beach. I do both! Soon enough after I start walking, a man in his car gives me a lift until the entrance of the beach. It’s nothing like I imagined it would be.
The beach is surrounded by a wall. There’s a tourist info centre and a cafe right at the entrance, where the big and colorful letters which read “Ilocos Norte” can be found. Why? I mean, why? Then there’s an entrance fee, charged by some government employees, sitting under a tent. It’s 20 pesos per person; 150 if you want to use one of the huts for pic-nic; and 10 pesos to use the toilet. As I explain my situation to the nice people working there, they let me go in for free but tell me I cannot camp in the beach, as everybody must leave at 17.00 hours. What? Anyway, I’m saved by the woman, Gemalyn, who says I can come and camp in her house, which is a short distance walking from here. Yay!
It’s soon after 10 a.m. now, and I only have some time to arrange all my things in the beach, apply some sunscreen on it, do a short walk, and when I finally sit down, thinking I can enjoy some rest, Gemalyn comes and tells me she’s on her lunch break, so I can come with her to her house. If I knew that this would be the last hour of actual good weather, I would’ve stayed.
Saud Beach is nice. The water is bright turquoise and slightly calm, as the waves only break once by the beach, and after that the ground is flat and the sea is knee deep. The water is clean and the sand is also nice and white. There’s very few people today but I guess it’s the weekday. As you walk to the right, you will get to a point where lots of sea weed are washed ashore. I wish I had walked all the way to a corner, where there are some palm trees but the rain in the horizon detained me. As you walk to the left, after some rocks, you will ended up in a resort, with many huts and coconut trees by the beach.
Gemalyn has a baby boy and she lives with her mum, three sisters and one brother, but only one of her sisters does not have some hearing and speaking problems. She is the only one working in the family. Her sister who can speak has one daughter and also helps her with the baby boy while she’s at work. They are all very kind and nice to me, including her mum. We have noodles and rice for lunch and then come back to the beach.
I go for a walk but the weather is cloudy now, promising some strong rain. A drizzle stars as I’m still walking but I manage to come back to my clothes before it get to them. Then I stay under one of the hut for the rest of the afternoon. I’m actually freezing cold now but what to do? Surprisingly, there’s a huge group of people spending some time here. At 17.00 hours, Gemalyn and I go back to her house.
It’s so cold and the rain doesn’t stop! And I have to take a cold bath! We talk, we have some snacks, and then we have dinner. They don’t let me camp and I share the room with Gemalyn’s sister and her daughter. I insist on sleeping on the floor but they don’t let me, arguing that I am too tall and don’t fit on the space available, so I have to sleep on the bed.
Next morning, the rain keeps pouring since 5 a.m. We have some coffee and bread with jam for breakfast, and as the rain doesn’t stop, I go back to sleep. Only a bit before eleven o’clock, the rain gives a break, so I quickly get ready and leave. Gemalyn wants for me to stay another night but I tell her I cannot. I was hoping to arrive to Vigan early today, to visit the city in the afternoon, so I could just camp outside for the night and continue my travels tomorrow. Obviously, the universe had another plan for me.
10 Years Around the World 