Pagudpud: Patapat Viaduct

It may be that wide and lonely bridge to some, but to those who come from the far south like me, it is an achievement to be at this northern most bridge that you could only find here in the town of Pagudpud. Nope, it is not just some bridge overlooking the very beautiful Pasaleng Bay but rather a viaduct - a bridge over a valley connecting the the Maharlika Highway from Laoag, Ilocos Norte to the Cagayan Valley Region.

This is my second visit on this very windy place called Patapat Viaduct, but despite of that, it never fails to amaze me by its merely serenity and picturesque scene. Made to to solve the problem of landslides causing many vehicular accidents in the area during the early times, Patapat Viaduct was officially opened to public in 1986 under the management of DPWH-PMO-PJHK.

Considered as the 4th longest bridge in the Philippines, its bridge is elevated 31 meters over sea level and runs for about 1.3 kilometers. It rises along Pagudpud's coastal mountains, which is the starting point of the Cordillera Mountain Range and snakes through Northern Luzon. 

For those who are planning to go here, well, there's really nothing much to do here other than the usual jump shots. Though the bay view is really relaxing, just don't be too relaxed because the wind might take you down and you'll surely hit rock bottom.

Along the way, before hitting the bridge, we saw this shipwrecked, which I believe is a tanker left rusty and tarnished. My friend who hails from Batac, Ilocos Norte and served as our tour guide on our trip here said that it was indeed a tanker - a Korean tanker named MV Nam Yang 8.

The tanker was a victim of Typhoon Juan back in January 2012 where it hit the bottom of Pasaleng Bay during the typhoon's height. It caused an oil spill around the area causing a huge damage not only to the tanker and its sailors but also to the environment surrounding it.

She said that the tanker could have been lifted and taken back to Korea, but since the price of doing it so costs twice than the actual price of the ship, the owner decided to just let the tanker stayed on our sea and they just paid the damages it caused to us.

Hearsay even brought some issues of auctioning the ship, but since no on really bothered to spent any single penny on it, looters took advantage on thsi abandoned ship and stole some worthy pieces of MV Nam Yang 8.

And now as the shipwrecked marooned over the strong wind and salty sea, local junk shop owners spent time getting every piece of tin can that they could get to make money of it. Hence, there were machinery ashore when we get there.

If you'll ask me, well, it wasn't a good view, of course, but the contrasting colors of the shipwrecked added a little story to the prominent viaduct, which serves as a real trophy once reached by driver from the southern part. 

Oh, BTW, this part of Pagudpud is also called the cousin of the very famous France's French Riviera because of it coastline, which is almost like the famed world's top tourist destination.

Happy rammmpa!