Ilocos Road Trip Part 1

We've had the privilege of traveling by road all the way to Laoag City (about 490 kms from Manila). While there, we just took advantage & went to all the sites where we could go.

We went all the way up to Pagudpud. The beaches are great for Luzon, but Boracay, Davao & Palawan are still the best for me. There, we went to a place called Caunayan Bay, the site of a covert submarine landing in 1943-44. Specifically, it was the USS Stingray a Balao (?) class sub that secretly brought supplies to Filipino guerrilas from Australia while the Philippines was under Japanese rule. What made this visit extra special was we were with Mr. Albert Montague, an American WWII veteran from Portland Oregon, who was on the Stingray. In fact, his last visit to the Philippines was in 1944!

In the picture below, from left to right: my son Mico, my lovely 10-year-old daughter Sam, our super-kulit 2-year old baby Megan and my sweetheart Pearl.

Also with us was Peter Parsons, the son of Chick Parsons - who led the secret submarine missions under Gen. Douglas MacArthur and Dr. Rico Jose of UP, an expert in WWII Philippine history. On the picture on top, Dr. Jose is the leftmost, Mr. Montague is at the center and Peter Parsons at the right. Organizing this sortie was Lucky Guillermo, who, with Peter Parsons have made several documentaries & a book related to the secret submarine missions in WWII.

More stories to come!