#Project81 Philippine Province Bucketlist: 11 out of 81

The dream for this #Project81 started when a young Filipina was able to travel and visit all of the 81 provinces in the Philippines at the age of 27.

I was 20 years old when I read about her story, and since then, I also dreamed of getting to travel and complete this Philippine Province Bucket List before I turn 30 years old. I am 21 years old now, and I am looking forward to making this dream become a reality.

As of today, I already visited 11 out of 81 provinces (including our province) which means I still have 70 provinces left to visit. I was looking forward to visiting 2 more provinces during last year's summer break but the Covid-19 pandemic didn't let it happen.

But the only free thing I can do now is to look back to my previous travels and relive the moments I had in those places.

1. Ilocos Norte (Our Province)

• I live in the northernmost part of the Philippines, particularly here in Pagudpud, and I've been to almost all of the municipalities in our province. Not to brag but Pagudpud is the best town in our province because we almost have it all. The beautiful white-sand beaches, the snake-like Patapat bridge that connects 2 provinces, the longest zipline above-water, chilling waterfalls, and jaw-dropping mountains. We also have hospitable Pagudpudenians here, and I'm not included. Lol 🤣

2. Ilocos Sur

• Ilocos Sur is just our neighboring province and I got here when we had our regional Girl Scout encampment when I was still in Grade 9. We were able to watch the dancing fountains and light shows in Vigan city, visited a lot of cultural heritage of the province, got to ride kalesa in front of Calle Crisologo, saw a lot of animals in Baluarte Mini Zoo, and we got to enjoy their beach too.

3. Zambales

• Our Girl Scout Regional encampment when I was still in Grade 8 was held at Subic, Zambales and that is how I got to this place. The memories I have here are still fresh in my memory as it was my eye-opening experience that pushed me to live and go on an adventure. We watched the dolphins do exhibitions at the Ocean Adventure in Subic Bay. We had fun watching animals at the Subic Zafari. We hiked the mountains and got to learn survival tips from our Aeta brothers and sisters. We had a lot of team-building activities and we also swam to their beautiful beach.

4. Cagayan

• Cagayan is also a neighboring province of Ilocos Norte and it's just 1 to 2 hours away from Pagudpud. My friend has relatives in this place and we stayed there for 2 days when we had our entrance exam at one of the Universities there. We were planning to study there for college but we didn't push it through after visiting the University several times. We didn't feel the vibe there. Lol 🤣 We visited their black-sand beach at Bidduang, Cagayan, and just enjoyed the sunset. That's all there is. 🤣

5. Isabela

• It was my first time travel to Isabela and it took 5 to 7 hours to travel by bus. I was with my mom and my cousin because we brought her to their house there. We only visited some of their destinations and took some photos. We also went to the mountains and visited the corn plantation of the place. There I dreamt again to have my own corn plantation someday. Lol 🤣

6. Metro Manila

• I've been to the metro several times already since I was a child because we would always attend our Church Anniversary held at Amoranto Sports Complex in Quezon City or at Quirino Grandstand, Luneta Park. Some of my relatives also live in Valenzuela City and Quezon City and I've visited them several times too. The only things I like about Metro Manila are the skyscrapers and huge malls of their cities.

7. Nueva Ecija

• I got here last 2016 because I went with my papa when they had their educational tour and I invited myself to join him. We visited the Philippine Rice Research Institute, and the Philippine Center for Post-harvest Development and Mechanization of the province. What I loved about my experience here was when we saw the rice-paddy arts at PhilRice Farm.

8. Pampanga

• I can't believe I got this far just for being a chaperone. Lol I accompanied my friend when she met with her long-distance boyfriend for the first time who lives in Bulacan but was studying in Pampanga. Then after a couple of months, they broke up. Good thing I was able to visit Paris Cafe and Skyranch Pampanga with them before they broke up. Char. 🤣

9. Ifugao

• This was the first province I visited when I went on my solo adventure to Sagada. We stopped over at Banaue and had a look at the beautiful Banaue Rice Terraces, which I've read about when I was still in Grade 1.

10. Mountain Province

• This was the main destination when I had my solo trip when I was 19. I visited Sagada, Mt. Province before because of the movie "That Thing Called Tadhana" and I fell in love with the place when I watched the movie, but I fell in love with it more when I actually got to the place. I got to see the hanging coffins. I got to hike inside the Sumaguing Cave. I hiked at the Marlboro hills, and Blue Soil Hills. I was able to watch the sunrise with the sea of clouds. It was an amazing experience and I would want to experience it again.

11. Benguet

• Benguet has a special place in my heart. I first got here when I went to Baguio City with my papa, then I had a stopover after my solo trip in Sagada, then I got here again when I hiked the 3rd highest mountain in the Philippines, Mt. Pulag.

That's 11 out of 81.

I am still looking forward to the days where the pandemic is no longer existing, and we are now free to travel from one province to another.