Where To Go In Ilocos Norte: Cape Bojeador Lighthouse

Years ago, I saw a documentary saying that a lot of lighthouses in the Philippines are already degrading. They even interviewed an old man who takes care of a lighthouse and said that lighthouses in our country have lost their glory throughout the years. The documentary also said that some of the lighthouses are now turned into museums, and those who used to guard the lighthouses are now merely caretakers.

Anyway, the Cape Bojeador Lighthouse was one of our last stops before concluding our Ilocos adventure. Tourists need to climb a flight of stairs to reach the lighthouse. I don’t know why, but I noticed that some of the steps are uneven. Various cracks are also evident. I’m not sure if these were brought by the lighthouse’s age or the 1990 earthquake which hit and damaged most of the northern parts of the Philippines.

Si Ate na naka-blue, nilakasan ko na ‘yung sigaw ng “1-2-3 smile”, wapakels pa rin! :p

When we attempted to go to the top of the lighthouse, Boyet told us that it was off limits. Apparently, he already had a small chat with the caretaker. Boyet was told that it was temporarily closed to tourists because the local government received reports that the caretakers were asking for donations from guests. I don’t know why it became an issue since most of the places we visited in Ilocos are being funded by donations. Because of this, we had no other choice but to simply admire the lighthouse from afar.