I saw a picture of this bridge in the Vigan Tourist Information Office. I immediately wanted to go there. I love bridges.
It was our last day in Ilocos. Time was of the essence. Most tricycle drivers didn't know it by its real name, Quirino Bridge. Those who did understand which bridge I was talking about-- after describing its shape, what river it spanned, its general location-- didn't want to take us there.
"But your bus will cross it on your way back to Manila," they would say. And then we'd explain that we weren't driving back to Manila; we were flying. And then they'd say, "From Laoag?" And we'd answer yes. And they would ask when we were going back to Laoag, and we'd say, "Today." And they'd say, "Oh, leaving so soon?" And so on and so forth.
Finally, we got a tricycle driver to take us there. He agreed to wait for half an hour.
We stayed almost an hour. It was magnificent.
The Quirino Bridge crosses the great Abra River. We climbed the stairs down to the riverbed and stared up at this exquisite structure.
Someday, the Quirino Bridge will be decommissioned. They're already building a new bridge across the way.
It was our last day in Ilocos. Time was of the essence. Most tricycle drivers didn't know it by its real name, Quirino Bridge. Those who did understand which bridge I was talking about-- after describing its shape, what river it spanned, its general location-- didn't want to take us there.
"But your bus will cross it on your way back to Manila," they would say. And then we'd explain that we weren't driving back to Manila; we were flying. And then they'd say, "From Laoag?" And we'd answer yes. And they would ask when we were going back to Laoag, and we'd say, "Today." And they'd say, "Oh, leaving so soon?" And so on and so forth.
Finally, we got a tricycle driver to take us there. He agreed to wait for half an hour.
We stayed almost an hour. It was magnificent.
Someday, the Quirino Bridge will be decommissioned. They're already building a new bridge across the way.
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