The Historic Apatot Beach, San Esteban, Ilocos Sur
Due to the problem encountered, he opted to go straight to the next Ilocos Sur "tourist spot" on his list: Apatot Beach, San Esteban town. This time, was able to find the right road to turn to with locals who directed him to the two beach resorts plus the modern lighthouse beside a barangay hall.
Apatot Beach, San Esteban, Ilocos Sur
Apatot Beach with lots of bancas docked, no place to frolick, picnic et al
Apatot Beach's sand up close, is not really fine white but rocky at most. the water has very visible green algae too, irritating to swimmers and beach bummersTutubi's verdict:
Listed by Ilocos Sur Tourism office as a come-on for tourists, Tutubi finds it ordinary and not worth your time if you come from faraway Manila. It's a nice picnic place for locals though where the usual palce to stay at nearby beach resorts and while away time with the videoke machine at full blast.
Apatot Beach Resorts:
There are only two beach resorts on Apatot Beach seen by Tutubi with
typical facilities and amenities. No phone numbers posted on the resort
walls, no official websites and published room rates, cottage fees,
entrance fees and overnight accommodations. Probably due to the fact
that they cater mostly locals. No swimming pools sighted.
Don Coronel Beach Resort
Contact Number: +63.919.660.4132
Ursa Major Beach Resort
No information if there are suitable snorkeling areas as well as dive sites nearby too
World War II History in Apatot beach, San Esteban, Ilocos Sur:
For history buffs, this cove in San Esteban, Ilocos was the site of a
submarine surfacing during the latter part of World War II to unload
arms and supplies for the United States Army Forces in the Philippines
- Northern Luzon (USAFIP, NL. Remember in an earlier post, the Tagudin
Town Hall served as USAFIP, NL hospital).
The old historical marker that was washed away states: "
San Esteban Landing Site
Twice surfacing at Santiago Cove on November 21, 1944, the
USS GAR landed on this beach. Commandos of the Army of the United States
with equipment, arms, ammunition and supplies led by Capts. William
Vaughn and William Farell were Lts. Fred Behan and Donald Jamison with
two other Americans and Larry Guzman with other G Filipinos of the First
Filipino regiment. The landing was effected by USAFIP-NL under Col.
Russell W. Volkmann with other paramilitary and guerilla units. By order
of Volkmann, Jamison and Maj. Ferdinand E. Marcos sneaked through the
cordon of Gen. Tomoyuki Yamashita to an air strip in Isabela and flew to
Camp Spencer”.
Tutubi would have believed the story completely but there's mention of
Ferdinand Marcos as a war hero. Take note, no offense to many Ilocano
brothers who still put the Marcoses on a high pedestal, Ferdinand Marcos
was president with a very well documented dictatorship and falsely
documented exploits of war heroism. His medals of heroism during World
War II were all fake custom-made to glorify himself. Such vainglory!
Tutubi's glad the historical marker was washed away. It should've been
replaced with a properly verified marker by historical scholars of the
National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP, formerly NHI).
Labels: Beaches, Ilocos Region, Ilocos Sur, World War II
posted by backpacking philippines @ 9:09 PM,
9 Comments:
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At Jan 31, 2011 1:46:00 PM,
docgelo said...
-
wow, may history notes pa!
ang husay! :D
i like the photos of the boats;
i don't know but i always like pictures of boats nicely captured. -
At Jan 31, 2011 6:42:00 PM,
backpacking philippines said...
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docgelo, fancy pictures of boats, eh! ako lighthouses hehe
-
At Feb 1, 2011 1:47:00 PM,
thepinaysolobackpacker said...
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ang nice ng kulay ng boat,pareho pareho. :) mukha xang magandang pang swiming sa photo mu dahil cguro sa blue waters and white sand sa malayuan. ;)
-
At Feb 2, 2011 9:20:00 AM,
Cheap flights philippines said...
-
I think Apatot beach has its pros in the sense of it historical value, but based from your review, it is quite under developed and the probably not commercial. I think for people looking into dwelling in a more quiet type of beach, this is suited. Otherwise, I am positive other beaches in the area are way better.
My 2 cents. -
At Feb 3, 2011 1:57:00 PM,
backpacking philippines said...
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thepinaysolobackpacker, sa malayo parang ok nga pero sa malapit hindi. but if i live there, it's a nice pretty quiet place, something i prefer :P
cheap flights philippines, forgot to mention above that i prefer undeveloped beaches and not the crowded ones :P -
At Mar 13, 2011 2:13:00 AM,
nick said...
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i never liked marcos but he was IN the war
and was in danger and
unlike you who sit on your ass -
At Mar 13, 2011 9:37:00 PM,
backpacking philippines said...
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nick, yeah he was in the war but not as he claimed to be...heroism with vainglory...and yeah, i sit on my ass, like all normal people do
-
At Dec 26, 2011 12:43:00 AM,
RJE said...
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Tutubi,
Did Pres. Marcos fight w/ you during the war? -
At Dec 26, 2011 1:23:00 PM,
backpacking philippines said...
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RJE, nope. wasn't born yet. but historians, with authentic documents and firsthand accounts disproved marcos's claim to the medals. yes, he was in the war but his medals were fake. he even tried to pass himself as the hero of the battle of bessang pass to which many WWII veterans swore he was in nueva vizcaya. The whole world knows Marcos' medals were fake
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