We woke up to the loud patter of rain, Vigan City was drowning. And before everything swam to the ocean, we escaped the torrential rain enveloping the city. Trying to outrun dark clouds, we headed north again, this time to the coastal town of Currimao in Ilocos Norte.

The heavens still have tinge of blues as our van drove up to a lone hotel fronting the sea. The morning air was crisp with dew as we went further up the road, looking for a place to turn.

A cacophony of bright reds, blues and yellows greeted us as our van u-turned on a vacant lot. The brown sandy shoreline was littered with colorful fishing boats. Everyone got off before our driver even gave the signal.
On the far horizon, pine tress loom, reminding me somehow of the coves of Zambales. A few from the group jumped down the seawall for a closer view of the boats. I turned back, satisfied with my photos and just tripped around looking for a few details of the place.

Walking back to the van with eyes locked on the camera LCD’s, reviewing the boat photos, we finally went our way. The sun was shining as we headed towards the almost three kilometer-long rock formations guarding the shoreline of Currimao.
I have never seen anything relatively like it in all my travels. The formation is about ten to twelve feet in height and made of dark coral stones. It stretches on forever like a wall protecting the town from strong waves and sea invaders of yore.

Looking for footholds along the jagged rock surface, we scaled the monstrous fort to see the sea beyond. The stones are quite sharp and can easily bruise if one isn’t careful.

From a high vantage, we can see the strange rocks stretch as far as the eye can see. I’m not sure how the wall came about, but I’m guessing everything was underwater eons ago and was probably pushed up through the surface through time.

A few hours after we descended at Currimao, the storm clouds we escaped at Ilocos Sur caught up with us. Like rain guerrilas; we took shelter at the mini-caves along the rock walls, emerging as the rain let up and retreating back as the rain whips again.

Currimao Coral Rock Formation
Address: Currimao-Paoay-Suba-Balacao Road,
Brgy. Pangil, Currimao, Ilocos Norte

How to go to Currimao: Hop on a Laoag-bound bus from Manila and board down at the town of Currimao.

GPS Coordinates: 18.031118,120.473852
View Location on Google Maps: Click Here