Bangui Windmills, Bangui, Ilocos Norte

There were two reasons why my friend really wanted to visit Ilocos Norte: first she wanted to see the Paoay Church and second was to see the Bangui windmills. With only these two in mind, we really had no idea where to head to except to these places.  Dennis has researched about Ilocos Norte, after we went to Vigan in 2012, however, what I can remember with what he mentioned was the Juan Luna Shrine in Badoc, Ilocos Norte. He said that it was just about an hour trip from Vigan. Our trips back then were basically visiting historical spots and places of historical significance. With this, I knew that this was not their cup of tea.  We were just tag-alongs so I could not force my issue. 

We stopped by Vigan, Ilocos Sur for a wonderful experience of a lunch in a carinderia, after which we continued on with our journey. In about an hour, finally, we were already in our place of destination. Everybody got excited when we saw the marker of Ilocos Norte.  Of course, we had pictures taken by that marker.  It was not really that dangerous taking pictures in the middle of the highway because there were less vehicles going towards the tip of Northern Philippines.  Aside from that, there was also an usher who would signal us if a vehicle was approaching.

We went to Paoay Church first and then headed on to the Bangui windmills. It was almost sun down when we approached Bangui, Ilocos Norte.  Actually, I fell asleep on our way going to Bangui but I woke up because I sensed that we were going downhill so fast and my friend, Gemma, cautioned his son who was driving, not to drive so fast. I woke up with the beautiful sight of gigantic windmills lined along the shore. I got awestruck by its size and magnificence. Now, I was seeing for real what I just used to see on pictures.

Sunset by the Bangui Windmills

Bangui Windmills

 

From my research, it was in 1990 when former Governor Ferdinand Marcos Jr. aggressively pursued to develop a power plant in Ilocos Norte due to power outages.  A wind resources analysis was done by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and identified Bangui as an amenable site for wind power installation. Each windmill has a height of 70 meters with 41-meter blades. The Northwind power Development, a Danish power firm have supplied the wind turbine units. The windmills supply about 40% of the needs of the Ilocos Norte Electric Cooperative. I have observed that they are still on the process of adding more windmills and I have also seen how big the size of a piece of blade.

Miniature Windmills

Although these windmills are serving Ilocos Norte as a source of their electricity, for the general public, it is a must see tourist destination. This attraction is open to the public with no admission fees. There were no gates. The seashore was not sand, instead it small stones and gravels. It is evident that this spot has also served as business opportunity for the townspeople because there were spots there where they sell souvenir items such as miniature windmills, accessories as well as t-shirts. It was almost 6 pm when we left Bangui Windmills. While on our way back to the van, I still took one last look at the beautiful sunset.

The next day, we spotted a tourist center. We were able to get a copy of the brochure of Ilocos Norte.  From here, we were able to plan for the other "must-see" places in Ilocos Norte before heading home.  The tourist center also served as a view deck of the Bangui windmills.  From afar, you can't really help but to appreciate its beauty.  Near or far, the Bangui windmills is really an attraction that you should not miss when heading towards the northern tip of the Philippines.