ABOUT Pagudpud
Pagudpud is a coastal resort town on the northernmost tip of Luzon in the Philippines. It is bounded to the south by the town of Bangui and to the east by the Cordillera Mountain Range, the town of Adams and the province of Cagayan.
The South China Sea lies to the west and north. The town rolls over mountains, hills, valleys and flat coastal land. It lies 45 miles north of Laoag City, the provincial capital, and about 350 miles north of Manila. According to the 2000 census, Pagudpud has a population of 19,315 people. They reside in 3,804 homes that are spread across 83 square miles.
Most make their living through farming, fishing and subsistence retailing. Tourism is a growing part of the economy. Pagudpud was made a municipality on February 5, 1954. Unlike Laoag City, the province's only autonomous city, Pagudpud derives its authority from the provincial government. It had previously been a part of the neighboring town of Bangui.
HIGHLIGHTS
Its white-sand beaches and crystal-blue water makes Pagudpud a haven for tourists. Maira-Ira Point is also an emerging attraction with its secluded beach known as the Blue Lagoon. Access to this public beach is from a secondary concrete road on the north side of the Maharlika Highway just before approaching the Patapat Viaduct.
On the way to the Blue Lagoon, a sea arch can be seen. Coconut trees line much of the town's coast. On a clear day, the Batanes Islands are visible from Patapat National Park. An image of Saud Beach taken from a cliff near Polaris Beach House. An image of Saud Beach taken near Apo Idon resort. The Northwind Power windmills in neighboring Bangui can be seen in the distance.The Patapat Viaduct, elevated 31 meters over sea level, is 1.3 km concrete coastal bridge that connects the Maharlika Highway from Laoag, Ilocos Norte to the Cagayan Valley Region.
Legendary History of Pagudpud
Before the Second World War, a native of Batangas came to the place to sell blankets and mosquito nets. The place was still then named "TONGOTONG", which was one of the barrios of the Municipality of Bangui, Ilocos Norte. He sold his wares from one house to another and he did not notice that it was already noon time. He was too tired and hungry, that he sought shelter in one of the houses nearby and probably to ask the hospitable owner of the house for a simple lunch. After the peddler had settled down, the owner of the house asked the peddler his purpose. The peddler did not at all understand the question, but just merely answered, "Ako'y pagud na pagod at ang sapatos ko'y pudpod," in his usual Batangas accent. This reply became the byword of the residents of Barangay Tongotong even if they didn't know the meaning of what the peddler had said.
Months later, a native of the Bicol Region came to seek employment in one of the logging companies which was operating in the locality. The place at that time had a lot of virgin forests and mountains, and logging business was still legal. The stranger did not know where the office of the company was located, so he just alighted in Tongotong even if it was not still the place where he was supposed to go. He asked one of the bystanders the name of the place and he immediately replied, "Ako'y pagud na pagod at ang sapatos ko'y pudpod," because the bystander knew that he was Tagalog and that was the only Tagalog words that he knew. The amazed Bicolano just interpreted that the place might be Pagud-pudpod.
There and then Tongotong was changed to Pagud-pudpod and later shortened to PAGUDPUD.
PAGUDPUD - - - that according to the elders is a deep Ilocano word which means soft sandy soil "kuppuoy" a kadaratan.
The residents are pure Ilocanos. There are still a few of the cultural minorities of the Apayao origin residing in remote sitios. However, they are already christened into Christian religions, since their places are made accessible by feeder roads, bridging them closer to the civilized world, filling the gap of their uncivilized world. Bicolanos, Visayanos, Igorots and others, who migrated here are indulge in logging and fishing activities have liked living in here.
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