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Pangasinan Philippines Travel

Pangasinan | Lovely Lingayen Beach, A War Memorial and the Grand Capitol

The guard seemed puzzled that a guest would be heading to the beach as early as four a.m. “Mag sho-shoot lang po sir! (I’m gonna shoot some photos sir!)” I said. “Ah cge sir! (Go ahead sir!” he replied with a smile as he unlocks the side door. It was the main gate from El Puerto Marina Beach Resort and its a few meters walk to the beach walking, by the resort fence on a dirt path. The nocturnal salty air got stronger as I near the shore. I seemed to have stirred the attention of a resident dog who doesn’t stop barking seeing (or was it smelling) my presence there. Another guard doing his round saw me and I sent a quick wave to to let him know I saw him there and start setting up my tripod for a shoot. The landscape was well-lit by the waning crescent moon. I wanted to shoot stars but this dreamy and solemn landscape will do. Lingayen beach in all its vast morning glory unseen in slumber.

Waking up early for the sunrise.
Waking up early for the sunrise.

Beach Life

[pullquote]So never judge the beauty of the beach again by its color but by its character[/pullquote]

I can say that a large part of the local life of Lingayen people revolves around the Lingayen Beach. Weekends find locals and visitors alike trooping the beach. The public beach is easily accessible from the capitol grounds and best of all its free for everyone. The local government did well in keeping the place clean and the locals just the same.

Fishing is one of the main livelihood of the province and there’s abundance coming from the gulf. The morning I woke up early to catch the unfolding morning scenery at the beach I caught a few fishermen on usual chore. Up before the first light, they would fix their boat gear or tend to their nets. There was even a traditional form of fishing where they drop their nets and then they manually pull the nets from the beach with one man on each end to hopefully catch some fish. Their silhouettes against the colors of the dawn sky were like figures of a dance above the gentle waves. Pulling, gathering and spreading the net in a repeated fashion.

My “Smooth Morning” playlist from spotify lingered in the air when I came back at my spot near the row of beach huts by the sea after my morning shoot. It was a lovely morning, quiet, unperturbed and simple. So never judge the beauty of the beach again by its color but by its character. Lingayen Beach is comely.

Preparing the nets to fish
Preparing the nets to fish

Essential Info

The municipality of Lingayen is 222km away from Manila.

  • By private car, travel time is 4–5 hours. Exit SCTEX to MacArthur Highway via Luisita. Turn toward Camiling via Romulo Highway at Tarlac Junction. At Bugallon town, follow the northward highway to Dagupan and Lingayen.
  • By public bus, travel time is 5–6 hours. Victory Liner and Five Star buses have trips going to Lingayen. From the bus terminal, there are jeeps and tricycles waiting.
The huts and the sea early morning in Lingayen
The huts and the sea early morning in Lingayen
Preparing to fish
Preparing to fish
The net pull
The net pull
Nets laid on the ground. Fishermen checking if there were any fish caught
Nets laid on the ground. Fishermen checking if there were any fish caught
Heading back to the beach after washing the nets
Heading back to the beach after washing the nets
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