I have never heard of a windmill in Ilocos before, let alone seen one. Then my sister and I chanced upon this brochure from the office at the pensionne where we were staying in Laoag. Among the many tourist attractions, it featured the "Windmill Farm". I was truly intrigued and fascinated by the pictures of the turbines. They were really something and I definitely wanted to see the "farm". I was just worried though that we would never have enough time to do so. We planned to stay for only a couple of days and there were a lot of places to visit and it was not in our itinerary after all.
Fortunately, we saw it in the town of Bangui on our way to Saud Beach in Pagudpud. We decided to check it out on our way back. There were like nineteen of these windmills standing tall, dwarfing everything around them. For me the scene was just very beautiful! I was utterly speechless and awed by the sight! Although my sister felt otherwise. She thought it was eerie that they looked like giant electric fans standing all over the place! And they all seemed to hum in the wind too every time their blades rotate in the air! She said they also seemed like aliens to her from outer space.
According to Dad, (who knows a bit about it, probably because he is a civil engineer by profession) the Bangui Windmills were built to help reduce the emission of harmful gas that causes global warming and to accelerate the rural electrification. He said that the location should be somewhere where the wind blows all year round. In this particular area, the wind comes from the north-east. The turbines were built along the shore in a single row facing the sea. The turbines stand roughly around 70 meters high from ground level and the blades were like 40 meters long. They are indeed gigantic!
The place is open to everyone who wants to witness the beauty and wonder of these windmills. And as for me, seeing them was the most fun and interesting part of my Ilocandia tour!
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