Bangui Windmills

Bangui Windmills

The windmills are considered as Southeast Asias biggest wind turbines.They are located in Ilocos Norte are 20 beautiful windmills or wind turbines which resemble giant electric fans. Each wind turbine has the capacity to generate electricity up to a maximum of 1.65 Megawatts for a total of 24.75 Megawatts. The 20 turbines are lined up along an arc manner following the shoreline of Bangui Bay facing the West Philippine Sea at the northwest tip of Luzon island.

The windmills or wind farm is part of the Ilocos Norte wind power project which erected the turbines in a single row, 326 meters apart. The turbine hub height from ground level to center of nacelle reaches 70 meters high. Each blade is 41 meters long with a rotor diameter of 82 meters and wind swept area of 5281 square meters.

40 % of the generated electricity is sold and used by the residents in the area.

Paoay Church

The Saint Augustine Church (Spanish: Iglesia de San Agustn de Paoay), commonly known as the Paoay Church, is the Roman Catholic church of the municipality of Paoay, Ilocos Norte in the Philippines. Completed in 1710, the church is famous for its distinct architecture highlighted by the enormous buttresses on the sides and back of the building. It is declared as a National Cultural Treasure by the Philippine government in 1973 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site under the collective group of Baroque Churches of the Philippines in 1993.

HistoryThe town of Paoay was originally called "Bombay" as the earliest inhabitants believed to have come from India. The earliest historical record of the area dates back to 1593, becoming an Augustinian independent parish in 1686.[1] Building of the present church was started in 1694 by Augustinian friar Father Antonio Estavillo, completed in 1710 and rededicated in 1896.[2]

HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paoay_Church" \l "cite_note-:2-3" [3] Some portions of the church was damaged in the 1865 and 1885 earthquake but was later restored under the initiative of former First Lady Imelda Marcos.[4]ArchitecturePaoay church is the Philippines' primary example of an earthquake baroque architecture dubbed by Alicia Coseteng,[3] an interpretation of the European Baroque adapted to the seismic condition of the country through the use of enormous buttresses on the sides and back of the building.[2] The adaptive reuse of baroque style against earthquake is developed since many destructive earthquakes destroyed earlier churches in the country. Javanese architecture reminiscent of Borobudur of Java can also be seen on the church walls and facade.[2]DeclarationsBy virtue of Presidential Decree No. 260, Paoay Church was declared as a National Cultural Treasure by the Philippine government in 1973.[10] The church was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site together with San Agustin Church in Manila; Nuestra Seora de la Asuncion Church in Santa Maria, Ilocos Sur; and Sto. Tomas de Villanueva Parish Church in Miagao, Iloilo on December 11, 1993.[7]Paoay LakeAnother prominent feature of the municipality is Paoay Lake. Legend has it that it was the site of a prosperous barangay called San Juan de Sahagun (Saint John of Sahagun) that sank through an earthquake. [5]On the shores of the lake lies a mansion that belongs to the Marcoses called Malacaang of the North. Adjacent to the mansion is the Paoay Golf Course.

Paoay Lake, historically known as Lago de Nanguyudan[1] and commonly referred to locally as Dacquel a Danum[2] (Ilokano for "big water"), is a horseshoe-shaped lake located in the municipality of Paoay in the northwest region of Luzon in the Philippines. It is the largest lake in the province of Ilocos Norte and one of the largest natural lakes in the northern Luzon region. The freshwater lake and its 1km surroundings was declared a national park in 1969 by virtue of Republic Act 5631.[3] In 1978 through Presidential Decree 1554, the park was reduced to an area of 340 hectares concentrated on the lake itself around its highest water level.[4]Cape Bojeador Lighthouse

Cape Bojeador Lighthouse, also known as Burgos Lighthouse, is a cultural heritage structure in Burgos, Ilocos Norte, that was established during the Spanish Colonial period in the Philippines. It was first lit on March 30, 1892, and is set high on Vigia de Nagpartian Hill overlooking the scenic Cape Bojeador where early galleons used to sail by. After over 100 years, it still functions as a welcoming beacon to the international ships that enter the Philippine Archipelago from the north and guide them safely away from the rocky coast of the town.[2]The light marks the northwestern-most point in Luzon. The northeastern-most being Cape Engao Lighthouse on Palaui Island, Santa Ana, Cagayan.

The 66-foot-tall (20m) octagonal stone tower, the most prominent structure in the vicinity, can be seen from as far away as Pasuquin town in the south and Bangui on the east on a clear day. Contrary to popular belief, it is not the highest-elevated nor tallest lighthouse in the Philippines. But the highest elevated still original and active Spanish era lighthouse in the country. Corregidor Lighthouse is higher at over 600 feet (180m), and among the Spanish Colonial lighthouses, the tower of Cape Melville Lighthouse is the tallest at 90 feet (27m). In Mindoro Strait, the recently erected modern tower at the Apo Reef Light Station rises to a height of 110 feet (34m).

Cape Bojeador Lighthouse during construction in the 1890s.

The Cape Bojeador lighthouse was part of the Spanish government's master plan of illuminating the Philippine archipelago. The project commenced with the execution of the lighthouses in the northern and western part of the Philippines and those around Iloilo and Cebu. The Burgos lighthouse was first lit on March 30, 1892.