I wasn't aware that the yearly festivity (Adivay Trade Fair) was going on at the region's capital until the husband mentioned it a few days ago saying we should go before it ended. It's a month-long annual event for the whole province where every town in it participates and showcases its own culture, products, places, talents etcetera.
We were supposed to take the drive on Tuesday but there were some pressing matters that needed his attention so we postponed the trip. He was free yesterday so we took advantage of it and left the house early and were on the road around 5 am.
We did stop along the way to enjoy a magical sunrise (will be sharing the photos on another day as I don't have access to them right now), soaking our souls in the splendor of nature's magnificence as the morning broke into a bright day - a scene rather rare for us since our lil kingdom is behind a tall mountain so we don't really have a view of an early sunrise.
Anyhow, we had another stop two hours on the journey because we were famished so we pulled over to one of the cozy restaurants for our fill. Our little guy wasn't so excited that he hardly ate anything.
With the stopovers, we got caught up in traffic when we arrived in La Trinidad as the parade was already starting. Thankfully, we were allowed another route so we drove straight to my sister's place to park. She knew we were coming and her daughter wanted to join us on the adventure.
After resting for a while, we went to the provincial Sports Complex where the event was being held. We didn't expect the place to be that crowded. Tent stalls were almost everywhere - food stalls, merchandise, services, real estate offers, plants, flowers, etc.
We proceeded to where the different town booths were. Most were made of traditional huts (others more modernized), and each had its unique displays, landscaping, decorations, and such. The whole area looked like a small, thriving village.
There were many people and as we were viewing the many displays, we got separated. The husband was with our pup and we could not see them so my niece JZ and I went looking for a space where we could rest a bit.
The sun was scorching hot and we needed a less-crowded space where we could breathe freely without elbowing against another human being. We found a sitting bench where we enjoyed some good space for some nice moments before the people coming from the first huts came rushing in and filled the spaces once more.
What they did to the place was quite ingenious, incorporating mostly plants, water, crafts, etcetera. It was fascinating to see how each of the 13 towns brought out their creativity in transforming an empty field into a completely different setting.
If there were not many people, it would be really nice to wander and get lost around those spaces with all the various greens, artworks, and crafts.
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My niece whispered she was hungry so we left the "village" in search of food on the other side of the complex. At 11 in the morning, people were obviously famished that there were lots of them around the food stalls. We spent a good amount of time finding a place to eat but it was tough. Most tables and spaces were occupied so we ended up ordering Shawarma and eating them standing, lol!
The husband suggested we get ourselves some halo halo. He queued up to get our orders while JZ, our pup, and I went to search for a space to rest our weary feet.
We found an elevated area where we enjoyed our sweet treats - each having a cup of ube halo-halo, topped with a scoop of ice cream.
The trip was worth it and will be sharing more at another time. All photographs in this publication were taken on the Adivay grounds.
Meanwhile, we are now back home having a lazy day.
Happy Friday, folks!
All photos are my own. 24112023/12:05ph