Folk legend has it that the first settlers of Pasuquin were Itneg and Ibaliw people from the mountains who were driven from their upland homes down to the coast. They were known as nagrebkan — the vanquished, the defeated — and were documented by Spanish missionaries, who called them Ibaloi.

The people of Pasuquin were always an enterprising lot. Despite attacks from Chinese and Moro ships, these people were able to clear out forests and turn them into farmlands. Fishing and salt making soon became common industries, and it is from this latter that the place supposedly derived its name: a place where brine is cooked down to salt is usually smoky or paasukan — Ilocano for a place full of smoke. In time, paasukan became Pasuquin.

Before the pandemic, Pasuquin was a thriving municipality and one of the richest towns in Ilocos Norte. Their salt industry remains a time-honored tradition, with some family businesses going back as far as six generations.

That’s where we’re going today. But already, we’re a day late because of Ilocos Norte’s strict entry requirements. Ironically, so-called “rapid COVID tests” aren’t as “rapid” as their name would suggest here in Isabela. We have to wait until tomorrow for the results before we can be cleared for travel again.

So many of us are still trying to come to terms with this “new normal.” But trust me, things will never be normal again — at least, not in the way we used to know. This pandemic is a catalyst for change, from the smallest bits of our lives up to larger things like business and industry. Pasuquin’s main economic driver is tourism, evidenced by the countless resorts along its shore, but that has dried up since the pandemic began. Their salt industry was always a main tourist attraction. I can only wonder how long it can survive without tourists to sustain it.