Cagayan | Exploring Callao Cave

After spending some time in Magat Dam I boarded a van bound for Tueguegarao City in Cagayan. I left my backpack at hotel Candice then I wandered around the city. I passed by Sts. Peter and Paul cathedral. For lunch i have the famous pancit patil-patung.

sts peter and paul church

pancit patil patung

The following day I visited the Callao cave in Penablanca. The cave is consisting of seven chambers. There is also a chapel inside. It was so muddy that I opted not to explore all the chambers besides I have no headlamp.

After my caving I headed back to Tuguerrao and boarded a passenger jeep bound to the town of Tuao for the Lady of Piat church. Outside the church the sticky and delicious delicacy pawa is a must try.

I ended the day watching sunset at the Buntun bridge with the scenic view of Cagayan river. I bought some packs of chicarabao as pasalubong for my family and officemates back in Manila.

My original plan is to circumnavigate the Northern Luzon loop, from Isabela to Cagayan down to Ilocos Norte and back to Manila. But due to the typhoon some of the bridges that connecting Cagayan Valley and Ilocos Region were damaged so I have no choice but to go back to Manila boarding a bus from Tuguegarao.

Spending two days in Cagayan Valley is a memorable trip that I will try again soon. Hopefully the weather would cooperate with me the next time around! :)

How to get there

There are buses from Cubao to Tuguegarao City.

From Tuguegarao City get a tricycle and ask him to take you to the terminal going to Penablanca (p10.00). from there, the tricycle will wait for 6 more passengers before it leaves (P40.00). To the bank of Pinacanauan river then the boat (p20.00/ roundtrip) that will take you across to the entrance of the cave.

This is part of my Cagayan Valley trip

Isabela | Cagayan

Isabela | A Stormy Trip To Magat Dam

Despite the typhoon hitting Cagayan Valley I pushed through with my plans of travelling the north. I was in the middle of traffic jam along EDSA boarding a bus going to Victory Liner terminal in Kamias when my officemate texted me what she heard in the news. I replied to her to pray for my safety and my “bahala na si batman” attitude rules.

It was raining when I left Manila that evening. After 8 hours of traveling I safely reached Santiago City in Isabela. I eat in one of the fast-food there to fill my stomach for a day-long adventure. I strolls the city even if it’s raining. I don’t want to waste a single minute of my time.

I visited Balay Santiago then I headed to Magat dam. It is one of the largest dams in the Philippines and has two primary purposes: as a source of irrigation water and as a provider of hydroelectric power. Located along the Ifugao-Isabela border and irrigates at least 80,000 hectares of farmlands. It can generate some 380 megawatts of electricity for the Luzon grid. The dam sourced its water from Ibulao river in Ifugao and from the headwaters and rivers in Nueva Vizcaya.

The tourism complex centers on the 4,450 hectare lake created by the dam. There were picnic huts for family bonding and  facilities for fishing, boating, and various water sports like water-skiing.

How to get there:

There are buses from Cubao to Santiago City Isabela. From Santiago City take a jeep or van going to the town of Ramon. Tell the driver to drop you at the junction going to Magat dam. From the junction take a tricycle for 25.00 pesos/oneway or charter it for 125 pesos/oneway.

This is part of my Cagayan Valley trip.

Isabela | Cagayan

Pangasinan | Island Hopping At Hundred Islands

Few weeks ago I’ve been to Hundred Islands National Park in Alaminos Pangasinan. This national park comprises of 123 islands scattered along the Lingayen Gulf. Only three of them have been developed for tourism: Governor island, Quezon island, and Children's island. The Lucap wharf in Alaminos is the entrance to the national park.

some of the islands as seen from the viewing point on governor island.

I accompanied my good and generous friend who shoulders my expenses for this trip. We left Manila at around 10 in morning and arrived Alaminos at around 4 pm.

We stayed at Boy Dino transient house. His rooms range from 1000 to 1500 per night depending on the number of occupants. Each room has a fridge, small kitchen, private bathroom and aircon unit.

Mang Dino can be your one-stop-shop as he also owns boats that accommodates 5 to more than 20-passenger capacity. The rental depends whether you will use the boat as a service boat (private and you own your time) during a day tour or take overnight in the islands from 800.00 to 2,000.000 depending on the size of the boat.

governors island

some of the islands as seen from the viewing point on governor island.

marcos island

crocodile island

turtle island

quezon island is one of the few developed tourist locations on hundred islands.

It was indeed a rewarding experience to reach one of the Philippines’ tourist destinations, the Hundred Islands National Park of Pangasinan.

how to get there

There are several bus lines from Cubao that go directly to Alaminos, you can take buses to the neighboring towns such as Bolinao. The routes all pass through Alaminos. Once you’re in the city center, take a 10-minute tricycle ride to the Lucap wharf. 

Iloilo | Revisiting My Home Town

miag-ao church

Everytime I go home to my province Iloilo I made it to the point to visit the tourist spot in my hometown. Iloilo city, is known as “the city of love”  maybe because Ilonggos are known for being malambing! It is one of the progressive urban center in the Visayas region.

Miag-ao Church (Church of Santo Tomas de Villanueva) is declared as the part of UNESCO world heritage site as one of the 4 baroque churches of the Philippines. The century old gothic-renaissance Molo Church (St. Anne Church) is known a  feminist church. sixteen female saints line on both sides of the altar. Dr. Jose Rizal used to visit the church because of it’s biblical paintings and it served as an evacuation center during world war 2.

molo church

Iloilo International Airport serves direct flight to/from Manila, Cebu, Tacloban, Cagayan de Oro, Davao and Puerto Prinsesa. There’s also an international flight to/from Hongkong and Singapore.

iloilo provincial capitol

Museo Iloilo display artifacts that deficts the colorful history of Panay island. Beside is the restored Iloilo Provincial Capitol building with a combination of modern and old architecture. 

museo iloilo

The Jaro Cathedral (Nuestra Seniora Candelaria Church) is famous for it’s belfry that is not attached to the church instead it’s the front across the street. Ancestral houses were aligned along the Lopez Jaena street in Jaro district.

madge cafe

batchoy

Try a bowl of authentic Lapaz batchoy served by old timer restaurant inside the Lapaz market and the famous Madge Café is a must try when visiting Iloilo!

how to get there

There are daily flights from Manila to Iloilo. There are also direct flights from Cebu, Puerto Prinsesa, Tacloban, Cagayan De Oro ,Davao and General Santos. The new Iloilo Airport located in Cabatuan is 18 kilometers from the city proper and is accessible by jeepney, bus, and taxi.

You can reach Iloilo City by land from the other areas of Panay Island. There is also bus service through the RORO (roll-on roll-off) system.

Iloilo City is the province’s port of entry for sea transport and is just five minutes away from the city’s main commercial district. Ships sail from Manila 12 times a week, from Zamboanga or Cagayan De Oro twice a week, and from Cebu daily. Fast crafts from Bacolod City take one hour daily.

Mountain Province | Spelunking In Sagada

Top loading from Banaue to Bontoc is one of the exciting experiences we had. We passed by the Haselma highway, one of he world’s most dangerous road.  This notorious road is named after the profilic American Engineer Eusibius Julius Haselma. From Bontoc we transferred to another jeepney bound for Sagada.

Upon reaching Sagada all visitors were required to register at the tourism desk inside the municipal hall. We explore the exhilarating Sumaging cave with the 3 Korean nationals we met outside the municipal hall. We agreed to share the expenses for the 2 guides and for the multi-cab.

The Sumaging cave has the largest chamber of all connecting caves in town. We trek down on a slippery trail from its mouth to see the magnificent formations of stalactites and stalagmites. After caving we feasted on a vegetable loaded pancit in one of the eatery there.

On the last day I left the group and I headed to Baguio City. It’s my first time in the summer capital. I wandered around the Burnham Park and the Baguio Cathedral then  boarded a bus back to Manila.

Ifugao | A Glimpse Of Banaue Rice Terraces

The 2000 years old picture perfect Banaue Rice Terraces got my attention. This national wonder has been thought to us during grade school in civil and culture subject. I spend a lot of time searching for information on how to get there, where to stay and possible expenses in the internet.

Together with my officemates and some friends we pushed through this trip only armed with information i got from the web. We agreed to just meet at the Lawton in Manila. I’m traveling with Rose while mam Bebot dropped by her home in San Pedro in Laguna to get her belongings. Her son Keith is also joining us while our friend Junny, a sales representative, is coming from Quezon province.

We’re supposed to be at the bus terminal by 9 pm. But due to some circumstances were arrived at the place too late to catch the bus bound for Banaue. We even tried buses that ply to Baguio in Pasay terminal but to no avail our fate brought us back again in Espana in Manila.

Back in the terminal we asked some employees there on possible option. They told to do the Manila-Solano-Lagawe-Banaue route. We boarded the 3am bus bound to Cagayan Valley and reached the town of Solano in Nueva Vizcaya by lunch time. We eat our lunch there then we boarded a Lagawe bound jeepney together with some locals.

It was a long bumpy journey and finally we found ourselves at Lagawe, the capital town of Ifugao province. Then we boarded another jeepney and finally we hit the town of Banaue. We roam around to look for cheap accommodation. We also inquire on their tourist information center for possible tour that they can offer to us.

The following day we visited the viewing deck were we amazed by the century old Banaue Rice Terraces. there is a souvenir shop and we had a photo opt with the elders wearing their bahag costume. Their smile were priceless. Our nextstop is Sagada ! :)

Leyte | Walking Around Tacloban City

I spend my last day of Eastern Visayas trip in Tacloban City. It is the political and commercial center of Eastern Visayas. I walked the long stretch of Magsaysay Boulevard down to Trece Martirez then the Justice Romualdez St. I pass by the Tacloban City Hall, University of the Philippines-Tacloban and the Leyte Provincial Capitol.

The elegant design of the capitol really amuses me. There is a huge mural of General Mc Arthur and Ferdinand Magellan on the side of the building. On the flag pole there are statues of some Philippine heroes.

After that i packed my things checked out at the Tacloban Village Townhouse then I drop by the Robinsons mall were I left my backpack. I headed to Palo town to visit the Leyte memorial landing park where the historic larger than life monument of General Mc Arthur and his cohort stands.

A few hours left before my flight back to Manila I told myself that I have to comeback to this region soon to explore further the provinces of Eastern Samar and Biliran, to walk the 2 km stretch of San Juanico bridge, spend a night at Limasawa island and to experience the zip lining in Agas-Agas bridge! I shall return Eastern Visayas!

This part of my Eastern Visayas trip series.

Budget | Southern Leyte | Samar | Northern Samar | Leyte

Northern Samar | Exploring Rock Formations Of Biri Island

After five hours of land travel I finally landed Catarman City in Northern Samar. After checking in at GV Hotel-Catarman I roam around the city. I checked their dilapidated Northern Samar Provincial Capitol. Riding a trisikad we pass by the airport runway.

I explore the rock formation of Biri Island on my fourth day. Biri Island is an hour boat ride away from Lavezares town. Behind the Laverzares market is the port where boat docked that awaits passenger like tourist and locals bound for Biri.

The boat took an hour to crossed the island from the mainland of Lavezares, good thing the weather is fine.

This is the wooden walkway going to the rock formations.

bel-at rock formation

magasang rock formation

Upon docking in the island habal-habal drivers were waiting to transport tourist to the rock formations in the island. This island was really a piece of paradise to be hold. It’s amazing to see those picturesque rock formations.

This part of my Eastern Visayas trip series.

Budget | Southern Leyte | Samar | Northern Samar | Leyte