Nature Trip in
Cagayan
Mother Nature at It's Best
Tuguegarao, Cagayan Series 7
It was our fourth day in Cagayan and it would
be a very busy day. My family woke up late as I would be
having a lecture in a Medical
Convention, which was
the primary reason why we had our summer vacation here.
I requested our organizer, to put me on an early
morning slot. They were nice enough to schedule
me as the first Plenary Lecturer at 9 to 9:45 AM.
morning slot. They were nice enough to schedule
me as the first Plenary Lecturer at 9 to 9:45 AM.
After my lecture, we were off on a
rented van for a whole day touring of
Tuguegarao and the neighboring suburbs.
First on our list was the Basilica Minore
of Our Lady of Piat, where
we passed
by the Buntun Bridge,
a river bridge, and
the second longest bridge in the country.
It is a 1.098 km- long bridge that links
Tuguegarao to the
second and third
district towns of Cagayan
and Apayao.
It is considered as the longest river bridge in
the Philippines
and offers a beautiful and
unobstructed view of the mighty Cagayan River.
The bridge stretches up to the town
of Solana that had this Hollywood-
like signage perched up on the hill.
We then traveled thru the scenic and rustic
countryside on our way to the town of Piat.
The topography of Cagayan Province
as I have mentioned in the earlier blog,
reminds me a lot of the vast hilly countryside of
the Czech Republic,
sans the European character
as it was replaced by a more tropical scenery.
The bucolic Cagayan countryside
scenery is a feast
to the senses as it calms the travelers nerves
and sets up the mood of excitement in anticipation
of what surprises await us in our destination.
We arrived after more than an hour at the
Basilica Minore of Our Lady of Piat,
…and lighted candles and paid respect to the Lady.
We also marveled at the church which was
specially built to house the miraculous image
considered as the patroness of the region.
We then returned to Tuguegarao,
…where we dropped by
the Lighthouse
Cooperative,
….to shop for some pasalubong that
we could take home to Naga City.
The store offered a wide variety of native
food products produced by the province.
We then requested our driver to take us to a
Chinese restaurant and interestingly, he took
us to Chow King
right at the heart of the city.
We were amused as we didn’t mean to go
to a fast food and what we wanted to try was
an authentic Tuguegrao
based Chinese resto,
…but who could say no to a refreshing
and delicious Chow
King halo halo
for a late lunch on a
really hot day?
After lunch, we then dropped by
the Cagayan Provincial Capitol,
…to see the Cagayan Museum and
Historical Research Center, but it was
closed as it was a Saturday, so we decided
just take photos of the place.
We then drove to Penablanca, see the
Callao Cave
and watch the evening bat
migration at the Pinacanauan River.
Callao Cave
is an unforgettable experience
for me and my family, and would be a
separate subject for this blog series.
One would be awed by the immensity of the
cave’s breathtaking caverns and majestic
stalactite and stalagmite formations,
…the stunningly beautiful chambers,
…and luckily made accessible
to tourists and even for young kids.
We then took a leisurely boat ride on
the pristinely clean Pinacanauan River,
…and docked on a sandy river side,
…to watch the nightly bat migration from
a bat cave way up a limestone cliff.
We waited by the riverside with
abated breath for the bats to appear,
…and when they did- it was so amazingly
spectacular and took our breaths away.
Cagayan Province
may still not
be in the vacation destination radars
of most local and foreign tourists,
…they don't know what they're missing,
and they a missing a lot.
and they a missing a lot.
What nature had to offer in this beautiful
less traveled place-is something that
should never be missed in one’s lifetime.
Watch out for my other
Tuguegarao Blog Series
Tuguegarao Blog Series
Five Star Amenities, Awful Guest Services.
Tuguegarao, Cagayan Series 4
Cagayan’s Magnificent Historic Churches
Tuguegarao, Cagayan Series 4
Cagayan’s Magnificent Historic Churches
No comments:
Post a Comment