Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Nature Trip in Cagayan: Mother Nature at It’s Best

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.


 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
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. 



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

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