Tuguegarao is located at the northern part of the Philippines and is the capital city of Cagayan Province. It has captured the hearts of travel enthusiasts primarily because of old treasured structures and notable spots like the hundred year old Basilica of Our Lady of Piat and the amazing Callao Caves.
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| Phew! I made it :) |
Tugegarao City was our major point of going in and out of our Palaui, Sta.Ana. Traveling to Tugue was a breeze courtesy of Victory Liner but admittedly it was a (little) pain in the a**. I meant literally. If there's such a thing as butt stress or arse fatigue, good lordy knows I suffered one. Just the thought of 10-12 hour land travel stresses me (ha-ha). (You can also catch a flight to Tuguegarao which is approximately 45 minutes from Manila).
Our Tuguegarao visit was very brief. We only had half a day to wander around. Sayang naman, andun na kami. So might as well maximize our very litttle time.
From Sta. Ana, we reached Tuguegarao at 11:30am. Our friend Kay and Randy extended their stay in Tuguegarao while the three of us returned to Manila at night. We checked in at a nearby lodging house Villa Victoria Hotel (across Kobby) and offloaded our bags.
Lunch was just in time and so we hunted for the best pancit patil batong in town. According to manong tricycle driver it's J-Rens Panciteria.
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| pancit batil patong |
After our satisfying lunch, we took a tricycle ride to get to Callao Caves.
Now here's what happened. The funniest part. Manong tricycle agreed to bring us to Callao at Php600 pesos back and forth. No problem. But during the course of our trip, the tricycle on several occasions failed to advance especially on roads going up. Of course naglakad kami. Going to and from Callao took 1 hour per way including the engine stops of manong tricycle (ha-ha).
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| Where's manong tricycle driver?! |
Anyway, it was quite an experience. Now here's Callao Caves.
Tagged as Peñablanca, Cagayan's prime tourism gem, Callao Caves system is composed of limestone caves. It is famous for its one of a kind chapel/altar featured in the movie "The Mistress" by John Lloyd Cruz and Bea Alonzo (okay plugging!). Remember the scene when Bea had road trip with JL kasi they will be bringing the barong tagalog to a customer portrayed by Gabe Mercado kasi Gabe will be attending a wedding in Tugegarao? If you noticed the chapel/altar, that's Callao Caves. Ganda no? The tourist guide told us that 5 wedding ceremonies were officiated here. Ako na raw yung pang- anim. Chos!
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| lovely altar/chapel of Callao Caves |
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| Entrance to Callao Caves. Paide Php20.00. |
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| no guide no caving |
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| group shot of course |
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| one must take 183 steps to get to the caves |
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| first chamber |
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| ang ganda dito :) |
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| altar |
We didn't go further as we were awed with rock formations surrounding us. We were not able to see the most beautiful view inside the cave - a ray of sun passing through the altar from above. They say it's an awesome view and is visible during high noon. We just spent taking pictures, blah, blah and blah.
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| pag-malisyoso ka... :D |
There were vendors at the entrance of Callao Caves selling souvenir items, eats and drinks. And then I saw cup filled halo-halo oozing with caramel on top bought by bunch of students. I won’t deny, bumili rin ako :D
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| students practicing for next day's gig |
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| perfect to cap off our caving experience |
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| that ingredient on top is caramel. eto 'yung nagpasarap. |
Who would know that this simple served halo-halo turned out to be an appetite blowing treat for me? The caramel served on top is a monster. Ang saraaaap! We actually bought some in a local market courtesy of Randy and Kay.
After our Callao Caves, we went straight to The Ermita de Piedra de San Jacinto (Stone Chapel of Saint Hyacinth) and attended a mass. Then we went back to hostel to prepare for our trip back to Manila.
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| The Ermita de Piedra de San Jacinto (Stone Chapel of Saint Hyacinth) established in 1604. |
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| altar |
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| outside the church |
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| our kalesa experience |
There is more to explore in Tuguegarao. Is it worth coming back? Definitely.
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