January 2012

Crocodile Island of Santa Ana, Cagayan

SANTA ANA, Cagayan - From afar, the island resembles a crocodile resting on top of a sandbar, thus the island is fondly called Crododile Island. Official called Manidad Island (or Rona Island), it is located between the main island of Luzon and the island of Palaui, about 2km from San Vicente Port.

The small island features a white sand beach. Though the sand can be rough with sun bleached corals scattered around, the island is still a great place to swim and enjoy the sun. If you are lucky, you can be alone on the island if there's not much visitors.

The island is a mere 10-minute boat ride from San Vicente Port. It is usually one of the stops when you rent a pumpboat for island hopping. There is no entrance fee to the island, but all tourists are required to register to the tourism office at San Vicente Port and pay a fee of Php50.00.

Cape Engaño Lighthouse on Palaui Island

SANTA ANA, Cagayan -

Walls of Cape Engaño Lighthouse on Palaui Island

Cape Engaño Lighthouse Building on Palaui Island

View of Cape Engaño Lighthouse from the Sea

Panoramic View from Cape Engaño Lighthouse on Palaui Island

View of Dos Hermanas Island from Cape Engaño Lighthouse on Palaui Island

How to get there:

Manila>Tuguegarao (by air)
Cebu Pacific and Philippine Airlines fly daily to Tuguegarao, Cagayan; flight takes one hour.

Manila>Tuguegarao (by land)
Victory Liner and GV Florida have several day and night trips to Tuguegarao, Cagayan; travel takes ten to twelve hours.

Tuguegarao>Santa Ana (by land)
take the public van bound for Santa Ana (Php180) at Don Domingo Public Market terminal, travel takes 2.5 hours; at Santa Ana, take a trike for San Vicente Port (Php15 per person)

Tuguegarao<>Santa Ana (roundtrip by land)
for bigger groups, rent a private van at Php2,500 (good for 10 hours), petrol/fuel not yet included (~Php1,000 for the whole trip)td>

How to get back:

Santa Ana>Tuguegarao (by land)
from San Vicente Port, take a trike for the van terminal in Santa Ana (Php15 per person), take the public van bound for Tuguegarao (Php180), travel takes 2.5 hours

Tuguegarao<>Santa Ana (roundtrip by land)
for bigger groups, rent a private van in Tuguegarao at Php2,500 (good for 10 hours), petrol/fuel not yet included (~Php1,000 for the whole trip)

Tuguegarao>Manila (by land)
Victory Liner and GV Florida have several day and night trips to Manila; travel takes ten to twelce hours

Tuguegarao>Manila (by air)
Cebu Pacific and Philippine Airlines fly daily to Manila; flight takes one hour.

Spectacular View from Cape Engaño

SANTA ANA, Cagayan -

With the Cape Engaño Landscape as Background

Anguib Beach of Santa Ana, Cagayan

SANTA ANA, Cagayan - This long stretch of beach with powdery white sand is undeniably the pièce de résistance of the town of Santa Ana, if not of the whole province of Cagayan. Anguib Beach is located on the north-western tip of the province of Cagayan.

Being enclosed in a cove, Anguib Beach features calm waters of different shades of blue, from bondi blue to turquoise, from deep sky blue to azure.

powdery white sand

For a day trip on the beach, a minimal entrance fee of Php50.00 per person is collected by the caretakers. At present, there are no fully functional resort facilities available on the beach aside from the cottages that may be rented by guests at Php200.00. They also allow overnight stays and rent out tents for Php400.00. The caretakers may also arrange food for visitors. Seafood is always fresh as they are caught straight from the sea.

clear blue waters

The most convenient way to reach Anguib Beach is by renting a motorized boat from San Vicente Port. Travel takes 25 minutes.

boat docked at Anguib Beach of Santa Ana, Cagayan

How to get back:

Santa Ana>Tuguegarao (by land)
from San Vicente Port, take a trike for the van terminal in Santa Ana (Php15 per person), take the public van bound for Tuguegarao (Php180), travel takes 2.5 hours

Tuguegarao<>Santa Ana (roundtrip by land)
for bigger groups, rent a private van in Tuguegarao at Php2,500 (good for 10 hours), petrol/fuel not yet included (~Php1,000 for the whole trip). You may contact JR Padilla at +639156731428 for van rentals. He is based in Tuguegarao.

Tuguegarao>Manila (by land)
Victory Liner and GV Florida have several day and night trips to Manila; travel takes ten to twelce hours

Tuguegarao>Manila (by air)
Cebu Pacific and Philippine Airlines fly daily to Manila; flight takes one hour.

Island/Beach Hopping

San Vicente Port>Mangrove Forest>Anguib Beach>Cape Engaño>Crocodile Island
At San Vicente Port, we rented a boat for island/beach hopping (Php3,500), with stops at Anguib Beach, Cape Engaño, and Crocodile Island. Register with the Tourism Office and pay the environment fee of Php50 per person.

If you only wish to go to Anguib Beach, boat rental would be Php1,500 (round trip). If you intend to stay overnight at Anguib Beach, the boatmen can return the following day to pick you up, for an additional cost equivalent to the petrol/fuel consumption of ~Php600.

Santa Ana: Island Hopping: Anguib Beach-Cape Engaño-Crocodile Island Loop

Peñablanca: Callao Cave

Cabagan: Pancit Cabagan of Feli-citas Fastfood & Restaurant

See complete photo album: Cabagan, Isabela: Pancit Cabagan (January 15, 2012)

Iguig: Colors of Sunset

Iguig: Iguig Church

See complete photo album: Iguig, Cagayan: Iguig Church

Tabuk: Rolling Hills of Eastern Tabuk

See complete photo album: Tabuk, Kalinga: Rolling Hills of Eastern Tabuk (January 15, 2012)

Tabuk: Chico Diversion Dam

See complete photo album: Tabuk, Kalinga: Chico Diversion Dam (January 15, 2012)

Tabuk: Snapshots of Chico River

See complete photo album: Tabuk, Kalinga: Chico River (January 15, 2012)

Tabuk: Trip to Kalinga Coffeeland

See complete photo album: Tabuk, Kalinga: Trip to Kalinga Coffeeland (January 15, 2012)

Tuguegarao City: Tuguegarao Longganisa

See complete photo album: Tuguegarao City, Cagayan: Tuguegarao Longganisa (Jan. 15, 2012)

Tuguegarao City: Sunset at Buntun Bridge

See complete photo album: Tuguegarao City, Cagayan: Buntun Bridge (January 14, 2012)

Tuguegarao City: Tuguegarao Metropolitan Cathedral

CAGAYAN - The Tuguegarao Metropolitan Cathedral, officially known as Saints Peter and Paul Metropolitan Cathedral, is the seat of the Archdiocese of Tuguegarao.

How to get there:

Entrance to the cathedral is located right at the corner of Luna and Rizal Streets in Tuguegarao City. Anywhere within Tuguegarao City, take a tricycle (PHP10.00 per passenger) and tell the driver to bring you to the cathedral. The driver may pick up other passengers along the way. Always pay the exact amount.

How to get back:

Tricycles do pass infront of the cathedral. Take any tricycle and tell the driver your drop-off point. Regular fare within Tuguegarao City is PHP10.00 per passenger. Always pay the exact amount.

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Tuguegarao City: Pancit Batil-Patong (Gretchen's)

Photo Album: Tuguegarao City, Cagayan: Pancit Batil-Patong

CAGAYAN - After visiting the Our Lady of Piat Basilica in the town of Piat, we headed back to Tuguegarao City to visit the Tuguegarao Metropolitan Cathedral. Since we were feeling hungry, we stopped by Gretchen's Noodle House to sample Tuguegarao's famous Pancit Batil-Patong (also spelled Pancit Batil-Patung). We ordered the Gretchen's Special (PHP60.00) which is enough to be a meal in itself.

Pancit Batil-Patong is basically made of miki noodles (egg noodles), cooked with a special sauce, ground pork, cara beef, vegetables, and made extra special with chicharon bits and a fried egg on top. This dish is traditionally served with a small bowl of egg soup. Depending on your taste, you may season the batil-patong with a sauce mixture of calamansi extract, soy sauce, vinegar and chopped onions.

Everyone in Tuguegarao has his/her own favorite panciteria, and they would claim that their favorite panciteria serves the best batil-patong in town. So, there is really no single answer to the question, Where can I find the best batil-patung in Tuguegarao?

Thus, this visit to Gretchen's Noodle House was only the beginning of my search for my favorite batil-patong.

How to get there:

Gretchen's Noodle House is located in Tuguegarao City, at the corner of Magallanes and Zamora Streets, approximately 500 meters south-west of Tuguegarao Metropolitan Cathedral. Anywhere within Tuguegarao City, take a tricycle (PHP10.00 per passenger) and tell the driver to bring you to Gretchen's. The driver may pick up other passengers along the way. Always pay the exact amount.

How to get back:

Tricycles do pass infront of Gretchen's Noodle House. Take any tricycle and tell the driver your drop-off point. Regular fare within Tuguegarao City is PHP10.00 per passenger. Always pay the exact amount.

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Piat: Pawa

Photo Album: Piat, Cagayan: Pawa

CAGAYAN - After our visit to the Our Lady of Piat Basilica, we headed to the back of the church (north gate) to search for pawa. Stores line the street selling this famouse Piat delicacy. A favorite among the people of Cagayan, a trip to this town will never be complete without having pawa as a snack or pasalubong.

Pawa is basiclly steamed buns made of ground sticky rice and filled with ground and sweetened peanuts. They are sold in packs of 9 or 10 pieces at PHP25.00 per pack. They are best eaten when freshly cooked.

Unknown to most people of Cagayan, pawa has a Chinese origin. The rootword of pawa is pau (Chinese: 包; pinyin: bāo) which means "to wrap". These buns are collectively called in Chinese as bāozi (包子) or simply pau by most Filipino-Chinese. A similar, but slightly bigger, peanut-filled pau is also being sold in Binondo, Manila, which I will feature in a separate post.

Regardless of its origins, Filipino or Chinese or both, it was really a pleasure eating pawa and it will always be one of the reason for me to revisit Piat.

How to get there:

The Our Lady of Piat Basilica is located in the town of Piat, approximately 34 kilometers north-west of Tuguegarao City. From Tuguegarao City, take a tricycle (PHP10.00 per passenger) to the West Terminal along Buntun Highway. Take the van bound for Piat (PHP60.00 per passenger). Travel time is about 45 minutes. Some vans drive all the way to the church, some would stop at the terminal. Tricycles are available within the town (PHP10.00 per passenger).

How to get back:

The van terminal is just a 5 minute downhill walk away from the church. At the terminal, take the van bound for Tuguegarao City (PHP60.00 per passenger). Travel time is about 45 minutes.

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Piat: Our Lady of Piat Basilica

Photo Album: Piat, Cagayan: Our Lady of Piat Basilica

CAGAYAN - The basilica enshrines the 400 year old image of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Piat. The people of Cagayan make a pilgrimage to visit the shrine of their patroness to pray for miracle or intercession, especially during challenging times. A friend from Cagayan remembered her college days when she would visit the church a day before a major exam.

Coincidentally, the Senate President, Juan Ponce Enrile, himself a native of Cagayan and a devotee of Our Lady of Piat, went to the basilica at the same time of my visit. That was two days prior the commencement of an impeachment trial where Senator Enrile would act as the preciding officer.

From this trip to Piat I learned about how deeply rooted the people of Cagayan are in Faith and how much devotion they have to Yena Tam Ngamin.

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