Light rain today. Probably, why I’m here in front of a makeshift workstation at home, having a cup of black coffee and a piece of local sweets called ‘piaya’, reopening an almost forgotten blog and recollecting memories of August 2016.
Cagayan has always been a dream destination. What is it like in the northern tip of mainland Luzon? View of an stretch of land bordering the sea? Islands visible from a distance? There is a popular long running variety show here in the Philippines, with their theme song that goes like this, ‘Mula Aparri hanggang Jolo…” (From Aparri to Jolo..). Aparri is a town in Cagayan.
Healing nights in Palaui Island
Researching about Cagayan, I remember, was an exciting feat. The goal is to go as northern as possible, where the land borders the sea. With this in mind, Palaui Island popped up.
Palaui Island is declared as a Protected Landscape and Seascape in the Philippines. It is an island situated in the northern extremity of the northernmost province of mainland Luzon (Cagayan). To reach the island, there is a need to charter a boat from Sta Ana town in mainland Cagayan.
As planned, as soon as we landed in Tuguegarao Airport (Tuguegarao is the Capital city of Cagayan), we ride a public van going to Sta. Ana. The ride took about four hours. It is quite a long one, but the view of countryside kept me engaged, the long roads filled with rice fields and trees is a prelude to exciting days to come. We even dropped by a public market for a stopover.
Reaching the van terminal in Sta. Ana, we headed to the port through a short tricycle ride. Locals are very accommodating. In a few minutes, we found a boatman that will bring us to Palaui Island. He also help us find guides throughout our two-night stay.
Expectations started to build up as soon as we reached the shore of Palaui Island. Seeing the green landscape and the blue seascape around, we thought that we are bound to create unforgettable memories.
On approach, the first impression is that there are trees all over the island. The water, even on the shore, is clear. It is easy to conclude too that there are only few locals inhabiting the island. Houses are rarely visible from the shore.
After few minutes of taking in the view, we headed to our accommodation. We stayed on a house owned by a local. It was one of the best homestays that I’ve experienced. The kind family that adopted us for two days would provide breakfast, lunch and dinner. Fresh catch from the island. Vegetables grown in their backyard. It was very affordable too. The rooms spacious and comfortable.
We spent two days in Palaui Island. The laidback vibe is healing. Hammocks facing the shore. Sand roads. Docked fishing boats. Silence.
In the island, we notice that everyone seems to sleep early. Working in a city, it is quite unusual to see no lights after 7 pm. The houses in the island are mostly powered by solar panels.
When traveling, it has always been a goal to see sunrise and sunset. We can enjoy it both in Palaui Island.
One of the most memorable adventures in Palaui Island is hiking up Cape Engaño, which is located in the northern tip of the island. The biodiversity en rounte the Cape is an attraction itself.
Before going to Cagayan, we saw pictures of Cape Engaño online. It is breathtaking. But what is saw in person is beyond our expectations.
Aside from Cape Engaño, another way to enjoy the stay in Palaui Island is to do island hopping. The waves is really strong going from one attraction to another, but it is all worthy.
Palaui Island had been very good to us. That two days in the island is one the best memories of my youth. It made me fall in love more with our country and with nature. I hope that the effort to protect this precious island continues. In the next picture, the kind dogs of Palaui Island are featured. I cannot forget these dogs. They are like the guardians of the place. I still can recall that these dogs used to follow us around. They would go first to check the place where we would go, then, make a little gesture to signal that it is safe to follow.
Encounters with three geographical icons of the north on Callao Cave
Our next stop after Palaui Island is Peñablanca. It is a municipality in Cagayan which is about two hours away by jeepney from the capital city Tuguegarao. Peñablanca also houses the largest Protected Seascape and Landscape in northern Philippines, a cave system (covering over 300 caves) that includes a Callao Cave, an important landmark of Cagayan.
We left Palaui Island on a sunset. He headed to Sta Ana terminal and catch a van going back to Tuguegarao, where we stayed for the night. The next morning, we took a jeepney bound to Peñablanca. The ride is about two hours.
Collectives of trees, rice fields and houses waved at us during the ride. The great Sierra Madre is also visible from the distance.
Upon reaching Peñablanca, we needed to ride a tricycle and took a narrower road to the cave system. One of the best views I’ve seen in our journey in Cagayan is the way we took to reach Callao Cave.
After the tricycle ride, we took a short boat ride to cross a tributary of Rio Grande de Cagayan, the longest river in the country. Then, we hike up to Callao Cave. It was one the most memorable hikes as Callao Cave is sitting in western foothills of the Northern Sierra Madre Mountains.
View while going up the Callao Cave. The Cordilleras on the far end. A tributary of Rio Grande de Cagayan in the middle. The foothill where we are standing is a part of the western side of Northern Sierra Madre Mountains. 
Labeled steps to Callao Cave 
Local snacks and desserts like halo-halo is available on stores along the way to Callao Cave.
Callao Cave is larger than life. I took several photos but they cannot give justice to the scale of the cave. It has seven large chambers. Natural crevices are present on these chambers that allows light to seep in. Also, a cathedral-like room in the cave is turned into a Catholic chapel by the locals.
Aside from its natural charm, Callao Cave is also known for fossilized remains (found to be at least 67,000 years old) found on it. In a more recent excavation, researchers digging in Callao Cave found teeth and bones that they believe belongs to a distinct species of ancient that they called Homo luzonensis.
Tuguegarao, the gateway to the north
After our journey to Callao Cave, we headed back to Tuguegarao. We stayed for another night.
Tuguegarao is the capital city of Cagayan. It is dubbed as the “Gateway to the Ilocandia and the Cordilleras”. Being on the southern border of the province, it is sorrounded by Sierra Madre Mountains to the east and the Cordillera Mountains to the west.
Shortly after arriving in our hostel, we explore the city. We wanted to experience local cuisine and we found out that one the more popular noodle dish here in Cagayan is ‘pansit batil patong’. It derived its name from the way the eggs on this stir fried noodle dish is presented. ‘Batil’ which mean ‘beat (the egg)’. ‘Patong’ which means ‘to put on top’. One thing that makes this noodle dish unique is that is uses carabeef (water buffalo meat) as a topping. We found one in a foodcourt just a few blocks from our hostel. I finished a whole big serving and I love it so much!
In Tuguegarao, we also got to try another representative noodle dish from the north, ‘pansit Cabagan’. Its name is derived from the place where it originated, Cabagan, Isabela. Indeed, Tuguegarao is a gateway to the north, that we got to tried dishes from neighboring provinces. It has pork and cabbage as toppings. Now that I’m recalling its savory taste, I want to have another bowl again!
Another highlight of our stay in Tuguegarao is visiting St. Peter Metropolitan Church. In our last morning in Tuguegarao, we headed to this beautiful church. A thank you prayer for giving us an unforgettable stay in this charming province.
I fall in love with Cagayan. I think a strong proof here is that it’s been almost three years since I had my first visit in this province, and I can still make a long blog entry about it. I want to return soon!
infiniTRIPS 