Revisiting Cagayan Valley: Penablanca and Tuao

My first trip to Cagayan Valley was in 2011, and it was a short trip because of several different reasons. This week's trip was also short but we were able to visit more attractions, and we were able to bond with more family members.

Touchdown: TUG

We arrived Tuguegarao at 12:25 p.m and we stayed at my betterhalf's place at Brgy. Leonarda Consuelo Heights Subd in Tuguegarao City. It's just 15 minutes away from the airport. 

There are many different resorts within Tuguegarao and other nearby towns. For those who wish to enjoy the beach, resorts within Sta Ana area, which is approximately 3 hours away from the airport, are available.

Our first destination was Callao Cave located at Penablanca, Cagayan, It is 45 minutes away from the city center. To get into the cave, you must take the concrete stairs which is 184 steps from the main entrance.

The cave has 5 chambers, and we were guided by Ann, a fifteen-yr old local who knows how to play with our camera and was able to capture good shots inside the cave.

After the cave, we went to the river just about 30 steps from the main entrance.

Boats can be rented at 500php which can accommodate 25 pax if you wish to stroll down the clearest part of the Cagayan river aka "Pinakanawan River".

After some pasalubong shopping, we went to visit the Holy Guardian Angel Parish in Tuao, where Uncle Sam is the monsignor. We stopped by for lunch and had a chance to see the 400 angels adorning the church in preparation for its 400 years celebration.

Next stop: Piat and Iguig :)

Camarines Sur Watersports Complex (CWC)

February 16, 2013 - After our tiring Caramoan trip, we sailed back to Naga to experience Camsurfing. We spent 2 hours on the boat and requested Kuya Alvin to stop by a pasalubong center before dropping us off in CWC. It's about an hour and a half drive from Sabang port.

After our pasalubong shopping, we were dropped off at CWC.

We stayed at the trailers close to the lake. I booked one family room and one single.

After checking in, we roamed around the complex to check for retaurants as we haven't had a decent meal since we left Caramoan. We stopped by the wakeboarding area close to the restaurant.

After our late lunch (where we ordered bicol express, calamares and sizzling gambas), we started our individual itinerary within the complex.

After the whole day of fun, we ended the night with a lake-side full body massage.

The next morning, we woke up early to explore more of the complex. After check out, a tourist bus dropped us of at the airport.

The trip was indeed short, but we'lll definitely go back. :)

The Islands of Caramoan

February 15, 2013 - After 2 outbound flight cancellations, one return flight schedule change, and series of itinerary changes, I was able to finally come up with an itinerary for our long awaited Cam Sur trip. The expectations were not really set and not enough information was gathered through my research, so I have to blindly draft whatever is available for a temporary getaway.

We left NAIA at 9:30 a.m. and arrived at WNP (Naga - Pili Airport) at 10:25 a.m. I have arranged our Caramoan trip with Traveler's Camp. We were picked up at the airport at 10:30 a.m. and went straight to Sabang port.

After an hour trip from the airport to Sabang port, we had to wait for another 2 hours for the next motorboat to Guijalo port. It wasn't a good idea to have us wait for that long (Two thumbs down for Traveler's Camp). There was not any activity in the port that can be offered for tourists in order to kill time, so we had no choice but to entertain ourselves by eating lots of junk and taking pictures (poor kids lol).

After an hour and 45 minutes, boarding finally commenced.

The boat ride to Guijalo port took 2 hours (as opposed to an hour ride set at the start of the trip) and was not so convenient because the boat was small and the leg room is not enough for an adult traveler (another two thumbs down).

At the Guijalo port, we had another transfer to Traveler's camp and we arrived at 5:00 pm. We were scheduled to have our island hopping on that same day but we were all so dead tired because of the long transfers, so we decided to reschedule the trip to the islands the next day and rest after our late lunch.

Dinner was set at 8:00 pm and it was a feast of sea foods (Okay, they're trying to get even). After dinner, we spent time at their videoke area over some bottles of beer.

Lights off (End of our last set): 12 midnight

February 16, 2013 - We woke up at 4:00 am to start our Island hopping. We left the camp at 5:00 am.  

This is the most unique island hopping experience that we've all had as we had no visibility of the ocean. The boat man only used a flashlight to check if there are barriers on our way  to the next island. It's like an escape from Alcatraz. After 45 minutes boat ride, the sun started to peep and we have started to see some of the islands from afar.

It was still dark when we arrived at the first island, but this did not prevent us from taking pictures. The island was the best. The sand is white and powdery and is so perfect that I don't have enough words to describe the place (thumbs and toes up for the white beach). Our trip has finally paid off. It was all worth it.

We stayed at the first island for 30 minutes and moved to the next island where we had our breakfast.

After our kamayan breakfast, we headed to the next island for swimming and snorkeling.

The last island was 15 minutes away from the third and we played, swam and took pictures with the rock formations.

The trip was all worth the long wait. We sailed back to the Caramoan proper to prepare for our next destination: CWC