Cagayan and Isabela

[shegothim]

Hi mga sis,

sino po sa inyo ang nakapagtour na sa mga lugar na ito? balak kasi namin ng mga kaibigan ko na magtour dito next year.

[blackgreen]

^me and my churchmates. dito kami nagpilgrimage last march. okay naman yun place, pero mostly churches pinuntahan namin eh

[shegothim]

parang ilocos din pala, tamang tama para sa holy week.

balak kasi naming mag-callao cave, rafting sa chico river, palaui tapos deretso na kaming pagudpud tapos tour ulit.

[kikay iska]

^ ako sis.  hometown ko ang kalinga, where chico river is.  my parents still live there.  sa tuguegarao naman ako based before i moved here (qc) for college. 

i will be spending christmas break in tuguegarao.

maganda magpunta sa tuguegarao pag december-january kasi malamig  umaabot sa 16 degrees (like new year's eve 2009).   pag holy week naman, super init na.

kung yan ang mga pupuntahan nyo, i suggest ang route nyo ay chico river muna then callao, palaui then pagudpud.  callao is along the way to palaui island.

[carxs]

ang alam ko sa cagayan meron dun yun kalao cave, then may part dun na pwede ring mag-white water rafting. mostly church visit talaga dun. May mga beaches din dun sa bogai.

[shegothim]

thanks mga sis.

na-try mo na sis kikay magraft sa chico river? nakakatakot ba o keri lang?

oks lang siguro sa amin ang init, sanay naman na kami dun.

[kikay iska]

^^ Sis it's Bugeuy (bu-gey).  It's a town in Cagayan.

True, maraming old churches sa Cagayan.  The oldest bell is in Lallo (Lal-lo).  Then there's the  Basilica of Our Lady of Piat na dinadayo ng madaming pulitiko lalo na pag eleksyon bac it is believed to be miraculous.  There are 2 old churckes in Tuguegarao:  St Peter and Paul's Cathedral - the biggest in the region and San Jacinto Church.  Then madami pang ibang churches along the route to Sta Ana (Palaui). 

The beaches are okay but not white sand.

Oaky na rin pala ang trip nyo ng Holy Week para hindi nakakatakot ang ride to Palaui island.


^ sis, unfortunately, di ko na-try ang rafting sa chico river.  pero balita ko mas mahirap kaysa sa cdo.  not to mention mas mahirap ang transpo papunta dun at pati na rin yung security.  kaya yata ako di pa nakaka-try nyan dahil sa security.  di kita tinatakot ha pero this is the time i suggest na kumuha kayo ng tour or guide.  sa chico river lang naman.

[shegothim]

thanks ulit sis.

sige hanap na lang ako ng guide para doon if tutuloy kaming magrafting.

how many hours nga pala ang travel via bus? o magplane na lang kami kasi meron na namang flight sa tuguegarao?

[kikay iska]

^ by bus, 8-12 hours.  depends on the bus line. Mabilis yung Victory De Luxe Bus - eto yung 8 hrs.

Holy Week is peak season dyan so bus trips might take longer.  Like last Holy Week, umabot ng 16 hours ang byahe.  Madami kasing inaayos na daan in Isabela and Nueva Vizcaya.  Na-traffic kami sa bundok doon ng ilang oras.  I'm guessing same lang ang traffic situation this year kasi election naman.  Madaming road improvements na hindi natatapos pag pa-election.  Nakaka-traffic.   

Ok mag-plane para 45 mins lang pero noon ang flights ng CP.  Sa PAL i think meron silang 9am.  Tapos dahil peak yan, kung mag-plane kayo, book early.  Yung flight ko with CP sa Jan 3, 2010 lateko na na-book.  Last week ako nag-book at nasa 3.2k na. 1-way lang.  Pag mas maaga nasa 1.6k lang ang 1-way. 

[cj_binarao]

^ if you're not used to traveling for 10-12 hours long..then i suggest, its better to take the plane..it's just an hour away from manila..

also, idagdag nyo s itinerary nyo sis ang Anguib beach in Sta. Ana, Cagayan..yun yung Bora island of the north..it's not well developed yet but I heard maganda din yung place...

[clueless]

i'm also from Cagayan.

medyo confusing lang yung title ng thread...

Cagayan and Isabela are provinces in Region II or Cagayan Valley. Tuguegarao City is the capital of Cagayan.

my sister, brother and some cousins have tried white water rafting in Kalinga. they enjoyed it so much. there are guided tours and packages. one of the organizers is anton carag, just google his name.

kadalasan talaga ang pinupuntahan don yung basilica of our lady of piat and callao caves (but be prepared for the long climb up).

you can also go to the iguig calvary with life size stations of the cross.

i've been to palaui island but years ago pa. maganda don, not sure lang now if maganda pa din. maganda yung lighthouse and depends on what time of the year you go, minsan may makikita kang whales daw.

one must-try in tuguegarao is the pancit alled batil-patong. it's pancit canton with sunny-side up egg on tops (or sometimes cut into strips - ito yung patong) and soup na may binatil na itlog. typical sawsawan is toyo and kalamansi with onions. add sili if you want.

another must-try is alcala milk candy made from fresh carabao's milk. masarap ito when slightly toasted (as in sa oven toaster) but remove the wrapper before you toast.

ok din yung chocolate balls used for champorado and tsokolate.

if you want to make the northern luzon tour, siguro tama lang ang 1 week, baka bitin pa.

my friends and i did this in 2001 or 2002. we went to ilocos first (vigan, laoag, pagudpud) then went to cagayan then back to manila. all by car. super fun road trip.

[clueless]

if you want to take the bus, take the night trips. better than the day trips. and yes, yung sa victory liner ok. yung "king long" bus nila. that's what my dad calls it. basta yung 800+ yata na bus fare.

^^ Anguib beach - that was what i was trying to remember. i've seen some photos when some friends went there. maganda nga.

[rocky]

waaah!!! di ako kasama sa trip na to. holy week kasi eh. sayang naman!

ito pa naman jen yong sinasabi ni kuya lenzer na ito-tour nya tayo uli.

[shegothim]

kel, ask kasi si kuya lenzer kung sinong kasama ko sabi ko mga kaibigan kong gala. siguro naisip nya isa ka dun. hehe

thanks mga sis. sige sabihan ko mga friends ko kung anong gusto nila plane ba o bus. ako kasi oks lang kahit ano, sanay naman akong bumyahe ng matagal.

[shegothim]

up ko lang. ilang months na lang dito naman ang tungo ko.

[kikay iska]

just got back yesterday. i spent christmas vacation in cagayan/kalinga.

it was unusually not cold this vacation. global warming na nga ba ito?  thsi is the only dec-jan vacation i spent here that it wasn't freezing cold. 

btw, i flew via cebu pac tuguegarao-manila yesterday. maliit ang plane. may propeller   and they get body weight including carry on bag after they weigh your check-in baggage. 

[shegothim]

hala, kakahiya naman iyon. dalawa pa naman kaming tabachingching. kailangan pala maagang mag-check in ulit baka kasi di na kami papasukin pag lumagpas na sa weight limit iyong plane.

[bella123]

Maganda sa mga place na to when we went there nag start kami sa Nueva vizcaya and we end up our trip to  mountain province or sagada for 1 week.

[kikay iska]

^ hindi naman siguro hindi papasukin hahaha! 

buti nga bitbit yung carry on bag pag nag-weigh.  di halata ang tunay kong weight

btw, strictly, 1 carry-on baggage sila but laptop bags not counted sa 1 na yun (i thinl) kasi pinayagan naman akong 2 bags.

sis shegothim, anong plan mong route pala? balak naman ng barkada ko, cagayan-ilocos road trip sa holy week din

[shegothim]

cagayan - ilocos din kami sis. bale march 27 siguro ang umpisa ng tour namin. sabay na lang tayo para hati hati na lang sa bayad.

camera bag kaya payag sila na di counted?