Weekend Getaway in Cagayan, Northeast Luzon, Philippines

After visiting some relatives in the province of Isabela , I decided to take a side trip further up the northeastern corner of Luzon , Philippines .  I saw this show on the Living Asia channel featuring the Callao Caves , and I was determined to experience it first-hand.

There was no plan, so anything goes.  I was not very worried though, since I was with a couple of cousins who spoke the local dialect and their two friends who tagged along weren't exactly first-time visitors.  We also had our own wheels, thanks to my kind uncle who was worried about us commuting.  He said it will be difficult without our own vehicle if we were to go to the caves.  Not until we got there that I felt very grateful for his offer.  It would have been quite a downer if we commuted.

The scenery along the way from Isabela to Cagayan was breath-taking.  The sky was so blue, the grass was so green.  It was like that Windows default desktop image, except that this time it was not on the computer screen but right there before my very eyes.  Simply spectacular. 

We reached Tuguegarao city, the capital of Cagayan Valley .  From there, we had to go further up north to the town of Penablanca which took another 30 minutes.  There weren't any signs, so we had to ask for directions every now and then.  A few kilometers before reaching the Pinacanauan River , the road becomes unpaved but bearable.  At a certain intersection, some security persons at a guard post will be collecting a minimal 'entrance fee'.

There were a lot of people at the river, mostly locals.  There were a few foreigners (judging from their fair skin, blonde hair and another group obviously Koreans), but the rest are local tourists.  To enter the Callao Caves , we had to cross the river.  It was quite shallow (less than a meter deep) and a few meters across, but we opted to ride the wooden boat called 'bangka' over to the other side.  After paying an entrance fee (again), we took around 200 steps up the staircase to the caves. 

There are seven chambers, but we just went up to the second (or was it the third?).  The first chamber is where the chapel was.  Hmm.. I must say I was not very impressed, but not exactly disappointed.  I know the tourism authorities are trying hard, but the place does not seem to be well-preserved nor tourist friendly.  Nevertheless, nature never fails to awe.  Standing in the beam of light that shone through the cave, I felt like I was an angel or something. Or something.  Ha!

I've never been to a cave before, and I know nothing about stalagmites and stalactites and the sort.  But!  Oh..and how I searched!  I finally got to meet in person the child guide Andoy from TV.  He and a handful of his mates had the capability to guide tourists through the caves, proudly presenting its rich history.. and in straight English!  I got to chat with him a bit, and then I asked him if he could say a little something to invite people to visit Callao Caves .  Link here for a peek: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mCyMtTyzpg).

After that one mission accomplished, we took a little ride along the Pinacanauan River on the bangka.  This is when I got to know Edward, a 13-year-old 'bangka' chauffer.  In contrast with Andoy, Edward is the shy and silent type.  He took us to a part of the river where rain showers continually fell from the limestones.  He also took us to where thousands of bats would fly out every evening (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JV4e7k5ICo&feature=related).  Then, he left us at a spot where we could take a dip in the river (without worrying about drowning or being carried away by the current).  He would then come back to pick us up after a couple of hours.