happy hearts day!

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! :) Reflecting on this special occasion...I just realized the past 5 Valentine's were quite..ummm...varied? You see, I've been unattached since November of 2006 and I've celebrated the day of romance differently over the past years.

In 2007, I spent it with 4 of my childhood friends. We had dinner at my house and talked all night.

In 2008, I celebrated Valentine's by joining a rally in Makati in protest of then-President Arroyo.

In 2009, I went to an orchid show with two of my also-single girl-friends.

In 2010, again--dinner with friends

In 2011...hmmm..this was just last year but I can't seem to remember what I did....I think I was doing overtime at work, haha!

So what're my Hearts Day plans for 2012? (Un)fortunately, I don't have any. Let's see, I might just think of something...later.

holy weekend (day 2)

Continuation of my previous post--yesterday I visited the Callao Caves and Pinacauanan River in Penablanca and the St. Philomene Church in Alcala (all three still located in Cagayan Province). I hope this post encourages you to visit Cagayan, it's such a spectacular province to explore.

Of course I had to take a tourist shot, haha! Welcome to the Callao Eco Tourism Zone! :) The entrance fee was just 20 bucks. It's required that you have a guide to the cave, and I noticed that most of the guides were kids.

You need to climb 184 steps to be able to get to the cave's entrance. I was not prepared 0_0 By the way, that's Jaylord (yes, that is his name) my 15 yr old guide. He's been a tour guide in Callao for the past 5 years. He's also quite an "expert" in taking pictures, I guess due to lots of practice with the tourists who ask him to take their pictures. He even pointed out the perfect spots where to take pictures, where the good lighting was, what kind of setting I should use for my camera inside the cave, etc....

The chapel in the 2nd Chamber. There are 7 Chambers inside the cave, but was only able to reach the 5th one because it would be difficult for us to go to the remaining two already.

The Pinacanauan River. I don't know if I was duped, but the round trip boat fare cost me Php 500. Now, I really didn't mind because I don't think the boat man would earn that amount daily. My way of helping him out, heehee .

Too bad I was by myself, because you can dock on one side of the river and have a picnic there. You can also swim in the river, by the way!! I can assure you the water is SO CLEAN. I have never seen a river that clean, as in almost crystal clear clean.

The St. Philomene Church, or the Alcala Church as locals would call it. It's found in Alcala, Cagayan Province and is about 40+ kilometers from Tuguegarao City. Oh the lengths and distances I'd go to just to visit old churches. Srsly people, I have a weird fascination (read: obsession) with old churches. There's just something about these structures that inspire and intrigue me at the same time.

** Directions:

To Callao Cave/Pinacanauan River - From the provincial highway going to Tuguegarao coming from Isabela, turn right at the road leading to Penablanca (which is right after the arch of Penablanca haha!). Just go straight, it'll be a loooooooooooooong drive to reach the entrance of the registration area of the Callao Eco-Tourism Zone. The road's a bit bumpy as well because of repairs currently being done.

To St. Philomene Church - Take the same route as going to Iguig (refer to my previous entry). Go past Iguig and you'll reach the town of Alcala. Believe me, just go straight and you'll spot the church on the right side of the road. It'll feel like a long drive (because it really is one) but just enjoy the view and trust that you'll see the church and that you're not lost ;)

holy weekend (day 1)

Not holy holy.... Can't think of a blog entry title that could describe how the weekend has been for me. I'm spending my last night in Tuguegarao City, Cagayan Province in my hotel room--enjoying the AC, cable TV, and free wifi! I decided to just spend the entire weekend not in Isabela because I really wanted to just get away and explore. I was supposed to spend just one night here, but opted to extend it for one more night so that I could rest before driving back.

As much as I love road trips and old churches, it would be more fun to have friends or family with me. Alas, I need to get used to going solo on my trips for the next few months. I am hoping that the group trip I've signed up for going to Sta. Ana Cagayan Province will push through.

Anyway, I do hope you enjoy these pictures I've taken during my stay here in Cagayan this weekend :) I'm sharing the Friday pictures first--taken at the San Pablo Church in Isabela, and Calvary Hills/Iguig Church in Iguig, Cagayan Province.

San Pablo Church, San Pablo, Isabela Province - the oldest church in the province! It was built in 1646 during the Spanish colonial period.

Here we go again with my bell tower obsession, hehe...

View from Calvary Hills, Iguig, Cagayan Province

Iguig Church, Iguig, Cagayan Province

The Calvary Hills are known for the life-sized statue depictions of the 14 Stations of the Cross. These are located on 4 hectares of rolling hills (according to the Iguig website hehe). Can I just say the pictures do not do justice to how amazing and beautiful this place is.

View of the Iguig Church from afar. Spectacular!

** So here's what I noticed...whenever I research online about where to go and what to do in different provinces, I rarely see articles with directions. I will try my best to remember how I went to each place I visited, hehe...

San Pablo Church: Take the left side of the juntion on the national highway (Maharlika HIghway) coming from Isabela going to Tuguegarao. The landmark is the carabao statue with the San Pablo sign (duh, hehe). Once you've entered that road, just go straight and you'll see the San Pablo Church on the left side of the road.

Calvary Hills: Take the national highway (Maharlika Highway) going to Tuguegarao City. You should be able to pass by the Provincial Capitol, DOST, NSO, and BFAR (these are the ones I remember). Once you reach Rizal Ave (landmark is the Flying V Gas station on the left), turn right on that road and just go straight. You'll see the arch of Iguig and just follow the road. You'll pass by stalls selling pottery. Still go straight and you'll see a sign on the left side of the road indicating Calvary Hills. Calvary Hills is about 17 kilometers from Tuguegarao City.