My Travels: In and Around the Philippines

[wildfuzz]

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A Journey to the Tip of Luzon: Churches along Tuguegarao to Aparri

Tuguegarao can be reached either by plane or by bus. The bus ride from Manila will take you about 8-12hours and at 800-900Php depending on the accomodation. Florida Bus offers deluxe, super deluxe (very-wide reclinable seats), and the sleeper (double deck beds). I cannot talk much about the bus ride because on my way there I took the ATR plane of Cebu Pac (which was 30 minutes delayed due to overload) and a bus ride that I slept all the way back to Manila. Dont worry about bathroom because the bus do have one. On my own personal experience, avoid taking the deluxe (narrow seats) and the sleeper (biyahilo).

Tuguegarao is located along Cagayan Valley and one of the hottest but if you go further to Aparri or Santa Ana the temperature gradually decreases. If you visit the places along Cagayan Valley you will take notice of the great Cagayan River which is so far the widest river I saw in the Philippines. The churches along the route of Tuguegarao to Aparri was mainly built by the Dominicans and all churches are facing the river and near to it. The means of transportation during the olden times was thru a boat which is the main reason why it faces the river.

Tuguegarao has alot to offer like the Calliao Caves and other caves. I wasnt able to visit this because my journey is for Camiguin de Babuyanes.

These are the photos I took while making quick stops along the way.
The Tuguegarao St. Peter's Cathedral



The specialty: Dok's Pancit Kabagan


The Church of Iguig












Cagayan Valley's version of the Golden Bridge







Asia's oldest bell

nice one sir..this is very inspiring..murag gnahan ko mgtigum pra mo travel sa pinas..

[Recon25]

sir wildfuzz,
The beauty of the Philippines sir is just waiting for you around the corner. Travelling is not that expensive if you know what you are going up against. If you have any place you wanna visit sir, dont hesitate to ask. I'll try to help and give you tips if possible.
Thanks,
drb

[Recon25]

Santa Ana, Cagayan Valley: Palaui Island and Cape Engano
Palaui Island is still a well kept secret only seen by a few. This island is just a mere 1.2 mile from Santa Ana which is a mere 2 ½ - 3 hours drive from Tuguegarao City, the capital of Cagayan province. In August 16, 1994, the entire 7,415 hectare island was declared a Marine Reserve under the category of Protected Landscape and Seascape. Palaui Island is part of the municipality of Sta. Ana and the Cagayan Freeport.

A panorama of the island from above



The peaks of Dos Hermanos



The Dos Hermanos as seen from one of the windows of Cape Engano


Cape Engaño Lighthouse is a historic lighthouse located on the Palaui Island in the town of Santa Ana, in the province of Cagayan, in the Philippines. Located on the summit of a hill in the northeasternmost point that forms the cape, it lights the approach from the Pacific to the extreme northeast point of Luzon, and the channel between the Babuyanes Islands and the mainland. It is the easternmost of the lights on the north coast of Luzon. The original light was equipped with a first-order light and it was first lit on December 30, 1892







As I was taking photos of the landscape, Father Joemar took a photo of me while I was on the edge

[undercover_lover]

Thought of sharing this if ok lang

Santander - Tostados Festival

I was invited by a friend to visit her place in Santander, Cebu -- the southernmost municipality of the province of Cebu. I was told that they were celebrating their annual town fiesta but was hesitant to commit at first as I have a scheduled photoshoot early on the next day but still, I was convinced to visit the place.

The town of Santander is around 3-4 hours bus ride from Cebu City. It is the location of sea ports that connect to Negros Oriental. Fast craft boats ferry passengers to Sibulan, Negros Oriental with trips taking 20 minutes. Roll-on roll-off barges travel to Amlan, Negros Oriental with trips taking 1 hour. Santander is an ideal spot for diving as it's located in the hub of some world renowned dive spots like Apo Island, Balicasag, Pescador Island, Sumilon and Siquijor.

Upon arriving I was surprised to realize that the town is famous for their sweet toasted biscuit called Tostado hence the town celebrated the Tostados Festival to honor their patron saint the angel St. Gabriel and to highlight their local delicacy while showcasing the culture and the people of Santander. The Tostados Festival is celebrated yearly a week before the start of Holy Week.

They had street dancing and showdown scheduled for that day so I took the opportunity to cover the town’s festivity.

[Recon25]

@undercover_lover
thank you very much for sharing one of the different festivals of Cebu Province. Thanks for the brief writeup and the lovely colorful pictures you have captured... looking forward to more festivals and travel photos from you

[wildfuzz]

sir wildfuzz,
The beauty of the Philippines sir is just waiting for you around the corner. Travelling is not that expensive if you know what you are going up against. If you have any place you wanna visit sir, dont hesitate to ask. I'll try to help and give you tips if possible.
Thanks,
drb

Thanks sir.....ill just PM you f mg ask ko help sa mga places.....

[Recon25]

BALIW-BALIW FESTIVAL
Barangay San Vicente Ferrer
Olango Island, Cebu Province

Baliw-Baliw Festival is said to date back unto the late 1800'sor early 1900's. A tradition and a ritual for the islanders of Barangay San Vicente Ferrer in Olango Island. This is also their offering to their patron saint. The men dressed in a woman's clothing, selling ice creams thats are made from cows manure, having a cockfight wherein it involves a rooster or a duck pitted against a cat or a frog, an old lady giving birth to a little boy, and just about all the crazy stuff that they can think off. Watching this festivity would lead you to question their sanity.

One time it was banned by the church but strange things happened. People got sick without apparent reasons, harvest became way too low, and just about most of the bad omen. They then revived Baliw-Baliw and stood against the will of the church. Good things came back after performing the annual ritual.

The Baliw-Baliw Festival is scheduled every May, with no specific date, but falling on the date of the highest (mostly 2.0m) tide at around 12 noon.

The term "Baliw" is derived from the cebuano term as "gi-baliw" or simply "are you crazy? are you sane?

Also, San Vicente Ferrer happens to be my patron Saint.

This ritual just shows the rich culture we cebuanos have, and surprisingly only a number of cebuanos know that such beautiful insane tradition exist nearby.

[Recon25]

The Humpback Whales of the Philippines

While others make trips towards Mexico and Alaska just to see these gentle giants, I was privilege to be a very small part of these team... The Babuyan Humpbacks Research Team... The research started way back in the year 2000 up to the present. For 10-years it was funded by the World Wide Fund - For Nature, then presently its all funded by the individuals who just love these gentle giants. Camiguin de Babuyanes is a very remote place but yet a known breeding ground of humpback whales. I will make a separate post about Camiguin de Babuyanes...

and these are some of the flukes, dorsals, blow, and etc (except for breaches-sorry for that)







the fluke of a humpback while playing with a melonhead


the sequence of humpbacks before a deep dive is you see the blow first, then the dorsal... the fluke symbolize that is going for a deep dive... they may emerge at an interval of 15 minutes to 30 minutes

the fluke shot, or tail shot is essential in identifying them individually. we were lucky that 5 new individual were spotted the entire time we were there.

[jimsuy]

great capture sir dex..

[gracie7]

Sus!! Ang HUMPBACK Whales juuuuuuuuuuud!!