My friend, Barbara, and I had been toying the idea of visiting Palaui ever since she showed me a similar photo as this one.
When we finally got the chance to go there in August, we wasted no time. From the airport, we proceeded to the bus terminal in Cubao for buses bound for Tuguegarao. Yes, it was a night bus. We arrived Tuguegarao the following morning.
We had this for breakfast: Pansit Batil Patong! This is supposed to be one serving but I was not able to finish this one.
To reach Palaui, we need to go to the town of Santa Ana, which is three hours north of Tuguegarao. We still have time to go other tourist spots since our Palaui trip was scheduled the following day.
Off we visited Callao Caves. We climbed 183 steps to reach the mouth of the cave.
There is a church inside. Remember that Bea Alonzo movie? There was a scene that was filmed here.
The cave has seven chambers. This is just one of them.
It is not difficult to navigate the cave. Look at my friends. They looked like they were strolling in a park.
We visited churches on our way to Santa Ana.
One church had large stations of the cross in its compound.
Since we are already going north, we visited Aparri. This is the doppler radar of PAGASA.
And this is where the Cagayan River, the Philippines’ longest river, meets the Babuyan Sea.
This gorgeous sunset greeted us when we reached Santa Ana.
We called it a day.
Off we went to Palaui the next day. Palaui is an island an hour away from the Santa Ana Port.We hired this motorboat.
We climbed up a hill to reach the lighthouse. We took photos on the way up.
This is the lighthouse.
At the back of the lighthouse, we went down to a grassy area where we had the best view of the islands.
Because of the large open flat space, we tried this camera trick.
This is the view we loved.
We went to Anguib beach after. Anguib is where Survivor Cagayan was shot. The boat ride from Palaui to Anguib was one of the scariest I have experienced. It was raining. We can only see a dark horizon and an unending sea on the left side and uninhabited island on the right. We see no other boats around that my friend really asked, “Where are the others?” Fortunately, we arrived Anguib safely and we spent some time swimming.
We dropped by Crocodile island when we headed back to the port. It was called crocodile island because of the shape of the rock formation. Can you imagine the crocodile head in this photo?
We returned to the resort we were staying, had dinner and slept tight.
The day after was travel time for us. We took a van bound for Tuguegarao where we would ride another night trip to Manila. It was a long trip. We slept through the night filled with thoughts of this memorable trip.
The place looks amazing ! I had no idea about it since this post thank you for sharing your experience. It is always nice to discover new places in the world!
You girls are so brave to do this on your own. I think I want to try it with my family one day just the way you described it. That pancit you had on the first day, was that all ground pork with the noodles?
Chopped liver, Fred. 🙂 Oh, we had a guide but you’ll be fine without the guide. The locals can help you navigate the place.
the place is very good for nature trippers. I love the concept of building a church inside the cave.
Breathtaking Palaui! Every photo you’ve captured is really magnificent. And I am more convinced to visit the other parts of the Philippines more next year. How was the weather when you visited, Kat?
It was fickle, Farida. Sometimes it rained, sometimes it was sunny. It was raining while we were on a boat but rain stopped when we docked to the island.
Such a travel that you always been dreamed of, I think. Glad you enjoyed your visit with friends.
Nice photos! Thank you for allowing us to travel and see these places through your blog. Ang dami ko tuloy gusto puntahan sa Pinas =)
I have always wanted to go to that place specially to that cave. If I am going to marry someday, I want it to be there! You captured the beauty of the place perfectly!
What a fun adventure! I love that the places you visited are not so populated by tourists. They actually look calm and serene. Sarap siguro magmuni-muni there. 🙂
omg the place is awesome! Wish to visit here one day <3
Palaui looks amazing, a perfect place to explore and experience the beauty of nature could bring. Your photos are really nice and good thing about it you have friends traveling with which makes the whole thing more fun.:) Hope to visit that place sometime soon..:)
such a great adventure and you take such wonderful photos too. That breakfast looks massive!
A place I have never visited – I would enjoy a chance to explore this part of the world.
Seems like a lot of fun. Posts like this rekindles my love for adventure and travel! Now I got more excited to go on a travel. Incidentally, I have just booked a flight for a travel abroad this morning! 🙂 Two more countries to explore. 🙂
Looks really fun with all the different varieties of attractions you covered! 🙂 I think visiting caves is the most exciting of all.
Palaui has a lot of breathtaking scenery. I hope to see the place too. I never realized we had a place like this in our country.
Santa Anna looks gorgeous. glad you had a wonderful time 🙂
Looks like you all had a lot of fun! Well, who wouldn’t have fun in such a beautiful place! It’s actually great that places like this are being discovered and are being blogged to encourage other locals or even tourists to visit. Philippines indeed has a lot of great places.
The caves really look magical. Must have been a lovely trip for you.
If pictures are worth a thousand words then this place must be worth a book or two, LOL. The photos are gorgeous!
Callao Cave is in my bucket list. My husband had a business trip in Tuguegarao last year, sadly I did not join his trip. Maybe next time.
What a beautiful place to visit. I loved the caves… they were so fascinating to look at.
I thought Palaui was in another country haha spectacular view! would love to visit that place too!! 🙂
Wow, the portion of the dish you photographed seems amazingly big, here in the restaurants they offer such small portions that they are never enough for me but Pansit Batil Patong looks like a lot of food! Love the beautiful landscapes and the sea, the marine scenery is awesome!
Wow! As in Wow! I so envy you sis, for having those trips with your girlfriends! How I wish I can visit that place! 🙂 Super ganda!
I love the photos of the cave.. eerie yet intriguing… A good trip!
I love nature and I enjoyed all your pictures showing nature at it’s fullest (sea, landscapes, forests etc)
The food looks delicious and I can tell for sure that you guys had enough fun. It’s just Amazing….
Too bad, wala kaming opportunity to see Palaui 🙁
Ang saya nyo tingnan. I remember tuloy during my college days (single days) when we go to our immersion sites and explore places such as this. 🙂
I realized sis that I haven’t watched the two series of Survivors that were shoot in the Philippines.. I have to download it pala.. Palaui is really awesome!
Wow! This place is a paradise! Such a beautiful place perfect for people who want to unwind. Thanks for sharing!
One of the things that I want to do this year is to travel with the whole family. As much as I want to, however, it’s my husband who has the final say. Wow, I didn’t expect such breathtaking view. I will now add Palaui to my list of travel destinations.
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