Cagayan Valley Adventure Day 2

Our Day 2 in the Cagayan Valley Region brought us to the the Church of San Matias in the town of Tumauini Isabela, and the Callao Cave in Penablanca Cagayan.

Marc really wanted to see the Callao Cave, while I have been dying to see the Tumauini Church, since I first discovered it through the travel sites.

Early morning of our Day 2, we had Pancit Cabagan for breakfast then took a van that leaves for Tumauini in the Province of Isabela. Travel time from Tuguegarao City to Tumauini is approximately 50 minutes. The Tumauini Church is located 38.5 kilometers away from the Tuguegarao Cathedral. Van fare is PHP60 per way.

Marc and I arrived in Tumauini at around 10 in the morning. The weather is perfect. Great blue skies, with some clouds here and there. The only problem we had was that, there was a wedding when we arrived, so we really had to wait for the entourage to leave the church before we can start shooting.

When all the guests from the wedding finally left, we started to shoot the facade as well as the interiors of the church. I am truly amazed at the beauty of this centuries-old church. The carvings on the red bricks on its facade is just so beautiful. It is not everyday that you get to see churches made of bricks as stunning as this. More about this church on my separate blog spot.

After shooting, Marc and I went back to Tuguegarao City for a Pancit Batil Patong Lunch at Gretchen’s Panciteria. A lot of our friends have recommended Gretchen’s Pancit Batil Patong as one of the City’s best. True enough, it was the finest among those we have already tried! Check out my separate review of the Pancit Batil Patong and Pancit Cabagan soon!

Marc and I have been taking photos of the pancit, then a guy later came to our table and asked if were journalists or photographers, we told him that we are travel bloggers, exploring every city that we visit to promote it through our blogs. During the course of our conversation he introduced himself as Mr. Aldwin Addun, the brother of Gretchen, where the panciteria was named after. He then offered to drive us to the town of Penablanca in Cagayan so that we can explore the Callao cave, since he also need to go there to check the stocks of his pasalubong items in a shop where he supplies in Callao Cave.

So off we went to Callao Cave, courtesy of Sir Aldwin. Callao Cave is really beautiful. Just a reminder though, you need to climb around 200 flights of steps before you reach it. It was quite tiring but once you reach the cave, mawawala lahat ng pagod mo! Always bring water when climbing, just to keep you hydrated.

we ended our day with a hearty dinner at the Urban Kitchen.