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| Palaui here I come! |
Having
been to many places around the Philippines and some to its neighboring
countries, it was only in 2013 that I became aware of the beautiful and exotic
Island of Palaui at Cagayan Valley (Region 2). Coming from the province of
Quirino which shares the same region with Cagayan, Palaui is just a stone throw
away. So when the opportunity came to travel to Palaui, I immediately boarded a
bus to Tuguegarao City. Coming along with me to experience the beauty of this
little island is my sister, who did not bother filing a leave from work. LOL.
The
trip from Echague (located in Isabela Province where my grandparents live) to
Tuguegarao City took around 3-4 hours. We arrived at the city around noon,
where we withdrew cash to cover our expenses for the whole trip as there are no
or limited ATMs at Santa Ana/Palaui.
After
getting lunch and some rest, we hired a trike to get to the terminal where
Santa Ana bound Van can be found. The first trip from Tuguegarao City to Santa
leaves at 5:00 AM and the last trip leaves at 4:00 PM. The fare is around
Php 200.00 and the travel time is around 3 to 4 hours.
We
arrived at Santa Ana Poblacion around 5:00 PM. Santa Ana is a small town in Cagayan
where both fishing and farming is the main source of income. The recent feature
of Palaui Island in the two (2) seasons of Survivor (a television show) added
tourism as another source of income for its people. So we were quite happy to
help the community with our trip there.
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| Empanada in the making(?)! |
Due to its proximity
to the sea and Ilocos Region, the local delicacies here were seafood, empanadas
and longganisa. And quite frankly, their empanada tasted much better than those at Ilocos.
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| Walk around Santa Ana town! |
Since
it was already too late to go directly to Palaui Island (although it can be arranged at
much higher price), we just decided to spend the night at Santa Ana. Based from
the travel blogs I’ve read about Palaui, accommodations at San Vicente Port
(gateway to Palaui Island) are more expensive, so my sister and I opted to look
for accommodation at Santa Ana Poblacion instead.
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| The town hall of Santa Ana, Cagayan! |
We found one near/beside the market (the name of which I already forgot). The
amenities are basic, it was air conditioned, with restroom and a queen sized
bed.
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| Just enough for swhat we paid for! |
The
night is still young so we decided to have a walk around the town.
Little
did we know that the town is celebrating its annual Viray Festival. The town’s
plaza is teeming with street foods, basic carnival rides, perya stuffs and the locals who flocked the place to have fun, fun
and fun.
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| Happy Fiesta! LOL |
My
sister and I settled in one of the tables and had our dinner consisting of
empanada, longganisa, mango shake and barbeque.
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| More empanadas please! |
After
dinner, we decided to head back to the hotel for an early rest and in preparation
for the Palaui Island tour the next day. On our way back, we met a
stranger who turned out to be an acquaintance of our grandparents. Aside from
gaining a new friend we were also referred to a boatman he personally knows for a
very cheap price. I know that it’s cheap because it is half of the standard
rate issued by the boat operators. Maybe the price quoted to us was originally intended for locals, and we felt like one, so we had no guilty feelings accepting
such. LOL.
Check the other entries on my Palaui Island Trip:
Tra-Abel Guide to Palaui Island, Cagayan
Palaui Island Trip Day 1: Tra-Abel En Route
Palaui Island Trip Day 2: Island Hopping
Palaui Island Trip Day 3: Exploring the Island
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