It is unfortunate that I have to begin the Cagayan post series by recalling a disappointing experience; an ironic one given the title of this article. I would not elaborate but bottom line realization: promo airfares are a scam. You would book a low-cost airfare, then the airline would suddenly change your flight schedule making it entirely inconvenient for you so much so that you will be forced to book a regularly priced fare. That’s how airlines rob you. They would not even take into consideration your schedule, let alone your money. They only care about their profit.

Helplessly disappointed as we were, we had no choice. Originally scheduled to leave NAIA at 06:45 AM, the flight was moved to 11:00 AM. To make matters worse, our hosts were already waiting for us in the airport of destination. That hence was more than four lost hours not only for us but for them as well. We were still fortunate though, as our hosts were gracious enough to wait.

Well, what can we do? We just goofed in the airport.

You could only imagine how relieved we were when the waiting time was finally over.

We were determined not to allow any negative experience to affect one of our major trips, so we just made sure to make most of the plane trip, taking photos from above that as if it was our first plane ride.

Quarter past 12:00 noon, we finally reached Tuguegarao City. The capital city of Cagayan is said to have gotten its name from taraw which is a type of palm tree that grows in the area and from garao which refers to swift river current. Such a reference to the river is common for places within the Cagayan Valley region owing to the Rio Grande de Cagayan which is the longest river in the Philippines. Apart from the river though, Tuguegarao is likewise known as one of the hottest places in the Philippines. Its name usually appears in the weather bureau’s temperature monitoring index, and the highest temperature ever recorded in the Philippines was monitored in Tuguegarao.

As soon as we got out of the plane, the heat with which Tuguegarao is known for immediately welcomed us.

It was such a relief when we finally met our hosts, spouses Ela and Dino Dadulla. They are the owners of E.F. Costales Lodge, the place in Santa Ana, Cagayan where we would stay.

The car offered instant relief from the heat outside. More than that though, it was a relief that after considerable delay, we finally reached Cagayan. The fact that the Dadulla couple were very warm and still accommodating despite having to wait for us for four hours gave us the reassurance that we needed; the foresight that we would still enjoy our journey to Cagayan despite the initial disappointment as there are people there who intend to make it memorable for us.

Since our arrival was just in time for lunch, our hosts drove us to a restaurant nearby to have our fill. Too bad, we were not able to take any photo of the place and could no longer recall its name. Probably we were still getting a grip of the fact that we finally made it after all the hassle of delay that we experienced.

Have we arrived as originally scheduled, we would have visited the blue lagoon in Baggao, Cagayan. Due to the delay though, time won’t be enough. We just started our trip to the northernmost town of Cagayan and of Luzon mainland, Santa Ana. Along the way, we dropped-by points of interest to make the three-hour trip worthwhile.

Our first stop, the Metropolitan Cathedral of Tuguegarao. Completed in 1768, the St. Peter the Apostle Metropolitan Cathedral serves as the seat of the Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Tuguegarao. Mainly made from bricks, its architecture is so unique that its pediment gained its own name: Cagayan-styled pediment.

Despite the Tuguegarao heat that we were finally experiencing for the first time, we still made sure that we will have our photos in front of the beautiful church façade.

Our curiosities then led us inside the church. The interior is just as equally stunning as the exterior. There was a scheduled wedding though and the church was being prepared, so we did not go all the way inside.

When we went outside the church again, our hosts were waiting for us and offered to take our photos together in front of the façade. Of course, we obliged.

We really appreciated our visit in the Tuguegarao Cathedral. I think the heavens intended that a church be our first destination in our Cagayan adventure. Nakalimutan ko na ang nagpupuyos kong galit sa airline dahil sa malalang aberya.

Since we got delayed in getting to Cagayan, we got a chunk of what was our supposed first day gone to waste. Halos wala na kaming mapuntahan. Hinahabol kasi namin ang oras at malayo pa ang Santa Ana mula sa Tuguegarao. Our hosts told us though that we would drop-by the Poor Clare Monastery along the way. Visita iglesia ang naging ganap namin. Nope, that is not a complaint.