CAMALANIUGAN : Cagayan's Heritage Treasure Trove

(This post is part of my 4th Cagayan Province Town hopping last August 19-21, 2018)

Visiting Camalaniugan again is one of the highlights of my 4th Cagayan Province excursion. My first visit to this beautiful town was already 4 years ago and I was only able to see then the present church and its famous Sancta Maria bell, considered to be the oldest bell in the Far East, and definitely the oldest bell in the Philippines. Little did I know then that the quiet town actually harbors 2 more precious heritage treasure.

San Jacinto de Polonia Church (Camalaniugan Church).

Rizal, Tuao, and Piat : Visiting Three Historic Malaueg and Itawes Towns of Cagayan

Three towns on the south westernmost part of the province of Cagayan are definitely places worth visiting for, especially to someone who has much interest on antiquity, culture, and everything in between. Belonging to the Itawes region of the province, Rizal (also known as Malaueg), Tuao, and Piat are all able to preserve their local identity through their main language, Itawes and Malaueg, and other local dialects which is still being used by the locals. But equally important to that is that they were also able to preserve colonial edifices and structures that bears imprint of their past, as well as the whole nation's past. These are the things that made my trip, together with another heritage enthusiast from Nueva Vizcaya, Mr. Juval Rey Valdez, a very memorable and fruitful one.

An ancestral house in Tuao, Cagayan.