"Claveria - Way Up North!" a Claveria Travel Page by bike_packer

I was born and grew up in Claveria, Cagayan. It was just another dot on the map that I used to know when I was a little kid. Through the years as I traveled and visited different places, the more I came to know and appreciated the very different identity (I call it now - "charm") of my hometown. I found out that my town is blessed with Nature's bounty - lucky are we who call it home. And while other places were early on the road to progress and development, my town seemingly was left behind escaping the usual price of nature destruction that goes with such development. Being surrounded by lush mountains, the only big thing I remember that happened in my hometown is the Taggat Industries - a big sawmill that employed mostly of my townmates; which in turn, gratefully fed us and sent us kids up to college. Luckily, the sawmill when it was in operation was responsible enough to reforest the mountains that when it closed down in the '80s after a few decades of operation, Mother Nature basically looked unscathed. The turn of events makes me think that somebody up there has other plans.

Coming home as often as possible, in touch with the natural beauty of my hometown as the way it used to be so many years ago makes me feel young as if time hasn’t moved on. Every place is still as it was yesterday. I can still feel the same calmness of the beach that we use to enjoy swimming-till-sundown that made our parents mad upon learning, the gentle flow of the river where we use to go boating and fishing in the scorching heat of the sun burning us charcoal black, the cold streams in the barrio that use to be our swimming playgrounds in our birthday suits, the splashing water at my back of those remote mountain-spring waterfalls where we use to hike to reach and picnic around (and of course drink some booze - who forgets the freedom in these isolated places when we entered teenage zone), being lost in lush mountains and forests while gathering wild berries and fruits. I can't help but smile and feel happy and young everytime I remember how my childhood friends/barkada went on every summer in these dont-care-just-wanna-be-happy adventures.

I go home almost every year and I make it a point of exploring more of the inland villages I’ve never been to. And almost every time I never fail to discover new, funny and exciting places. It’s a never-ending exploration. I’m really proud of my hometown and very much willing to show around the place to anybody and get a real-feel of Claveria - the place and its friendly people.

Claveria being a word-of-mouth eco-tourism destination is flocked generally by local tourists coming from as far as Isabela. Favorite places of interest are the 4-km long Claveria Beach, the secluded Centinela Beach, the calm waters of Taggat Lagoon, Macatel Falls, Mabnang Falls and Portabaga Falls. The Claveria Bay as an abundant fishing ground assures fresh seafood all-year-round.

In this age of travel frenzies, I hate and love to say that my hometown has now a string of resorts dotting the beach where visitors could stay for a night or maybe a week. I just hope and pray that the price of development would not take its toll with Mother Nature. I don’t wanna feel old.

Macatel Falls, Porta Baga Falls, Mabnang Falls are the major hosts of weekend picnic groups.

Claveria Beach, Centinela Beach and Taggat Lagoon are the favorites.