Grab a map of the Philippines
and look at the upper right side. On the north-easternmost part of Luzon is what seems like a thumb pointing at the group of
islands up north. That thumb is the municipality
of Santa Ana, home to the
Cagayan Special Economic Zone. It has a casino frequented mostly by Chinese from
Macau and Guangzhou
but the said municipality has more to offer aside from gambling. The two most
popular attractions are Palaui
Island, which is home to
the Cape Engaño Lighthous,e and Anguib
Beach which is touted by the locals as the Boracay of the North.
You have to endure
a three-hour ride from Tuguegarao to get to Santa Ana and another half hour or
so in a tricycle to get to Anguib Beach. I left Tuguegarao in a public van at
around 5:30 PM and reached the town after three hours WITHOUT traffic. The
trip was lackluster although the driver frequently reminded us that he had some
sort of death wish through his driving. Or perhaps he just desperately needed
to unload all the food he ate that day and would not do it in the dark.
Oh yes, it was
dark! Every time I looked outside the window all I could see was black and
some specks of light scattered all over. I had no idea where we would end up if
ever the van went off-road. Cliff? Ocean? Village? I greatly anticipated seeing
the casino, for sure it would be well-lighted. Well, it was not. We passed by
the said casino and I did not even recognize it as such until we passed by it
again the next afternoon under broad daylight. It was as if the municipality
was boycotting Meralco or something.
SANTA ANA: 01 – Watch Out Boracay, Watch Out
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