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| Canili-Diayo Dam (Alfonso Castaneda) |
Baler, the provincial capital and center for trade and industry of Aurora province, recently hit it big when its namesake movie Baler won Best Picture and a host of other awards in last year’s Metro Manila Filmfest, its plot based on the 337-day (June 27, 1898-June 2, 1899) siege of its Spanish garrison by Filipino rebels. When it finally surrendered (the last to do so in the country), Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo, in admiration, declared, on June 30 (now Philippine-Spanish Friendship Day), that the remaining 33 Spanish soldiers were not be imprisoned but honored as friends. Me and my family watched it and, being actually filmed on location, I was also impressed by its rugged scenery and decided to visit it, doing so on Holy Week. Joining me were my two kids, Jandy and Cheska, plus lady friends Ms. Lourdes “Lulu” Siguenza and Ms. Rosevie “Vi” Sevilla, an avid photographer.
As we left Manila late afternoon of April 8, Wednesday. Traffic was relatively light considering it was the eve of the Holy Week break but, once out at the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX), I took the wrong exit and was, instead, on our way to Zambales before I realized my mistake and backtracked, losing valuable time (not to mention the gasoline) in the process. Dinner was at a Chowking outlet at a rest station along NLEX. Late evening caught us in San Leonardo, Nueva Ecija, and tired from all these misadventures, decided to call it a night, pulling into a roadside drive-in motel. I was speechless when Cheska inquired as to the strange furniture as well as the bathroom with the see-through glass in our room.
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| Camp Pangatian |
Come morning, we continued on our way and made a short stopover, along the Cabanatuan-Palayan Rd., at Camp Pangatian, 8 kms. from Cabanatuan City.
Check out “Pangatian War Memorial“
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| Provincial Capitol (Palayan City) |
There are 2 routes to Baler – the Baler-Bongabon (Nueva Ecija) Road and the longer Pantabangan-Canili Road. As the former was impassable during the rainy season, we opted for the latter. Just the same, at least 20 kms. of the trip was along gravel roads at Alfonso Castaneda (Nueva Vizcaya), the last town before entering Aurora province. Here, we made photo op stopovers at Pantabangan Lake (a man-made lake resulting from the construction of the Pantabangan Dam) and its tributary, the Canili-Diayo Dam and Reservoir, probably the most picturesque irrigation dam in the country.
Check out “Canili-Diayo Dam and Reservoir“
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| Millennium Tree |
We entered Aurora province at Maria Aurora town (the province’s biggest). Here, we made another stopover at Balete Park and its star attraction – the Millennium Tree, a massive, 49-m. high, 10-15 m. wide balete tree.
Check out “Millennium Tree“