Buntun Bridge: The Second Longest Bridge in the Philippines

This is the fact I found courtesy of wikipilipinas.org:

Buntun Bridge is 2.50 kilo- meters from Tuguegarao City proper. It is the second longest bridge in the country and offers an unobstructed view of the majestic Cagayan River. This 1.098 km-long bridge links Tuguegarao City to the 2nd and 3rd District Municipalities of Cagayan Province & the Apayao Province.

And it took me a 3 month long vacation from writing about my experience when I was in Buntun Bridge.

Following the write up on my visit to Our Lady of Piat is this post. Because before going to the Church, I passed by this bridge, from Tuguegarao. The van terminal going to Our Lady of Piat is just a few minutes away.

Journeying Pinay (to the van driver): Dadaan p ba ito sa Buntun Bridge?  (Is this van passing through Buntun Bridge?)

Van Driver: Oo. (Yes.)

Journeying Pinay: So, pwede po ba tayong tumigil sa bridge, kuha lang ako ng pictures? (So, can we stop there and I will just take some photos?)

Van Driver: Matagal ba? (Will that take long?)

Journeying Pinay: Hindi naman po, kasi baka po hinahabol ng mga pasahero yung misa sa Piat. (It will just take a while, as your passengers may be catching the mass in Piat.)

And guess what? Yes, we did stop in the middle of the bridge. And yes again, I took some quick shots.

From Piat, I got off from the van, walked under the heat of the sun, and was welcomed by this carabao, which was at the foot of the bridge.

As I looked for a nice spot in the ricefields to take a wide shot of the second longest bridge in the Philippines, a woman shouted

“Mabud-wan ka ditta!” At first, my non-Ilocano ear didn’t quite get that. As I moved farther, the woman kept shouting, and finally, maybe she realized that I didn’t quite understand the dialect, she said: “Baka mangati ka dyan.”  In English, “You might get irritated and itchy.” Maybe from the grass. So I immediately walked towards the more solid ground.

Then I took photos. 

Then, a bunch of children came and were asking me, “Bakit? Bakit?” (Why? Why?). Maybe they meant why I was taking photos.

I asked them, “Sino gustong mag-picture?”  (Who likes to take photos?) They were all excited to get hold of my point & shoot digicam.

Journeying Pinay: Nakikita nyo ba yung bridge? Yun ang kukuhanan ninyo, tapos ako naman tatayo sa gilid. (Do you see the bridge? Take a photo of that, then I will stand here.)

Kids: “Wen, Wen, Manang.” (Yes, Yes. #Manang is a term in Ilocano which is addressed to an older woman as a sign of respect)

And tah-dah! These children are amazing photographers. And lucky them, they can see this bridge all the time.

It was around late morning, on a Saturday, and the bridge was busy. There were buses, private vehicles, tricycles, motorcycles, and calesa (horse and carriage) that travelled all the way through. So you are the second longest bridge. How valuable you are in this northern part of the country.  And the Cagayan River, the largest and widest river, literally looks up to you. And so was I, from where I was standing.

Buntun Bridge was so stretched that I could not even see the bridge’s other end.

Napa-Buntun-hininga na lang ako. (sigh)

And so I hit the road again for my next destination.

When you go to this part of the North, stop in the central point of Buntun Bridge, savor the view of the Cagayan River, as it extends up to the farthest that your eyes can ever reach. Oops, look left and right for passing vehicles. 

Enjoy Life! Enjoy the Bridges!

Thanks to them: