Besides the motocross competition annually held here, Quirino Province can be hardly seen on the tourist map. Suffice it is to say, lodgings where travelers can stay while visiting is quite limited too. Lucky for us, the provincial tourism office directed us to the Capitol Plaza Hotel Quirino, the lone hotel at Cabarroguis—Quirino’s capital.

CAPITOL PLAZA HOTEL’S LOBBY

The Capitol Plaza Hotel has a total of seventeen rooms situated inside its three floors—each one is air-conditioned and has its own toilet and bath. It has a multi-purpose hall at the ground level and is frequently used for dinner balls, wedding banquets, and conferences.

There were no motorcycles to be seen at the newly opened Motocross Mountain Track. The province of Quirino is a motorhead’s heaven, having an annual motocross competition held every June. But this afternoon, the track is quiet. I turned around and beheld a sprawling panorama, a lone brown horse, completing the bucolic beauty of the town of Cabarroguis.

With zero expectations on what to see in the province, Quirino has been surprising us one leisurely step at a time.

► CHECK OUT: QUIRINO TOURIST SPOTS

INSIDE THE QUIRINO PROVINCIAL CAPITOL

One of the things I was really looking forward to during our visit to Quirino Province was Cagayan Valley’s regional noodle dish, pancit batil patong. Granted, this particular pancit is really from Tuguegarao City, but it’s such a popular dish that most provinces along the region has panciterias peddling them.

One such place is Akel’s Panciteria, which is located right along the main road of Cabarroguis, the province’s capital town.

► SEE: CABARROGUIS TOURIST SPOTS

AKEL’S PANCITERIA’S OPEN-AIRED INTERIORS

Quirino has such a provincial vibe that restaurants are quite hard to come by—most folks simply cook their own meals. So I was overjoyed to learn that among the few food places in town, there’s a panciteria selling pancit batil patong near Capitol Plaza Hotel where we were staying.

Akel’s Panciteria is an open-aired shed-type eatery. It has a very native feel with its unpainted wood and thatch roofing. It opens to a gravel atrium with a few huts parallel to the shed.

It’s quite basic, but I kinda like how airy its atmosphere was.

► CHECK OUT: QUIRINO PROVINCE TOURIST SPOTS