Sagada Visit (Day 3 & 4)

Continuation......

April 3, Black Saturday, I was kind of excited for this day, we were going to see the Bomod-Ok falls or the big falls as other locals say. Some of the tourists say there was this “small falls” and it isn’t great at all, like a waste of time, anyways we weren’t going there. And moreover, we were told that were going to see vast terraces too, so the excitement builds up! The itinerary for today supposed to be falls in the morning and Mt. Ampacao in the afternoon, the latter is kind of not feasible, but anything is possible. The day started with a call, a guy spoke to Arlene asking us to come with them to Bomod-Ok falls. Call time is around 9AM. We immediately dressed up and packed for the trip. We met Mr. Paul and his wife Ms. Brenda at the tourist info booth together with the other two couples. We were eight then and started to go for a ride to the falls.

The trek started with a hundred-step stairs down to the Fidelisan village where their native language is Kankana-ey. While going down you’ll notice the vast terraces they’ve created for rice cultivation. Along the way we saw a gold mine. I never knew there were gold mines in Sagada! The sun began to pierce through my skin creating what we call... sweat! It was scorching hot and we ain’t got any shade. The fun trek seems to be unavoidably becoming an “alay lakad” (a suffering, lol) because of the sun’s heat, but thanks to the beautiful terraces, they made it all worth the slight agony. Who am I to complain? I’m having fun at the same time and Chase, Mar, Arlene and the others seems to be enjoying the view too!

After like an hour, we passed by what looks like a monkey bridge leading to somewhere over the mountain of what seem to be a valley. There’s an urge for me to run to the other side of the bridge like when I’m riding a tricycle, I almost always wanted to jump. Psycho! Anyways, were now seeing trails of water, we are nearing the big falls!!! Big rocks abound the valley, and a hut took its post, were looking at the Bomod-Ok falls. The falls was, yeah, big but noticeably thin. Our guide told us that that because of the weather, humidity, etc. this is what the falls became, then it was massive, he says. After being clouded with that fact I realized that there are a lot of people there, like you would be side by side with a stranger. I immediately took picture of the falls and the area and took out my cigarette and lighted it up, stress released. I sat on a rock where people around is swimming on the pool, I don’t mind getting wet, but I’m not in the mood for swimming. I was looking for them and found Mar sitting against a big rock giving him shade; apparently he’s having some kind of headache. And I found the two ladies looking for some action... massage from kids. The funny thing is the child that massages Chase is in his birthday suit. The kid was bullied by one of the guys around to put his pants on. I got curious if the kids were really good in massaging so I tried it while eating buko ice drop. I was a bit disappointed, I don’t know, maybe I’m not into massages. Haha. But Chase and Arlene enjoyed it. Pierre, one of the kids, was Chase’s favourite. On our far left was Mar, getting massage from three kids and seems to be enjoying it, oh well. Enough of these massages, I want to get something to eat!

We went back but taking a different route, it seems we passed by a different village but still with rice terraces. Again we stopped by a house to eat halo-halo with elbow macaroni, haha, and by the way, there was this one cute little girl who kept on saying hello to everyone passing by. So cute in red, I want to squish her. Lol. The vast terraces and ended up in a community gymnasium where they sell “Palamigs” (cold beverages). We were having problems with our guide at that time; he did not told us earlier to contact our van back home along the way knowing there isn’t any signal in the gymnasium. I was about to go back to the rice field and catch a cell signal but luckily one of us got a Smart line that surprisingly got a signal. This is not publicity, I’m a Globe subscriber. Lol. While waiting for our ride home they were chit-chatting and I was looking over the village’s simplicity and provincial-beauty. Then I felt tired. All I wanted to do is eat good food and rest for the next adventure. The ride back to the town proper was kind of gloomy for me. We ate at the Yoghurt house with Mr. Paul and Ms. Brenda. The food there is scrumptious I tell you!!! I got chicken, again, Chase and Arlene got pasta and salad and Mar got chicken too, I think. All were good, they look good and tastes good. A highly recommended resto! Next stop, our inn, we’ve got to freshen up!

The plan to summit Mt. Ampacao was really cancelled out, we kind of ran out of time and we would not want to be in the wilderness when the sun sets. So what do you do when you have nothing to do? Shop!

First, we headed looking for the Civet Cat coffee Dr. Rivera was requesting from Chase. We saw it but the hell it was expensive. From what I remember it was 1200php per pack of what I believe is only 150 grams or so. And to think it is a collection of cherry beans pooped by a forest cat. Lol. But these Civet cats only choose the finest fruits of the cherry tree. They only eat high grade cherries so when they poop the beans you’ll get are the best coffee cherries, selected by nature itself. Whew. We failed to try it since the coffee shop already stopped brewing for the day. Oh well at least we got what we wanted, thanks to Arlene.

I bought woven table runner, a souvenir shirt, tea leaves, neck purse, a map, etc.

Upon returning to our inn we decided to check out the Echo Valley, just a 15 minute walk off of our place. Mar bailed out on us, he seems to be tired or maybe fantasizing about next day. Haha. We headed to the Echo valley but to our dismay the gates we’re already closed. We just opted to check out the Church of St. Mary the Virgin. It was pitch black dark inside the church and the only light we see is the torch coming from the outside. It was nearing dusk. Arlene wants to stay to attend the late mass. Chase and I went back to the town proper shops to buy ‘pasalubongs’ (take-home) for our fellow cathlab staff. With us together emo mode arises! While waiting for Mar and Arlene to join us for dinner, Chase and I ate grilled hotdogs on the sidewalk. Upon meeting up with everybody we just decided to try yoghurt from the Yoghurt House. I personally wouldn’t wanna go home not trying the infamous yoghurt from the said resto. Again, Chase absolutely didn’t like it which, again, I did! It was getting late and we have to walk home so we started the ‘night trek’ a good 15-minute walk to our inn. I kept on thinking what’s in store for us tomorrow. Here’s what: Bontoc, Banaue Rice Terraces, Bayombong, Nueva Viscaya, as designed by Mar to visit a princess. Quite hectic right? In my calculation this is not possible without stress. but we can’t just scratch this! If April 1 is my day and April 2 is Arlene’s day and April 3 is Chase’s day, definitely April for is Mar’s with no questions asked! So there, I slept with qualms.

April 4, Easter Sunday, we woke up like robots to catch the 9am bus to Bontoc. We hadn’t eaten any breakfast; I bought some snacks from a store near the jeepney terminal to fill me up. Chase bought some suman (rice cakes) which I prefer not to eat for some reason. Then she remembered that we did asked the people from yoghurt house to reserve us like 4 packs of cookies for today, since they had their stocks emptied the night before. We like ran the whole stretch in fear being left by the jeepney. Oh well, the jeepney’s engine started and we left on time. The road is quite winding, and there were several points where the walls of the mountains roads were carved by massive erosion. Quite creepy I tell you. And you can tell that the road we are taking is under construction on many sites, there were bridges under construction as well. We as well passed dry terraces.

Finally a bus stop, I mean a jeepney stop, it was friggin cold there and foggy. At the town proper we hopped into another vehicle, this time a real bus. While on the road, I felt like I’m in a foreign land, it is cold and what makes it more foreign is the man beside me, a Swiss national. His name was... I forgot, He’s something years old, around forties I think. He was going to Banaue as well. He’s been travelling all over the world for the last six months or so as I remembered him talking about his escapades in Palawan, Vietnam, parts of Europe, etc. He said that the nicest place he’s been to is Vietnam, it’s cheap and beautiful. Furthermore, he said that here in the Philippines it is quite expensive to travel compared to our Southeast Asian counterparts. But he was quite surprised to get a room for only 200php in Sagada and was teasing me for getting a room cheaper compared to our 250php per night. I asked what does the room comprised; he said there were a bed, an end table and a desk lamp. I boasted of course and knowing that he failed to charge the batteries of his handycam (which he metioned earlier as he record the view to Bontoc) told him that I had all my gadgets charged. Haha. Anyways, he was like an aeronautical engineer of some sort and our conversation went long and reached to pharmaceuticals. He told me that he was so surprised that when he bought medicines in Mercury Drug, back in Manila, it was way too much of a mark-up compared to the medicines sold on an upscale pharmacy in India. Evidently, it is known that India is a big manufacturer and exporter of pharmaceuticals. Not much of a debate, but he said that he would probably settle in India for a while since coming from a divorce and resignation he doesn’t have all the money in the world, he has to live within his means and live cheap in the country of India.

After the long talk with Mr. Swiss, we arrived at Banaue. We took another van to the viewpoint to see the majestic rice terraces. It was truly majestic, though we haven’t really seen the best of it. The van driver said that the best view of the terraces is way up to the mountains; we can like see it but costs more and time. Since we are in a time-sensitive itinerary we got contented for what is in front of us. We had pictures with the local geriatrics. Lol. You can take or have pictures with them in their Igorot costume. You can give them any amount for that moment.

Again, since we are in a time-sensitive plan we took another jeepney to Solano, I think it is in Nueva Viscaya already. We had lunch before hopping in the jeepney except for Mar, he was promised a feast from a princess in a mansion. Anyways, this trip was the worst trip I had been to in this 'trip'. It was damn too dusty and humid and long. We reached Solano by 2PM; we were fetched there by Mar’s friend Apple, the princess. The ride to Apple’s abode is swift and awkward. Then we were welcomed by a gas station, possibly owned by Apple’s family. We had a splendid after-12 lunch/ merienda, and I completely forgot what the food was. Haha. Anyways, they were so hospitable; they even offered to bring us to the bus station for Manila. Anyways before dusk came our bus for Manila came, we were like chance passengers and stayed between the bus aisles, It was okay for Mar, Chase and I since we experienced this before, but for Arlene who travels in reservations this is a no-no, but she’s a cowgirl at heart! There, we rode the bus standing, sometimes sitting on our own luggages. Mar was the most resilient one; he stood for hours while watching movies shown on the bus. A very long ride indeed.

We arrived safely. I can’t remember what I’m thinking at that time. We did have dinner on one of our stopovers but I felt empty. All I know is that I want to go home, eat my mama’s home-cooked food and sleep. I bid goodbye to everybody and waved for a taxi.

Thanks Arlene for doing this with us!
Thanks Mar for swaying the pests away!
Thanks Chase for constantly reminding me!

The Sagada Visit (Day 1 & 2)

March 29, Monday, though not all set but we’re off to Cagbalete Island, Quezon for the Holy week. Mar already did our itinerary for the getaway, but Chase had apprehensions about our destination and the fact that there’s only three of us going really frustrates her.

March 30, Tuesday, it has been decided, Sagada is the place to be. We chose this destination to repent, to have silence and to lavish on nature. No itineraries were made! Isn’t it fun to go somewhere without any plans or whatsoever, it’s kind of exciting. And knowing we’ll be away from the stressful busy life of the metro for quite some time, four days to be exact. Chase asked Arlene to be our fourth wheel to break the triangular obscurity, just kidding. Gladly she did say yes, though she’s really not an outdoors person. It’s like the three of us were thinking of an outdoor adventure involving hike all that and she’s like travel, travel, travel. But she has been told to bring some hiking stuff. Later that eve, Dr. Rivera had coiling with Fhiley as scrub nurse; she should have come with us. Anyways, we got our bus tickets reserved for Baguio after going off from work; don’t want to be a chance passenger.

March 31, Wednesday, I got off from work around 2 in the afternoon. I had a power nap before preparing my stuff. And that’s exactly the problem; I wasn’t really keen on packing my things in one sitting. I tend to be stressed quickly. There it goes, my backpacking spirit just went off, and I was not in a backpacking mood so went looking for my sports bag and its handy partner. Why not travel in style. I got my sports attire on then Chase called up, she wasn’t on a backpacking mood as well, then I guess there are two of us then, or so I thought. I arrived early in Victory Liner Caloocan. There were too many people I may say. Though I’m not really surprised since it is holy week and people crusade out of the metro for reunions, travel or mainly just going home to their families. Our bus leaves at 12:50 AM the next day, soon enough Mar showed up with his hiking gear, as outdoors as possible as ever, then Arlene was in sight as well with her Jansport backpack and a small hand-carry. I was like, “How the hell did all her stuff squeezed in?” Well admittedly she packed a little on the low, and all along I thought I did the same thing. Then finally Chase, who did sprinted from Bulacan, came with her hiking backpack, full, and matched with a pair of girly sandals. lol.

April 1, Maundy Thursday, we went off to Baguio around 1 AM. Though I had a power nap still my body clock says I have to be asleep at this moment. It was a good 6 1/2 –hour travel, it was long but it wasn’t really stressful. I woke up in Baguio city and greeted it with a smile. After getting off the bus we headed to the town proper so we can buy extra stuff for our travel. We stopped by the town church to ask for blessing. I wasn’t really thinking about being hungry because I was sleepy but of course I am! We had our breakfast in Chowking before heading to the bus terminal for Sagada. We missed the earlier bus trips to Sagada, and we are now waiting for the return trips. It was a long damn wait. At that time we called up Ms. Karen of the Sagada Home Stay where we’ll stay for the holy week. We only got a room for 3, but still we got it reserved, getting cramped up in a room is better than spending the night looking for a place. It was hard to get a place reserved; everywhere in Sagada is fully booked. It was almost 12 in the afternoon when we set off for Sagada. It was a bumpy ride and we made friends along the way. The aisle seats were occupied so it’s hard not to meet a people or two. It was again a long, long bus ride, and this time it is quite stressful. I fell asleep many times because I kept on waking up on Arlene’s loud bumps on the window. lol. Poor girl, I handed her my jacket as her pillow. At last we saw signs that we are nearing Sagada, rice terraces and stuff. More than that there are signs that it’s nearing dusk. Damn, we’re still on the winding road and it’s nearing eve, I’m dead hungry and tired. Still, an hour took for us to finally get to Sagada town proper. It feels like we’re on a summiting a table mountain.

Finally, Sagada! We jumped off the bus under the night’s sky, dark and quiet. Not so many people are around, we are at the town proper and there isn’t much going on. We immediately looked for our place, the Sagada Home Stay, it is way up the hill. Going there is kind of going through a dark alley but there isn’t any alley, if you know what I mean! Gosh, it is really up the hill! While we are walking up the stepped hill, all I could think about is that we’re going to see a good view from our room tomorrow morning and, oh yeah, food! We stumbled upon a nice looking house, this is it, we knocked and asked for Ms. Karen, and there she was! She welcomed us with a sleepy smile and helped us up to our room. There was one bed and a giant cabinet. We immediately stuffed the cabinet with our things, jacket and all that and the hell, there was a small cockroach! lol. Downstairs, is really homey, a living room, a full kitchen and a dining table for a family, very nice! Anyways, since we are so hungry we went out first before we do the unpacking. We started looking for a place to eat and the thing on our mind was the Log Cabin that we saw earlier that eve before reaching our place. We were excited and all since it looks like it’s a nice place to eat in and there were foreigners inside, it must be a good place. But to our dismay, every table is reserved, earlier or the day before. That is just.... oh well. Since we really have no choice, and I personally have no plans of cooking our own food, we opted for Strawberry Resto just across the street after like 3 to 5 houses, and tried their baked chicken, it was good. The strawberry shake was good too, for me, Chase didn’t like it at all. After the dinner we went back to our place and took showers. I showered the almost 18-hour travel, minus the waiting, away with a hot, hot, hot water! Gosh, heaters are heaven sent! After cleaning up we prepped our bed, oh wait, there’s four of us. Though none of us are obese, we just ain’t going to fit in that bed! One slept on a mattress just below and beside the bed. Who was it?!? lol. I personally slept my worries away, I don’t know about them.

April 2, Good Friday, we did put our alarms on to wake up early but we are just dead tired. But we are there to explore and experience so our outdoors spirit lifted up from the bed to freshen up and bathe in the morning’s sunlight, well not literally. Mar, surprisingly cooked breakfast for us! Pancit canton and corned tuna, if you call them cooking, they’re instant! lol. Anyways, our first stop Lumiang-Sumaguing Cave connection! Sounds exciting!

It is said that the spelunking would take 5 hours, I was like, “Wow, there should be a lot of things inside to take that long!” And yeah, there are. We paid like around 1,200 PHP for the guides who mistakenly thought we would want to walk from the town proper to the Lumiang cave entrance; it was a 45-minute walk. Well the walk pumped us. Upon descending the cave entrance there were several people below, kids, oldies, families and we were welcomed by a lot of hanging coffins, but to my opinion they weren’t really hanging coffins, something like piled coffins on the cave wall. Obviously they were tampered, sad but inevitable. They weren’t preserved and I won’t be surprised if there weren’t any mummified dead inside each and every coffin. Or could it be that they are decayed or something, there were reports that mummified dead of the Mountain Province are slowly decaying because of the climate change. My take on this, well if that is the case then it is really unavoidable, but this isn’t only a hunch, there was a time that people (natives or visitors) really don’t care and people there nearly failed preserving our culture. Enough of this, lol!

Going back, at that time only a handful of people are going to go spelunking. Our two guides, forgot their names, started lighting up their gas lamps. Upon looking down the cave I said to myself, “Where the hell will we start spelunking.” It was like a large crooked hole that when somebody stepped over the edge we won’t be seeing him/ her anytime soon, maybe in the afterlife. And it was damn dark! When all the lamps were working we took our first take, though a wedge crack. I tell you, this part of the spelunking was my favourite! We went through holes, we rappelled, we went through holes, we slid through hedges, we went through holes, and did I mention yet that we went through holes??? Sometimes it is challenging, but fun is the word to describe the feeling! The first sign of water is the area that they call the Altar, past that is the Rice Granary, this is, if not the first, is the most obvious rock formation that we saw. Water moulded the rock beautifully.

Next, we went up and found ourselves on the Dance Hall. There were a lot of bats there; I felt like a vampire again... lol. Anyways, again, there were vandalisms there, so sad. Next to that we saw the Light from Heaven, just a hole from the cave ceiling. And behold the massive rock formations! We have to be on our bare foot since it’s slippery. There was this Frog Pool, the Tunnel, the Palace, the King’s Curtain and the infamous CR. Haha. That one’s not a joke, a rock formation was called after a comfort room, well it’s more like a shower stall to me. But seriously they were beautiful, but don’t expect it to be like stalactites or stalagmites because they aren’t minerals, they’re merely water formed rock something. There’s a point where we aren’t going any further though it looks like there’s still a trail, not really a trail, but an entrance to something deeper and could be colossal, or I might just be fantasizing of something more. After that we rappelled back to the point where the cave is going up, we are nearing the exit and it is getting smellier. Obviously it’s bat poop and urine, this part is disgusting, it was not near earthy because I can stand and earthy poop, but this? I’m climbing with my hands on the icky rocks! Well finally the long filth was gone, I can see the light! We exited the Sumaguing cave with a smile of exhaustion! Three things welcomed us outside, the scorching heat of the sun, a souvenir shop, where I bought birth stone key chains for my family, and the Sagada halo-halo... with elbow macaroni! Mind you, it’s their specialty. An automobile fetched us from there to our place; we were so hungry for real food and at the same time filthy! We had to freshen up before eating good food.

We went to Masferre for our lunch, there’s nothing special about the food there but the place is kind of special since there’s like a photo museum there displayed on the restaurant’s wall. The pictures depicited the old Ifugao’s people, their culture, traditions and being in one with the nature. They are all shot in a very artistic way, awe-inspiring, classic. FYI: It is prohibited to take pictures of the pictures! After the lunch we did mini-shopping, whatever that means. Next stop, Danum Lake.

We met up with new people for this adventure. In truth, we kind of need more people to cut the ride expenses into almost half. Good thing a group of two needs four individuals to complete them. We gladly joined the group! You can actually have the people there in the Tourist Info booth be informed that you would want another group to go with you all to cut the expenses, just leave your number there. There were like 11 of us (I honestly don’t remember their names now) and everybody is friendly. It was decided that we’re going to eat dinner there at the lake since there’s a slim chance that we would see the sunset judging from the skies at that time. The guides suggested this, they asked us to buy a live chicken and some veggies and rice, and that they will serve Pinikpikan. Pinikpikan?!?

Upon arriving at the lake, several groups have already settled, some were like about going home. There were like 60 people around, gathered, taking picture, having fun. We had our pictures taken by the muddy lake. I didn’t expect that we would see a chocolate coloured lake, kind of disappointing, but in pictures they were great looking! The guides started making the Pinikpikan and the hell shocked us, or just me, they tortured the chicken in a very grave way. They started off by hitting the head of the fowl, then kept on beating it over and over and over until it vomits itself out. Imagine that. Major torture! I feel for the chicken, I almost don’t want to eat anymore but there came a time when we were all hungry. The preparation, the ritual, the cooking was so long, it took almost four hours cooking the Pinikpikan. During the cooking session, one of the guides we fondly calls Kuya Kim started an American Bonfire to alleviate the growing winter wind. We knew from the start that we would do a boodle fight, but with 30 plus people, this is something I haven’t experienced before, a good 10-meter boodle fight.

First, the grass was lined by a green plastic cut in a long rectangular form, and then the red rice were lined across it. FYI: Only red rice is served in all of Sagada. Afterwards the vegetables (all I could remember is the Baguio beans, and oh yeah the sayotes), then the chicken. The viand was Tinola-like. Apart from the chicken, there was this pork meat they called “Etag”, they say it is salted pork, a local ham. It was scrumptious, but what made the food a winner is the fact that the Baguio beans tastes like heaven. So fresh! After the meal, the leader of the guides confessed that this is the first time they held a bonfire-dinner with a very large group of people, and they said it was kind of hard and at the same time rewarding since they shared their traditions with us, and we gladly took it. Something happened at that dinner and it's kinda off to disclose it here, maybe a formal article would do, it is about being a SMART TRAVELLER. We called it a day afterwards; we went home, cleaned up and slept the silent night away.

To be continued...