The Sagada Journal - Day 1
I've always dreamt of going to Sagada ever since the late 90's. A decade later, just last week actually, after my very first trip to that humble Mountain Province town, the experience was not just a dream-come-true for me but a life-long treasure. The place is sooo awesome that you'd say "iL be back" even when you're still there! And yes, iL be back for sure. Peksman.
*****
Quick Facts
Place: Sagada, Mountain Province
Coordinates: 17.0809N, 120.9002E
Elevation: 1527.5 masl
Places of Interest:
-- Echo Valley (Hanging Coffins of Sagada)
-- St. Mary's Church
-- Bomod-ok Falls
-- Kiltepan Rice Terraces
-- Lake Danum
-- Sagada Weaving House
-- Sumaguing Cave
*****
The trip was organized by Discover Asia. I just saw it on an ad posted at the Pinoy Mountaineer site and from there, started inviting people from my various circles of friends to join the tour. I'm wanting to hook them up sana with each other, just as how Gelo did during his birthday last year. Unfortunately, the then impending typhoon "Lawin" caused most of them to back out and in the end, kami kami pa din ang nagkita sa finals... ako, si Gelo, at si Lou.
At the designated meeting place, we met the other trippers which later on I realized how lucky are we that they are the ones we got to share the tour with... walang KJ sa grupo at cool silang kasama lahat! Para silang ako na pinadami... "joiner" na kidnap-material ba.
Attendance: Dennis, Bokyo, Ria, Nanay Mely, Mex, Gidget, Weng, Daniel, Beng, Ian, Obi, Gelo, Lou, Kuya Oscar
Anyway, I started the journal even before we headed to the meeting place. I have with me, as ever, my handy travel notepad (in purple plastic cover) and a sign-pen (violet tint). Together with my violet Umbro shirt, huli pala agad ang peborit color ko hehe.
Here be my entries in verbatim...
*****
Day .5 - Page 1
HP 10/F, Rob Summit Bldg, Ayala Ave.
* 8:11PM - waiting for the Lou
8:18 - off HP
(Hanga ako sa pagka-workaholic ng mga taong ito. Parang totoo! Hahaha!)
8:48 - van spotted
9:11 - departure from Makati
10:48 - departure from Petron-NLEX
(We did a short stop-over at Petron. We had chicken for dinner and we never thought we'll be eating CHICKEN for the rest of the trip!)
Day 1 - Page 1
* 12:24AM - Paniqui, Tarlac
* 1:30 - Caltex, Rosario... na naman!
("Na naman" since from the start of this year, I've been tripping north for the Nth time already and we never missed stopping over at this petrol station. Palagi!)
* 2:06 - off Rosario
(We did Kenon Road.)
* 2:55 - just passed Padi's Point-Baguio
* 3:03 - La Trinidad, Benguet
(Looking at the time logs, I realized just NOW that wow we actually did Benguet in only around 4 hours?!? Good job, Dennis and Bokyo!)
Day 1 - Page 2
* 5:09AM - stopover, mountainside road heading to Sagada (doh!)
- stretching break
(It was still dark outside but we can make out the profiles of the rice terraces on this part of Benguet.)
* 5:32 - pee break
* 5:35 - Buguias, Benguet
(First break of dawn.)
* 5:49 - "Welcome to Mountain Province" arc
- Mountain Province-Benguet border stopover
(Photo ops break. After which, I slept on most part of the ensuing travel.)
* 8:12 - Borris Store
- tabing bundok, bangin!!!
- Bontoc-Sagada junction
(Borris Store and una kong nakita pagkagising. Tapos pag lingon ko sa kanan... bangin! We were already at the rough road part of the travel and it was actually the bumpy ride that shook me awake. On this part of the Mountain Province pa lang I was like on "WOW" mode already.)
* 8:35AM - Welcome to Sagada
(We did Sagada in 11 hours, including stopovers. Still a quick feat. Astig.)
* 8:50 - Sagada Market
- roadside tiangge
* 8:55 - Residential Lodge
(We stayed here. We were welcomed by the owner Nanay Mary.)
Day 1 - Page 3
* 9:06AM - settled at Room "Bilig"
(We got this nice spot at the back of the lodge overlooking the rolling hills where the St. Mary School is *we'll realize this on the second day pa* on the horizon and a simple community not-so-far below on a small valley. I immediately claimed the bedside spot near the window in the name of OBI! I'll regret this later on as the blistering cold seeps in! Moving on...)
* 10:30 - done breakfast
(We had eggs and hotdogs and bananas. Just right to kickoff the day. We goofed around with the other trippers and as Nanay Mely would say it "para kayong matagal nang magkakakilala". Gelo was just beginning hehehe. He'll always find a way to "eps" around... di ba Bozz? Bwaha! Eps!)
* 11:18 - off from Residential Lodge
(Destination...)
* 11:32 - ...Sagada Weaving House!
(Lotsa lots of weaved products... from bags to celphone casings to placemats! I grabbed myself a violet bag. We observed around trying to spark an understanding of how the complex woodwork operates and weave the threads into such ornately colorful cloth... in vain. It's just too complicated for my poor puny brain. Kuddos to the weavers of Sagada for their skills on this contrapments. Yun nga lang, bawal kumuha ng ritrato sa loob ng tahian.)
* 12:01 - off from Sagada Weaving House
* 12:15PM - Lake Danum
(What a splendid site! If I'm into photography and actually have an SLR, I'll be orgasmic. I'll confirm with Daniel on this one... hehe. The place is sooo serene... if not for Gelo. Haha. Basag na naman. Sorry bozz.)
* 12:26 - off from Lake Danum
* 12:40 - Sagada Pottery
(We were welcomed by an English-speaking-complete-with-slang Manong Potter who showed us around his "lab". I've always wanted to try "spinning a pot". I think it's a very relaxing activity. But I'd rather not try it since my hands are far from gentle. Mex and Gidget beat me to it! They were able to spin some kind of clay containers that has cow or horse poop in the middle. Hahaha! Peace, oi! Manong Potter streamlined Mex's work and set it aside for baking. We were singing "Unchained Melody" as they shape their pots to imperfection. Hehe.)
Fact: Sagada pottery are more stoneware than earthenware according to Manong Potter. To know the difference, check your Wikipedia.
* 1:24 - off from Sagada Pottery
- Igorot Model House
(There's an Igorot model house right beside the potter's workshop. We just hang out there and did some photo ops before riding away.)
Fact: The Igorot hutts were not built using nails or tying materials. They just pile it all up by crafting the woods to snap on to each other ala Lego. Astig.
* 1:31 - French chef fully booked!
(The French chef's guest list for the Saturday buffet is fully booked! Argh... lamentation! Another reason to go back to Sagada!)
Fact: Chef Philippe from Alsace, France decided to retire back in 1992 and do biking instead on random places he could think of. After 8 years of doing this, he arrived in Sagada and, endearing himself with the place, considered it as his second home. He was given an Igorot name by the locals - Aklay - and every Saturday, he cooks a buffet dinner out of what ingredients he can scour from the local market. It only costs 250+ pesos! The catch is it's only for a limited seat so you have to book early on a Friday.
* 1:41PM - Yoghurt House
- draw a caricature on the guest book
(Another must-visit for the tourists is the Yoghurt House. I'm not much of a yoghurt-person but sans it, their food still tastes fantastic. I find the yoghurt a bit too sour for me though. I draw a caricature of me, Gelo, and Lou on the guest book.)
What-I-ate: Banana Granola yogurt, chopsuey!, java CHICKEN
(Chopsuey is your best choice for tipid-meals.)
Day 1 - Page 4
* 3:12PM - off from Residential Lodge
(The lodge is a walking distance from the Yoghurt House so we hang out back in the HQ for a while before setting off again.)
* 3:19 - cave spelunking!
(From here, I have to leave my journal since it'll get wet for sure. There were three options for the spelunking activity. You can either traverse three cave connections, two, or one. Ian and Gidget picked two cave connections. There goes our waterproof camera haha! The rest of us just picked one. I can hear my soul saying... no, clamouring... to try the two cave connections... heck, even three! But the pocket won't agree. Charge rates varies also. And besides, I'm chicken poop when there's swimming involve... especially inside a very very very dark cave. And I'd rather go with the majority. Justifications... justifications.)
*** Inside the Cave ***
We were given specific instructions by our guides (Kuya Jeff? who takes the lead and another one who takes our rear) before we jumped into the cavernous gap. The supposed congo line arrangement should be the lead guide, Gelo (probably intentionally picked by the guide so he can slow everybody else behind the line... haha peace bozz), Bang, Lou, Me, Weng, Daniel, and the rear guide.
The top level of the caves were full of filthy bats and the place reeked of bat pee and bat poop. The descent was tricky since slippery limestones lined the cave floors at this part. Further down the cave levels, the filthy scene eventually lead to very wonderful imageries! Rock formations hung left and right and the placements of stones seemed masterpieces of nature. At this point, we were welcomed by the cold underground river that, like us, wanders around the labyrinthine passages of the subterranean caves.
We were now 150 meters below the surface according to Kuya Guide. The rock consistency changed from slippery to uber coarse. There were an abundance of textured sandstones that you can scale at seemingly impossible angles ala Spiderman just because of their mere coarseness. Aliw siya, peksman! There's a part where we have to rappel down a sandstone. We were all humming the "Indiana Jones" musical score. It gets easier as you get deeper into the caves. How ironic.
Sumaging Cave. That's the name of one of the cave connections and I've seen local logos referring to it also as "Porn Cave" because of rock formations that resembled male and female sex organs. At another point by the end of the tour, me, Gelo and Lou ought to join the lead guide on this part of the spelunking trip where we have to crawl, slither, and wade ourselves out of small holes, tubular mazes, and random pools. We're like lab rats in a scientific experiment! It's like one tectonic shove and we'll be burried alive where we are. Verily a nerve-wracking experience!
*** Lou's Near-Death Incident ***
Before we headed back to surface, we were allowed to roam around some more and take a dip on the subterranean pools that ringed the caves. Lou, on his way down one of the deeper streams, slipped and fell flat on the waters and it took him a couple of seconds before surfacing again... on the wrong part of the precipice. It's the side where a continuous semi-waterfall supplies water on the pool. Surfacing below it gasping for air while it pours water on your face could be very disorienting and such was the case for Lou. What's more scary is that the light from the guide's lamp coincidentally went out sending the area in pitch darkness. I can already hear Bang calling at Lou while Gelo reaches out saying "Wag kang gagalaw!" I, being on the rear part of the ensemble, quickly hiked up to call for the other guide's lamp. By the time the light was brought in, Lou was already clinging on one of the rocky outcrops... his face as white as espasol. Hehehe. Somebody should have captured that.
* 6:11 - done spelunking
- I effin made it!
(That has been a life-long achievement. I can't even believe I would crawl the last part of that trip. We literally have to wade on chest-high *and deeper on some parts* water, uneasy feeling of soft sand and stones beneath you, inside a claustrophobia-inducing enclosure! Grabe. And y'know what's even more insane? I can't wait to try the two and three cave connections next time! But iL definitely should have a waterproof camera by then. I'm sure that's the daredevil in me speaking AFTER completing the ordeal... but I was really chicken-shitty when we were about to jump in!)
(Before we hiked up back the trail we were able to meet Gidget and Ian along the way. But they still have to look around where the rest of us have been earlier so we went ahead of them. Jet's got the waterproof camera so no wonder they stayed loooonger than we do.)
* 7:01 - we're off to Residential Lodge
* 7:16 - Bana's Cafe
- Kape Alamid for only 120 bucks!
(Bana's is just a couple of meters walk from Residential Lodge and they're your best substitute for Starbucks when in Sagada. They have various coffee servings including the wild cat poop brew more commonly known as the Alamid Coffee! I sampled one and it's great! Kinda in the strong side but I like it's taste with milk... and smells good too. But remember, it's cat poop! Hehe. We were surprised when we saw that our lead spelunking guide also cooks for Bana's. Astig.)
What-I-ate: chopsuey (pa din!), buttered CHICKEN!, garlic rice, alamid poop coffee, beer
* 8:26PM - bill out
* 8:57 - back at Residential Lodge
* 10:30? - sleeping time
(I fell asleep reading the Warhammer 40K 5th Edition rulebook.)
*****
Day 2 to be continued...
Nagdagdag ng gulaman noong 6:52 PM
2 Comments:
Ay, kainggit naman! I've been wanting to explore Sagada. Ganda resolutions ng pics, ano cam gamit mo?
Post more pics ha. Looking forward to see them! :p
cel ko lang... n82 hehe wow hightech... pa-burger naman ako! burger burger! :D
actually nasa Multiply ko na yung most pics. lakwatserongkalbo.multiply.com
grabe soooobrang ganda! must visit itong lugar na ito. nakakalunkot lang na madami nagkakalat ng basura na mga turista.
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