The Outdoors - Conquer Sagada

Sagada, Mountain Province, Philippines

22-24 January 2011

Hanging Coffins of Sagada

Day 0

It has been raining for the past days. The monsoon has hit the metro very bad and caused floods on almost every street of every city and Taguig and Mandaluyong is no exception. The day is about to end, I didn't get to finish the final exercise of the Application Engine training, much excited for the Sagada trip. We leave for Sagada at 1000H, the bus station is in Sampaloc, Manila.



It was a fine Friday afternoon as I entered the mall beside our office in Pioneer, people are busy walking around the mall, and I sat on a bench waiting for the time to pass. I called Gen to check on her, asked her what time will she be leaving the office coz we're supposed to meet at the mall, buy some food for the trip and together go to the bus station. Then the worst news you'd wanna hear if you have plans to go to the Mountain Province - MONSOON! 1900H, it was raining cats and dogs. People are soaking wet as they enter and find shelter inside the mall.  With that kind of rain, am pretty sure there's already flood in streets of Sampaloc, I should know, I went to a university in that area and even a little precipitation causes flood there. I begin to worry because I don't want this trip to be cancelled because of the monsoon, even though my mom begged me not to push with it because she's worried about landslides and stuff. So after a few hours of heavy rain,  it finally stopped. 2100H, Gen was stuck in Taguig looking for a cab. Then we decided that we'd just meet in the bus station because if I wait for her in the mall, we won't make it on time before the bus leaves. And good decision, we we're able to get to the station at least half an hour before our scheduled departure. So Sagada trip is a go, I, Gen, Cata, Beth, and Cata's officemate and our new found friend Lawrence, who is Singaporean, got in the bus and the 10-hour ride began - good thing the bus has it's own bathroom, we didn't have a problem when we have to go for a leak. LOL.

Day 1

After a freezing cold bus ride across and on the side of the mountains, we arrive at Banaue at around 0800H, had our breakfast, go for a leak or potty, and just relaxed for about an hour. After all, a 10-hour bus ride is no joke, we were maybe asleep the entire trip, but still, it was exhausting. So after a little breather, we began our 4-hour jeepney ride through the mountains. The view was just amazing, trees everywhere, clouds at the palm of your hands, everything is like a fresh of breath air, both literally and figuratively. We stopped at a viewing point and was caught in awe. It is the world-famous Banaue Rice Terraces. I can't believe I am actually there, staring at the very spectacular work of art done by the Ifugaos on the side of the mountains. It is just amazing to know that all those rice terraces were carved into the sides of the mountains a thousand years back, and there we were, taking pictures of it. Awesome! Moving on, the roads on the way to Sagada are a bit of challenge. Some parts are concrete so the drive is smooth and relaxed. But for the most part, there are landslides everywhere, like every 100 meters you'd come across a landslide. Not cool! So not cool! Scared the hello out of me. Not to mention it's been drizzling that time, I mean it always does, because that's the weather up there on a day-to-day basis. So landslides are really part of the lives of the locals there. We arrive at Sagada a lil pass noon, checked in our respective hostels, we stayed at George guest House, it has WiFi in every room, which is I think is super cool considering we're in the middle of nowhere on a province called Mountain Province, had our lunch at Alibama Inn chicken adobo, stir fried fresh Sagada vegetables and red rice which is actually color purple, and rest for a few minutes.

First stop of our Sagada escapade - Bomod-ok Falls a.k.a. the Big Falls . We arrived at this covered court uptown where there are kids, about almost a hundred of them, lined accordingly,  dancing their native dance. I think it's for a school presentation because there is one teacher in front who is doing the drum beat and looking over everyone. We kinda danced a little too because our guide said that it's part of the ritual before we go trekking on the Banga-an Rice Terraces going to the falls. Of course we knew that he was just joking but we danced anyway just for fun. The trek to the falls is about a little over an hour. The good thing about it is that the walk is very easy because we are walking on the pathway of  terraces, which I think is pretty awesome. I mean, it's not everyday you get to walk on a side of a mountain where the mountain is carved into terraces to become rice paddies. It's crazy! After a long trek, we arrive at the falls. It was spectacular! The falls is about, well I dunno how high it is, but it's pretty high, and it is on the side of the mountain, and is between two mountains. The water is freezing. As much as I wanted to "take the plunge", the cool breeze and the even cooler water gave me enough reason not to. So, I did what I think is best to do at that time, take photographs! We also met two local kids along the trek and they joined us to the falls. I talked to these two little strangers and they have pretty interesting stories. Andrew, 9, and Jay, 11, were both in the 3rd grade. I asked them what they're doing there, they said they offer massage - hand massage or back massage or foot massage - to tourists for 20 Pesos. When I said I don’t have money, they said any amount will do, said it's my call, they even agreed to give me a massage for food. I offered them a chocolate-covered cookie but I did not get the massage, I just took their pictures. 

I am going to have a portfolio of portraits of strangers that I met in my trips or anywhere, and those two youngsters will be the first ones to be included in that portfolio. Andrew was the quiet one and Jay was the not so quiet one. Eric, our travel consultant from Travel Factor - the travel agency where we get the Sagada trip package - asked me if I asked about the father of Jay. And Jay told the saddest story ever. Jay said he was 9 when his father died in that waterfall. He said that his father fell from the top of the waterfall while fixing the water pipe that is connected to the village. It was sad but Jay didn't look sad while he was retelling the story. I just gave them cookies and take their pictures, and we had fun doing that. After the picture taking, we headed back to our jeepney. We're supposed to go to Lake Danum for the sunset, but it's getting dark and cold already so we drove our way back downtown, grabbed some dinner in this place called Yogurt House. We had the most delicious carbonara I ever tasted and some other pasta dishes and roasted chicken and salad, and freshly made yogurt topped with banana and granola. Yum! We called it a day and went back to the hostels.

Day 2

Call time - 0400H! Soooo early! Well we had to be early because our next activity is to watch the sunrise.  We may not be able to see the sunset, but we definitely saw the sunrise. It was still dark when we arrived at the Kiltepan Viewpoint. When you look into the horizon you will not see anything but millions of starts and a sea of clouds covering the entire mountains of Sagada. It was nothing I've ever seen before. Knowing that your that high above the sea level and clouds are literally under your feet is just amazing! Definitely worth waking up early. We endured the cold breeze as we wait for the sun to give light. And minutes before the darkness was eaten by the light, I was able to take pictures of the night sky with all the stars and the sea of clouds, breath taking, really. Then the sun started to rise from behind the mountains and the sky is beginning to burn with colors of yellow and orange, we clicked the shutters of our cameras and enjoyed the wonderful scene we were witnessing. Top load! We decided to go on to the top of the jeepney and take the ride of our life that time, as we headed back to the hostel. It was freezing and our breath is smoking. Cool! When we arrived, we get to fix ourselves, prepared our things, and eat our heavy breakfast, because the next stop will be a 5 to 6-hour  spelunking in the cave connection of Sumaging and Lumiang.

At the mouth of the first cave - Sumaging - where we entered, were wooden hanging coffins. Inside them are mummifiedremains of the elders of Sagada. Then we started our adventure. We have about 9 guides with us, the head guide said that it is mandatory to have 1 guide per 2 tourists, this is for strict compliance mandated by the local government of Sagada. Inside the caves, it was pitch black if not for the lamps that gave us ample lighting, and was very very very cold, our breath was smoking. Inside Sumaging caves, there are lots of rocks, not rock formations, rather huge boulder rocks the size of a house, piled on top of each other, side by side, and scattered all over the place. Because of these rocks that we had to walk, climb and rappel up and down, and crawl inside the tiniest of holes that only one man can fit at a time. It was the most  adventurous thing I've done so far, far more adventurous than white water rafting. Why, you may ask? Because the some of the rocks are slippery and some paths are just crazy, as in almost a 90 degrees incline, one wrong step and you'll find yourself falling into the deep dark part of the cave and probably die when you  hit the ground, or water, coz you'll drown..if you're not a good swimmer that is. The point being, I had more adrenaline rush doing spelunking than white water rafting. 3hrs in, and we started seeing stalactites and stalagmites, and hearing water flowing downstream. It gets even colder because of the water. Deeping into the water as cold as ice, 4ft deep, was really a challenge. All the walking, climbing, rappelling, crawling, and cold water didn't really take a toll on us, at least not on me, at that time because the view inside the cave is just spectacular that our minds are too busy processing all the beauty of nature than think of how tired we were. Adrenaline rush! Mushroom-like stalactites are everywhere, there are some that looked like curtains, some like in the form of animals, etc. The cave was so old that columns were already formed; when stalactites and stalagmites meet, they form a rock formation called 'column'. Simply put, everything inside the Sumaging caves, all the rock formations and waters, they are all spectacular. I would go back in there in a heartbeat, but I want to skip all the slippery rocks and the 90 degrees inclined paths please. LOL. And after almost 6 hours of cave connection adventure, we went out of the other mouth of the caves, the Lumiang side, covered with bat poop. We small like crap and we looked like we need a shower, because we're all a mess.

All cleaned up, we were getting ready to go to Lake Danum to try to see the sunset. But the weather were not just cooperating. It was cloudy and raining. Naturally, the activity was cancelled. So we decided to go around the town and explore what's happening around. We found this old lady selling pies, orange and lemon pies. We bought a box of orange pie because it was new to us. We went to a restaurant called Masfere, ordered frozen yogurt even thought it's freezing called that time, and ate the pie and the frozen yogurt. It's like eating dessert before dinner because after an hour, we headed to yet another restaurant called Log Cabin, where we ate a buffet dinner. The place was very cozy, love the fireplace, and the whole interior which was made all in logs. Reggae and country music playing in the background, well almost  everywhere in Sagada they play reggae or country music, while we eat our healthy dinner composed of baked eggplant in tomato, roast beef and chicken, salad greens, baked potato, and some European bread. After dinner we decided to go to another place, the Lemon Pie House, to have some coffee. Unfortunately, it was closed when we get there. Heartbroken, we went back to our penthouse, and Gen and I just sat on the chairs grabbed a blanket, and stared on the starry night sky.

Day 3

Because we did not get to try the coffee in Lemon Pie House the night before, Gen and I decided that we will have coffee there in the morning. So we went, we were the first customers. The place, as some of our fellow trippers told us,  was very cozy, they have this little tables and chairs, and tables on the ground and cushions to sit on, and their egg pie was to die for. Their coffe is good as well, and they are very affordable. So we enjoyed our egg pie and coffee and headed back to the hostel to grab some real breakfast before we go to the last part of the itinerary - Sagada Walking tour. We kicked off our tour to the lone Christian church in Sagada, the St. Mary's Episcopal church.

Now am not sure if it's really a Christian church. LOL. Then we walk through the Calvary Hills, where their Christian cemetery is situated, to get to the Echo Valley where the famous Hanging Coffins of Sagada are located. We did not get close to the hanging coffins because it will be time consuming and we're already in a hurry, also there is one coffin that was just hanged a few days back so the smell down there is really not that pleasant, not to mention hazardous to health. FYI, Echo Valley was named "echo valley" because..yes! You guessed it right, the valley produces echo. Pretty cool huh?! Then after that, we went to Sagada Weaving and then Sagada Pottery where one local demonstrated to us how to make a simple pitcher. And she did it the old fashion way because the power went out as she was about to use the spinning round table, so she used the more primitive spinning table where you have to use your feet to make the table spin. After the walking tour, it was time to go for souvenir shopping then went back to hostel to pack our things. Then we went to Salt and Pepper Diner and had our lunch.  So we bid goodbye to Sagada, hoping to come back next year. It was around 1600H when we arrived at Banaue, had our dinner and ride the bus back to Manila.

Day 4

We arrive at Cubao station at around 0300H. Tired, still slee py, and carrying lots of stuff, we went home hoping to get more sleep because we had to go to the office later that day. Unfortunately for me, I was too exhausted that I wasn't able to go to work. Wait, that's not unfortunate, that is very fortunate! I got to rest all day! LOL