Sagada is probably most famous for its hanging coffins. As first time visitors, we couldn't leave without seeing them up close.
After some
quick lunch at the Gaia Vegetarian Restaurant (good food!) we headed to Echo Valley, where the hanging coffins are. We passed through the public cemetery and stopped by Yamashita's grave. I like how cemeteries give you this feeling of peace and quiet.
We continued walking (look how I'm always waiting for everyone to catch up.lol) until we got to the spot that gave Echo Valley its name. If you yell something out, someone from the other side of the mountain yells exactly the same thing! Amazing!
The day after our successful spelunking activity, we all woke up early the next day, excited to catch the Kiltepan sunrise. Unfortunately, it was raining... so no sunrise. :( We'll catch it next time, then. (Yes, there will be a next time. Definitely going back!)
So we ate breakfast (the cheapest we've had
during the entire trip -- "bottomless" pancit canton) at the
Residential Lodge and waited for further instructions. We were supposed to trek
to Bomod-ok Falls that morning. However, the locals had an ongoing tribal
ritual that weekend so we had to change our plans and go to the less
famous Pongas Falls instead. Pongas Falls was not a bad option at all, and we
had tons of fun there. They say that the trek to Bomod-ok is longer and more
tiring, but the trek to Pongas was more challenging.
The afternoon we arrived in Sagada, we had a quick lunch (foodie post here) and went straight to the action. The original plan was to trek to Bomod-Ok Falls and to take a quick dip. However, if I remember it correctly, weather conditions weren't good for trekking, so our guide decided that it's best that we go spelunking instead. (Oh memory gap. Now I know why I should have written this right after the trip =/ )
This is me AFTER conquering Sumaguing Cave. Felt so happy to still be alive!hahaha
Dexter, our tourguide from
Anywhere Philippines, asked us whether we wanted to go on the Cave Connection
(Lumiang Cave + Sumaguing Cave) or to go through Sumaguing Cave only. Well, as I was terrified of going inside one cave, I definitely have no plans of going through two caves. Lumiang Cave, as they've described it, involved a lot of crawling through small spaces, and some underwater submersion, with the whole Cave Connection experience lasting for about 4 to 5 hours. No, thank you. Sumaguing Cave for 2 long hours sounds just about fine for a girl who never really liked caves. I felt that it's gonna cave in on me. (LOL, I think I just made a joke.) Also, I'm scared of running out of oxygen to breathe. (OA, I know. Haha) Thankfully, my friends had the same train of thought. The other group, however, decided to do the Cave Connection. Well, good luck to them. *evil laugh*
And 5 months later... I'm finally back to
blogging, still trying to finish up posts about my favorite trip of 2012 to the
beauuuuutiful Sagada, Mountain Province. Before life got in the way, I
only got around to posting about the food. So now, here's the rest of the trip. :)
***
One long weekend last August (almost half a year ago.hihi), Jessa, Ria, Eliel and I, together with Jessa's childhood buddy McBeau and her boyfriend, Gjerico, traveled all the way to Sagada for the ultimate outdoor adventure of the year. We had so much fun, I'm really glad Jessa and Ria decided to fly in from Cebu for this, despite the storm warnings (thankfully, the storm never materialized and we only got a few rain showers here and there). But I'm getting ahead of myself.
On August 24, Friday night, we all met up somewhere in Makati with the rest of the tour group. Dexter of Anywhere Philippines was our travel guide
for the entire weekend. We were the last group to be completed since we
had to wait for Ria who came straight from the airport. Once she arrived, we
split up into to vans and started the long drive to Sagada. But before that, we
would be having a quick stopover at the Banaue Rice Terraces viewpoint.
After 11 hours and a couple of stopovers, we arrived at the postcard-famous Banaue Rice Terraces. I can't even explain the feeling of joy at finally seeing this masterpiece with my own eyes. It really is as amazing as they say it is. I can't imagine how the Ifugaos of two thousand years ago made these with their bare hands (and probably just a few tools).
Wow.
 |
The requisite
couple-shot
|
