Sagada - The Cordilleras (Part 2)

-----------------------------  
Rollin' Up North, Part II 
Cordillera Administrative Region
15 to 17 December 2012  
----------------------------- 

[For Part One, click me]

Butt-numbing road trip... strawberry picking... more butt-numbing road trip... a sumptuous late lunch at Yoghurt House... a few minutes of rest... coffins within a cave... trekking... spelunking... a semi-failed effort at surprising the birthday girl-- all those things in one day.

So now, we all asked Mary when we woke up the following day, what next?

Bokong Falls

-----------------------------
Day Two
16 December 2012
-----------------------------

Knowing that we would all get sweaty and wet, I choose to dress up in clothes that fit the activity: a loose, comfy black shirt and a pair of easy-dry short with scarf/ towel. While waiting for the others to get ready, we had breakfast, and took advantage of the cool weather outside to look around by the balcony.

the backdrop kinda reminds me of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. XD

Since there wasn't much to see nor take pictures of, we rode out of the hotel and made our way towards the jump-off point of Bokong Falls. Two kilometers, they tell us, and we all but fainted from the very thought considering that the sun seemed alive that day with promises of burnt skin. Good thing we had our lotions on.

Registration Desk

We were all given walking sticks to aid us on our long trek, and when our names had been properly listed and the fees paid for by the touring agency, we began our descent down a flight of stone steps. By my reckoning, I think it must have been three to four storey's high.

two floors down, I believe.

with our tour guide :)

A few more flights of stairs before we managed to reach one of the daughter-villages...

Nipa Hut

a traditional Ifugao pig pen

Mark Perspective: i just want to put this here. hahaha.

Chelle Perspective: obviously, we were amused.

the many wonders of trekking... you get to see things.

... and do crazy stuff to ward-off fatigue and unwanted attention
to your aching legs and feet.

Buwis-Buhay Moment: his water bottle fell over the side of the hill.
He decided to chase after it. >_<

pag bigyan. first time daw niyang maka-akyat ng bubong. haha.
(let her be. it's her first time to climb atop a roof.)

file!

and finally, after two kilometers of sun, heat, and a bit of mud between our toes...

wrong way, Mary. XD

I met another random friend along the way. ^.^

Obligatory Group Pic by the Falls.
photo c/o our tour guide. :)

yes, you can take a dip but it's freezing.

singit. :D reaching that rock on the other side is a chore in itself. XD

we were all trying to pull him down but we can't. XD

10 seconds! Look who's up first! XD

There's a pathway leading up to an elevation that would allow you to get closer to the falls if you don't know how to swim. Naturally, Sir Ian was the only person in our group who managed that feat (aside for our tour guide, of course, who took the picture above) since (1) it involves going all Spiderman, and (2) most of us aren't really good swimmers.

I know how to swim, but I'm not confident enough to use the skill. XD

Done.

And now, it was time to go out and trek the rest of the way back up for lunch. No, we didn't have to tread the same path earlier (our poor feet!). As it turned out, there was a path on the other side that led up to the Mother Village, where the tour van was already parked and waiting for our arrival.

So we began, thus...

respect for those who work under the scorching heat. >.<

resting after a few uphill climb. XD

the other trail, leading up to a campsite and
another body of water.

more climbing

the final leg of our trek...

at the village: coffee beans! :D

and finally...! whew. XD

For lunch, our tour van driver took us to a place that, like the Yoghurt House, had been featured in several TV documentaries for different reasons: first, being the quality of their food and ambiance of the place was nice; while the second was mostly attributed to the activity that could be done there-- Orange Picking, at The Cafe Bodega.

they have these at the reception area-- not sure
what they call 'em though. Trellis, perhaps? It's pretty. XD

lunch is a serious business.

grain. another friend I met along the way.

clowning around with the desk personnel.

thanks, Marky! :D

While waiting for our lunch, we went at the 'backyard' for some orange picking. At least, now I knew where those oranges from the strawberry field in La Trinidad came from. XD

no, it's not really that high.
Mary just likes to do stuff like this. XD

see? and I'm only 5'3" tall.

When we've gathered enough oranges, we went back to the nipa hut where our lunch would be served. Food was okay, but I still found myself craving for Yoghurt House's meal. It was better and they also served bigger portions... >_<

We stayed for a few minutes longer before going back to the van to resume our activities for that day. There was still one more place that we needed to see with our own eyes, even though our legs and feet were already complaining like, hell NO I can't go on anymore!

But we do what we must-- tread the path to Echo Valley, to see the Hanging Coffins.

there's a big Anglican Church opposite that monument.

Although predominantly Christians, the Ifugao still clung to the ways of their ancestors, proudly embracing traditions which made them unique-- a cultural identity which they could call their own, but the most amazing thing about this was it existed even before the Spaniards came; and the fact that it STILL kicked butts on the 21st century...?

Quoting Ms. Aretha Franklin's immortalized song, "R-E-S-P-E-C-T!"

Preach, people. Preach.

Ifugao or not, soaking up this particular piece of information made me feel proud of them because, even though they evidently recognize the need and importance of development (who wouldn't LOVE to have certain comforts that only technology could bring?) they still made it a point not to succumb to the obscenely materialistic 'tradition' of the modern world. Of course, there were still issues regarding mining up in the mountains but I would reserve that talk for some other time.

We walked up a couple of steps at the back of the church, only to find out that in order to reach the hanging coffins, we needed to pass through a modern-type of cemetery. Yikes. I opted not to take pictures of the trail at all and concentrated on the path because it involved an indeterminable cliff to our right and nothing to hang onto to our left-- well there were numerous pine trees and all that, but the road WAS still steep, angling at a dangerous 50 degrees and beyond, even if it was dry.

Mary didn't seem like she wanted to continue anymore and said she would just wait for us to return. I also had a feeling that Cess had the same sentiments so I asked her if she wanted to stay with Mary too. With a heavy heart, she told us honestly that she was tired as well but if we were going, she WAS going as well and refused to be left with just Mary (no, there wasn't a conflict of some sort, it's just these two girls were both girly girls and Cess was probably thinking, if anything happened she'd be left to fend for Mary. Hahahaha).

With that conversation in mind, I set the pace with Cess as my buddy while Sir Ian took care of Mary (our two princesses XD). Also, like Ian and myself, Rina was an experienced hiker/trekker so she looked after Mark and Chelle who only needed minimal supervision anyway. Most often than not, the source of trouble for these two would only be due to their extreme clowning around-- and that's why we love them to bits. Hahahaha.

A little while later, we finally reached the burial site.

It's... kinda creepy, actually. XD

We didn't stay long because there were other groups right behind us and we wanted to wrap up the physical-activities involved in the tour early so we could all rest for tomorrow's long drive home (b'aawwww...).

the uphill climb: taking a breather

back at the church :)

And, since the Sagada Weavers Shop was closed that day (another d'awww), there was only one more place to visit: The Sagada Heritage Museum. As opposed to the big-ass museums in the Metro, this piece of gem in the North was actually more like a person's private collection of ancient stuff but the difference was that these items were handed down from generation to another, so it actually had more meaning-- plus, you can actually inspect it up-close.

You are not allowed to take pictures of the trinkets and stuff though, because some people might think those were for sale or something. The caretaker of the museum though, an old Ifugao woman who puts IELTS level 7 and beyond passers to shame, allowed us to take 2 group pictures-- one with her, and the other picture became the photo that represented the entire trip (for me, at least). :)

 

NOT FOR SALE: It's what I call a 'test shot gone right'. ;)

with the museum's caretaker who made our noses bleed. XD

this is THE shot that I was talking about. :)
L-R: Ian, Mary, Tin, Rina, Mark, Chelle, Cess

Souvenir shopping right after and then, for dinner, we decided to do a bit of cooking ourselves instead of going to a restaurant to eat. There's a local market near our place and they sell lots of fresh foodstuff, though fish was scarce (we were in the mountains, obviously). We managed with chicken and pork; bought charcoal for the grill, and several cooking necessities for marinading.

Sir Ian took charge of cooking with Mary and Chelle helping, while the others cleaned up.

Our tour guide and the hotel owner allowed us to start a bonfire outside while having dinner, with just one condition: minimize our noise. In Sagada, 8pm was sort of already considered as lights-off though there wasn't really a formal rule to that. But anyways, one important traveler's etiquette that you should always be mindful of is, and will always be, respect for the locals' way of life.

setting up fire not because we want to, but because we NEED to. XD

 

it's really cold. XD

food and drinks! :D

huddle by the fire. :)

We didn't stay up late because we needed to wake up early tomorrow to catch the sunrise at a certain hilltop. :)

That concludes day two of our Sagada escapade. 

Up next, [Sagada Escapade, Day III]