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Published: December 2nd 2005
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Inside Sumaguing Caves
This part mimics the rice terraces this province is also famous for .
It was raining in Manila when we left for Baguio, Benguet. I hesitated leaving that day but my mountaineer friend had ironed out all plans for this long weekend trip so I figured I might as well shoo away my doubts and go ahead. I slept most of the time though -- six hours from Manila to Baguio. As we arrived at the Baguio Victory Liner, we immediately bought tickets that would take us back to Manila on November 1.
Baguio City
In Baguio, we took our time taking pictures and going around the “touristy” (ahem) spots. (At this point in my life, travel should mean adventure not leisure.) We passed by the University of the Philippines Baguio with the usual Oblation. Then we took a cab that took us to the Philippine Military Academy. The students were having a drill when we got there. We entertained ourselves watching them march on their serious drills until they suddenly stopped and danced a popular TV show theme song "Pinoy Big Brother"! It was hilarious!
Baguio Cabs
Speaking of cabs, I noticed that the Toyota FX vehicles here do not have benches at the back unlike in Manila. The
Spelunking with the Locals
The cave has pools of cold and clear water. We had to take off our slippers as we went deeper into the cave. curvy streets of Bagiou says it all, anyway. For safety reasons, only the front and middle seats of the FX are allowed for passengers to take.
We took the cab again to take us to Camp John Hay. My, it is so commercialized now with lots of tiangge and classy restaurants. We also went to SM (eyes-rolling). Yes, SM, that giant mall chain I frequent in Manila. I wish I could go elsewhere to buy groceries. But we had no choice, we had to buy and prepare food (dinner and breakfast) that we would bring with us to Mt. Ampacao as soon as we get to Sagada. At the Camp John Hay Manor, we took the liberty of fooling around their spacious garden, snapping a lot of pictures. They have a beautiful view of Bagiou and a colorful garden that highlights their garden events. We also walked around Burnham Park. We went to the
ukay-ukay where imported used clothes are sold. We went to the market to buy
pasalubongs. To me, Baguio is very, very crowded. But, as they say, yes... Baguio is still better than the Manila.
Baguio to Sagada
Very early the next morning, we
took a cab to Dangwa. We took a bus that would take us to Sagada. Taking a seat in that bus was an adventure by itself. We literally had to muscle our way into the many wanna-be passengers. No ticket system here. Everyone simply has to grab and seat and everyone wants one! We failed getting into the first bus. It was too full. Chairs were planted between the built-in bus seats and we still can’t get in! We had to wait for the next bus. After six hours of zigzags and rough road, we finally arrived at Sagada, which is a remote town in Mountain Province. And oh, my friend and I noticed that the chips we brought with us from the mall were puffed up more than they used to. Was it because of the higher altitude we are at? On the stopovers, I had balut and a bottle of coke. I wondered why they simply grab a bottle of coke from their display stand, open it, and give it to me. I was about to complain that I want a cold bottle. Then when I had the bottle in my hand, I understood why.
Trekking
Mount Ampacao
It was drizzling when we trekked up Mount Ampacao. It was getting dark and the trail was muddy so it took us about 2 hours (1 hour longer than it should have been -- should it have been a sunny afternoon). We pitched our tents in the dark. We lied down inside our tents drenched in cold rain water. The rain stopped after a while. Socials, drinks and a few laughs. We had wet tuna sandwich for dinner. What a pity... other teams made pita and chocolate mousse! We woke up very early the next morning, feeling uncomfy anyway coz our sleeping bags were wet and we were lying down on rocks. Good Morning to us! We finally saw the clearing where we pitched our tents at. Nature’s cakes --- cow poop were all around us!!! Hahaha! We had a spectavular view from atop the mountain though. I can say that the effort was worth it because of the sight of clouds that seemingly kiss the mountain range. We were like walking in the clouds. And it was cold. Pleasantly cold. Ahhhh! But, again, our only choice for breakfast were fruits in easy open cans and _wetter_ tuna
Hurraaah!
Climbing down down... and straight into the caves... sandwiches from last night.
Sagada Caves
Straight from the foot of the mountain, with no decent meal for the day, we walked straight to Sumaguing Cave. On the way, the view was nice because of the pine trees and vegetable plantations. At the mouth of the cave, temperature was low. Our breath were smoky -- visible, that is. We met our guides and donned our headlamps. With the cave guides with their petromax, we recited a short prayer and started walking down the slippery rocks. Single file. We took it slow. At some point we had to walk barefoot leaving our sandals and slipper beneath rock crevices. We have started to see pools of water. Cold and surprisingly clean! Flowing water that gave the smooth surface of the rocks. Stalactites. Wow!!! Spenlunking 101!!!! The guide told us to prepare ourselves to swim though a one meter hole flooded with water, and we REALLY really have to do that in order to get through the cave. I think we expected too much, thinking we would be doing something like what I saw in the movie “Into the Blue”. Just to know, after taking the "one meter swim" there was an
A small cute snake
Found this little guy the morning we woke up -- just as we were packing up for the caves alternate route where one has to simply walk!!! Grrr! It was fun though. I am still glad the guides had us do that. We traversed thru the walls with ropes. We groped our way into slippery and spiky rocks, etc.... but I loved lying down on the rocks with flowing water. Ahhh blissful....
After, I guess, two hours, we were walking back up the mouth of the cave. I looked up and I thought that night has already fallen. I was wrong. I haven’t fully crawled out of the cave yet. It was very sunny outside!
Yey. This is my first real spelunking experience and I love it! I wish I could do more next time. Wherever.
Other places seen in Sagada:
- Yoghurt house - Good food. Good ambiance. Bad service
- RJ Souvenirs - Good cheap pasalubongs.
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DEIRDRE
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UNFORGETTABLE EXPERIENCE
i can never forget the thrill and excitement when we go deep on the bowels of the earth. sumaguing cave. whew.!!! one of the best experience i ever had.