Sagada - I came, I saw, I Conquered

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Sagada is a place I've always heard from people but I never had the chance to go until the 1st of August 2009. Together with my travel buddies (PGs), we decided to spend a weekend in the mountain province to visit the place -- somewhere close to nature. (When my father asked me where am I going, I told him, mamumundok. And that was literal.)

The weather wasn't so good during that time and the AH1N1 virus has already spread. But this did not hinder us from pushing with the initial plan. And so on the night of July 31, we slept in the bus bound to Baguio. There were 10 of us – Lala, Kath, Hannah, Yats, Chris ang me (known as PGs), Emmy (my college friend), Aris (Kath’s friend) and Jo and Fran (Lala’s friends). We reached Baguio at around 6AM and we headed to the bus terminal going to Sagada. The travel is quite long - around 5 to 6 more hours from Baguio. It wasn't so far (I think Pagudpod is farther), but the road is winding and there are portions that you have to pass by a rough road. Anyway, we reached Sagada by 12NN and we stayed in the Residential Inn. It was drizzling then but since we don't want to ruin the plan, we still went out after freshening up (you can just imagine how good it feels to take a bath after 12 hours of travel. And oh, by the way, the bus from Baguio to Sagada is just an ordinary bus because there are no air conditioned buses in the place ü)

After our late lunch, or should I say super late lunch, we went to the municipal hall to ask for the places where we can go for a walk even if it is raining. We also planned the rest of the activities for the following day. The first stop was the Echo valley. It was like a walk in the forest. We barely saw the hanging coffins because of the mist brought about by the rain. (I tried pasting our photos in this blog but the size just can’t fit in. You can see more photos thru http://picasaweb.google.com/erlydevera/Sagada# )

After Echo Valley, some went back to the inn because of the rain. But the rest of us walked to see the small falls – Bokong Waterfall. The path was kinda slippery because of the rain and I was a bit afraid to fall. But good enough I reached the place without having any injury.



We were all wet after the falls, the umbrella cannot keep us dry from the rain. We headed back to the inn to take a bath and dry ourselves. Some cooked dinner while some are taking a bath. After the dinner, we had some photos taken (as usual) because it is one of the things that makes us all happy.



The following day, we woke up early because the driver will be fetching us at 4:30 AM. We are heading to Kiltepan to watch the sunrise. Sleepy as we seem, we managed to get up and get dressed (no more shower!) for our tour. The place was still so dark when we got there. We waited until the sun rises and the view was really awesome!



After the sunrise, we went back to the town proper and had little breakfast as we wait for two more tourist guides inside the cave (the rule is to have one guide per two persons). This was something that I am a bit afraid of – spelunking. You see, I am NEVER a sporty type of person and I never tried mountain hiking. But I just found myself deciding to do this thing because of one reason – I am in Sagada and I can never say I came here until I conquered and survived this adventure. Kuya Francis, our guide, told us that the spelunking will take us about 4 hours. We will be entering the Lumiang Cave and pass through it until we reach the Sumaging Cave. From the stories they tell it make me want to back out, but I am never a quitter and so I went with the group, this time there were only 7 of us.



When we reached the place, we walked down the path to the entrance of the cave where coffins are placed. As we go down, the sunshine started to disappear and the only thing that lights our path are the gasera brought by our 3 cave guides.



A few stunts I had to do: rappelling with no gears but a rope; fitting myself inside the holes that I have to pass through to be able to reach the other end of the cave; and crossing the wall using a rope to be able to reach the other side. Too bad if you fall off the cliff, water is too cold and too deep. So, goodluck! This is the reason why we came up with a motto while inside the cave : HABANG MAY BUTAS MAY PAG-ASA. We can never lose hope, or else we’ll never survive.



At first, we couldn’t understand why the tour has to be 4 hours. But when we were inside, we figured out why. It was too dark, too rocky, too steep, and too dangerous. My friends were so surprised on how I manage each challenge inside. Walang kiyeme. Pag sinabi ni kuya na akyat, aakyat ako. Pag sinabing lusot sa butas, lulusot. I had to move on and get going because I have to get out. There is just no way to go back.



Finally! Sumaguing Cave! This was the best part of the spelunking adventure. The victory is now in our hands! The stone caves we’ve been dying to reach!



After picture-taking and enjoying the cold water, we finally walked towards the exit of the cave. Upon seeing the light, we were all happy because finally, the adventure is over! Too bad I had some bruises in my knees. But that was ok, as long as I can be proud that I have survived this adventure.



After the cave, some of our peers have to prepare and go back to Manila. There were only 5 of us left to continue the adventure. The next stop was the Bomod-ok Falls and the Fidelisan Rice Terraces.



After our lunch, we started our last adventure. It was a long long long long long long walk. The hiking was fun because the path we have to walk through is much easier than the way to the small falls and the cave. The scenery is very much appealing to my eyes, beautifully crafted terraces. As we go along, all my friends enjoyed taking pictures with their high-end cameras while I enjoy looking at the view and posing for them.



And after the long walk and the many times we asked our guide how long it will take us to reach the falls, we finally made it. We felt the mist coming from the falls and thought that it was raining. The view was heavenly! The sound of the water flowing was something that make me feel relaxed. The long walk was worth it! We did not swim but we really enjoyed the view and the place. This was really something that I’ve been dying to see, a place close to nature.



That was my Sagada trip. I came, I saw, I conquered!

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