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Published: December 8th 2006
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We are very happy to announce we now have the full complement of babies due during our time away from home. Jenny (Ed's sister) and Dave produced a little sister for Rebecca on Tuesday. Baby Lauren Sarah Powell you are formally welcomed to our blog. Hopefully we can post some pictures on here when we get some.
We got this exciting news while on route from Manila to Banaue, it brightened up our otherwise dull journey. It was night so we missed all the scenery and it was cold. I think the bus companies are doing this for the good of the passengers, they turn the air-con on the mountain bound buses onto extra cold, in order to help you acclimatise to the temperature drop once you arrive at your destination. We had bought new sleeved tops in Manila and had changed into trousers, shoes and socks before catching our taxi to the bus station and were smug out thinking we would be snug as a bug. How wrong we were, about 1 hour in, people started pulling coats, scarves, hats and even sleepingbags from their bags...we knew then we were in trouble. Ed managed to stuff the vent above
our heads shut with a plastic bag which helped a little...well maybe one degree! I sneakily manouevered the backpack from the ground onto my legs to keep them warm but Ed soon noticed and was shocked by my cunning. I kindly offered him the waterproof cover we use to keep the bag dry and he tried unsuccessfully to fold his 6 foot frame under it. After that we had to resort to hugging like teenagers do on the backseat of the school bus. Still we arrived in Banaue safely and after our two boat trips were grateful for this.
Enough about the journey and more about what we are doing here. The Banaue area has a number of rice terraces which have been listed in UNESCOs world heritage sites, the most famous and visited being Batad. Now being from Ireland we understand what its like to be besotted by one particular crop (in our case the beloved potato) and so we thought well maybe the two Paddies should visit these rice terraces. Batad does not have electricity or even a road to get there so this makes it a bit of a challenge to visit. A most worthwhile challenge.
We recovered from our overnight bus trip (and warmed up a little) in Banaue yesterday before setting out today to see the terraces. To stretch our legs we decided to walk down to a tribal village pretty close to the main town Tam'An...we had heard about their custom to wrap the bones of their dead and unwrap them to ask for guidance etc. It was a little unnerving when we reached the village to be invited into someones house and they asked us if we wanted to see the bones. The man of the house produced a bundle wrapped in traditionally woven cloth and hey presto...his great grandfather! I was a little shocked and Ed had to look away when the man proceded to insert the thigh bone into the hip socket to demonstrate where everything went. Its a fascinating tradition and today we learnt that the bodies of the dead are put in a seated position in a little house for three years until only the bones are left. Then these bones are brought to the home of the deceased where they are used for ceremonial purposes.
Today started on a bad note with Ed suffering another bout
Me new Banaue hat
and its blue so he can also wear it to Dublin games! of dodgy tum. The alarm went off at 6 and while I roled over hoping I didn't really have to get up, Ed made his way to the bathroom. I woke with the snooze button 15 minutes later and realised he was still in the bathroom. He reassured me he still wanted to go so I tucked into an omlette and toast and waited to see if he would reappear on time for our 7 o'clock meeting with our guide. He made it down before Giddeon our guide arrived and so we set off in our tri-shaw. The sealed road disappeared less than 50 metres from the town and we bumped and bashed our way through, stones, mud and earth the 15km to Batad Junction.
For some reason we have kind of been avoiding trekking so far on our trip. While I have done a fair bit in Ireland and Britain, Ed has never done much and wasn't overly confident in his fitness, his balance or his head for heights. However to visit Batad the decision was made for us, if we wanted to go we would have to hike a little. We then decided if we are going
Little drummer boy
We met Benedicte outside his house. He performed a little drumming session on his bench and stood proudly to attention when we asked if we could take his photo to hike a little we may as well do a lot and get a good work out. It took us two hours from the set down point at Batad Junction to get to Batad village and the beautiful terraces. We then carried on for another hour down some very steep steps and slippery paths to a spectacular waterfall; Tappia. Our guide was fantastic, an extremely bright young guy and we learnt so much about the villagers lives, the rice growing and the Philippines in general from him. He quizzed us about Ireland, Europe and the places we have travelled to, so hopefully its not only us who learnt alot today. If you are looking for a guide in Banaue, look no further, just ask for Giddeon at the Green View reception. The work on the terraces is completely manual and many of the old woman are stooped double. The rice grown is only enough to feed the families themselves and they have to rely on weaving, carvings plus money sent home by the young who have left for the cities. Only the young and the old are left here. On our return to the village after the waterfall we tucked
into a delicious meal (yes-including locally grown rice) and prepared for the 2 hour trek back to the trishaw. The journey back was gruelling in the trishaw but we were glad to have the freedom of trekking and travelling alone. The other option was to travel by Jeepney but the cost would mean sharing with up to 10 others. We have turned into such loners. Tomorrow we have another very early start, we are catching a bus to Baguio, going back south to go further north if that makes any sense.
So Eds tum held up admirably...no further incidents to report and we were both surprised to learn we completed the trek an hour and a half faster than most and only with one small fall for Ed (no injuries thankfully) I'm so proud of him!
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antoniele
Jade Maravillas
i'm going to banawe and sagada for the last week of december... how cold is it now? i'm pretty darn excited!