Sagada Tour- 25 Years Ago

Texins Mountaineering Club

Reminiscing a company outing some 25 long years ago in Sagada, Mountain Province. It was a time to unstressed ourselves from the hectic day-to-day schedule of living a busy lifestyle in the city and what better way to do that than to go mountain climbing and spelunking in the caves of Sagada. If by chance that you see your face in any of these group pictures, then perhaps it would remind you of some happier times that we have shared bonding together in Sagada, Besao and Mt. Data. We survived Sagada!

We've passed by some breath-taking scenic views along the Halsema Highway.

Arrived at St. Mary's School in Sagada late afternoon.

Camping Out for the night.

Exchanging jokes while fixing supper.

Cooking and heating up food for supper, spaghetti on a camping trip? he-he-he. Nah, mostly canned food.

Gone caving the next day, very cold inside the cave.

Going down to the bowels of the earth but wait a minute, are those slippers supposed to be worn for the arms or for the feet? Oh well, go figure.

We could only descend the slippery limestone one at a time.

Whew, I made it down to the "King's Curtain" but it was pitch dark to see it.

Now going up again, Rebecca holding her shoes while I had my slippers on my elbows!



My friend Mary and I made it yehey! Wait a minute, how come that my jeans are wet while Mary's sweat pants seem dry? We had to wade through some icy cold water just to get to the next spot.



Lighting the path for Doris Api-it and Rebecca Lartek.

"We're not ready yet" is that what Cynthia Dagupon is saying?

Aha, we made it to the Dancing Hall at last, whew! Can you imagine climbing a rock that's shaped like a brain? That's just what we did.  

Lighting up the way for the slackers he-he-he. Come on, you can do it!

The whole group climbed the "Brain" and made it to this place called the "Dancing Hall".

Too tired after coming out from the cave but it was all worth it.

Gone to visit Annette's relatives in Besao the next day.

Two roses among the thorns, what beauty indeed! Just goofing off in the rice fields of Besao.

The beautiful sunset of Besao going down.

Houses in Besao in the background.

Mount Data terrace with friends.

Resting inside the lobby of Mount Data Hotel.

Grounds of Mount Data Hotel with friends.

Picnic huts at Mount Data Hotel.

Lonely table just for one at the terrace of Mt. Data Hotel in Bauko Mt. Province.

Ambuklao Dam

Source: pcarrd.dost.gov.ph

Brad and Lou at Ambuklao Dam

On our way home from this Cordillera trip, we passed by the newly rehabilitated Ambuklao Dam in Benguet. I was really amazed at the condition of the roads during this trip because they were all concreted. When I was a young girl studying in Bokod Elementary School in Bokod Benguet, the roads were in a bad shape. Just above the Ambuklao Dam, the road was very narrow with many sharp curves. During the rainy season,  there were many landslides and road cuts along the way. Sometimes, the jeepney's wheels would only be a few inches from the road cuts and it would seem like it would fall down into the deep ravine below. I always had a stomach ache everytime we passed by the highest portion of that road above the dam because I have this fear of height. I always prayed that we would not fall into the deep ravine below and end up into the lake. 

Thanks to the government, most of the roads connecting the towns of the Cordilleras are now concreted. That's a very big improvement from the muddy roads that I knew back then. We were going to buy some tilapia fish from the private owners who are operating a fish pond in this lake but they already sold their catch for the day. The tilapia coming from Ambuklao Dam are very tasty and these are also sold at the public market here in Baguio City.

   

Banaue Rice Terraces



My DH and I admiring the scenic beauty of Banaue Rice Terraces at the view deck.



When we reached Banaue, we stayed in one of the hotels there who happens to be a relative of my friend. We were lucky to get a room near the terrace side because it gave us a good view of the whole place. We could also hear the roaring river just below the hotel and it was very soothing and calming. The next day, we dropped by to visit my friend's relatives on her father's side of the family which is in another part of Banaue. We followed the winding road until we reached the bottom of the Banaue Rice Terraces. Then we went through a narrow dirt road which was muddy that sometimes, it seemed that the car would get stuck in the middle but it did not. I do not know how we could have possibly moved aside to give way if there had been any car coming towards us. When we reached our destination, we found out that the place is has a breathtaking scenic beauty of its own. The only drawback in this place is the narrow and muddy dirt road that makes it difficult to reach the place. If they could only fix the pot holes and the muddy dirt road, more tourists will come to this place and it will bring in businesses.

Another scenic beauty in the hometown of my friend's father in Banaue

My friend Dora and I in her father's place in Banaue

There is actually one place there that admits transients and they could sleep in one of the nipa huts or the main house. The guy who manages the place is from Manila and his uncle was married to a lass from that place who happens to be a relative of my friend. Both the uncle and the aunt has passed away and this guy has made some good improvements on the place. He has a lodging house and a coffee shop/restaurant with a fantastic view of the rice terraces below. There are several small thatched roof huts across the street and these are below road level, he rents these huts to tourists as well. There is also a viewing deck around the area from across the restaurant. We ordered brewed coffee and enjoyed another breathtaking view of the mountains and the rice terraces before we left the place.

Mt. Polis Bayo Rice Terraces

The driver and my DH at the Bayo Rice Terraces

My best friend Dora and her husband Bino at Bayo Rice Terraces 

My DH at the view deck admiring the view of the Bayo Rice Terraces in Mt. Polis

Tired and haggard looking but the scenic view was worth it.

We left Sagada at 10 AM the next day and arrived in Bontoc around lunch time where we had lunch. We spent a few hours there because my friend's husband had to see one of his co-workers at the Municipal Hall and then we went back to the road again. Along the way, we passed by a road at the top of the mountain. This road leads to my father's hometown in Can-eo, a small barrio of Bontoc Mt. Province. The last time I visited Can-eo was several decades ago. It is a very remote place and there was no road leading to the village then. From a drop-off point at the foot of a mountain, we walked for one whole day climbing up and down over hills and mountains before we finally reached the village. I remember feeling sore all over specially my knees that my cousin and I had to spend the whole week resting in the house. We were not used to that because we were both raised in the city. This time, there are some improvements to the place now because there is a road that leads to this remote village and the thatched houses then were now changed into concreted. That's the effect of having a road into a remote place, it helps the lives of people simply by transporting their goods to and from the market.

We stopped along the way at the viewing point of Mt. Polis Bayo Rice Terraces where these pictures were taken. We were admiring the breathtaking scenic beauty of the place when another car pulled up. It's really a small world because when the couple got out of that car, it happened to be the daughter of one of our neighbors. Her husband who was with her is the cousin of one of my best friends. They're both employees of Baguio City Hall and they were on their way to visit their relatives in Sagada at that time. So anyway, we spent a few minutes chatting and admiring the view together and then it was time for us to move on so we said our goodbyes and went on our way. We were impressed with the good road condition along the way. The government has really put some money in improving the roads and concreting it. We passed by some people doing the road construction just before we reached Banaue. I am not aware of any other past presidents of this country who has ever made it this far to visit Sagada and Besao except for the Ex President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. She is the only one that I know of who has helped improve the highland roads of the Cordilleras from dirt roads to concrete roads. Some of these roads were damaged during the Ondoy and Pepeng typhoons and I hope that the government will help put things back together again.

Danum Lake Between Sagada and Besao

Dora and Bino at Danum Lake

Brad and Lou at Danum Lake

In search of that endangered plant specie that my friend was bent on cataloguing, we got up early the next morning then cooked breakfast at our lodging in Sagada Homestay. Having filled our bellies with a heavy breakfast, we set out to continue our journey to Besao. On our way to Besao, we stopped by at this place called Danum Lake. Danum is a local dialect both in Ilokano and Igorot which means water, that's how the place got its name. This Danum Lake is located between the boundary of Sagada and Besao Mt. Province. It is a natural reservoir, a basin of water at the top of the hill and it is a favourite picnic ground for the people because of its breathtaking scenic beauty.  We did find some of the endangered plants in Besao and in Sagada.   

Sagada

That is my DH standing near the entrance of Sumaging Cave in Sagada.

Pitch dark inside the cave

Hanging Coffins of Sagada in the center of the picture

My best friend Dora has asked me and my DH if we wanted to go with her and her husband to the Cordilleras on a three-day trip. She was going to do a research and study on a specific plant that is listed as one of the endangered plant species in the Cordilleras. Knowing that my DH has never been to the Cordilleras before, we thought that it would be a nice tour for us so we were only too glad to accept their invitation. We would stop by along the side of the highways every now and then whenever we spotted this plant on the hills. My friend would do her measurements on the plants as well as the elevation using some instruments that she brought with her and she taught me how to use them too, it was fun. There were times when this particular plant were located on a very steep hill that we could not even get close to it so we just move on until we see the next clump of plants that are within our reach and then we do the measurements. 

A fantastic view of the valley below.  

Buguias Benguet where we had our lunch.

So anyway, we stopped by at Sinipsip Buguias in Benguet for lunch. This is a farming community that produces upland vegetables and most of their produce are delivered to the La Trinidad Trading Post in Benguet while some are delivered directly to Manila and nearby provinces. We passed by my late mother's hometown in Tetep-an, which is a barrio of Sagada but we did not stop there. We reached Sagada proper early in the evening and we checked ourselves in our pre-arranged lodging house at Sagada Homestay. I highly recommend the place to anyone who would like to stay in Sagada during their visit, it is very clean and their rate is affordable as well. The proprietress is Mrs. Karen Fiar-od and these are their contact numbers: Cell: 639197028380, 639194982181,639187173524, Land line: ( 074) 423-0085 or you may reach them at sagadahomestay@yahoo.com My DH likes Sagada very much. Aside from its being a small quaint town, it has its own scenic beauty that is soothing to the soul.