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.

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.