Discovering Sagada
I have always been a travel-freak; always passionate about exploring new places...always thinking of where to go next. There are places that attract, fascinate and charm us that we would always pack up and go back if given another chance. Others makes us feel home that we want to stay there forever. Sagada is one of these magical places.
My trip to Sagada was one of my most memorable treks . And the thought of it makes me smile and look forward to my next long bus ride off to that wonderful land up north.
I was in Manila for the long Halloween holiday to take a breather from work. I spent Friday and Saturday with my family and friends. Friday and Satuday nights were, of course, party nights. After a few hours of sleep, I woke up with my ears still ringing from the loud music at the fun Halloween party from the previous night. I was considering spending the rest of my vacation either in Bulacan (with my folks), Puerto Galera (with some friends), or in La Union (with my grandmom). Bulacan sounded so boring.
Puerto Galera didn't sound so interesting that day because it was raining. I was strongly considering La Union but then I was quite doubtful if I could put up with the inconveniences of going into the bandwagon of those trying to go home to the provinces for All Saints Day. The thought of going to Sagada was a wee bit out of my options considering that it would eat up a lot of travel time. But then, what the heck, that also meant that getting there would be half the fun. Ultimately, it will all depend on how one sees things. So, off to Sagada I went.
Going there was no easy task. I was going to travel alone. All my friends were too tired from the party to get out of their comfort zones.
I made a quick research about Sagada from the Internet. The latest information available dated back to June 2004. The articles gave me all the information that I needed to get me going. I spent the remainder of my Sunday afternoon reserving a room at a popular Sagada inn, getting my ticket, and getting stuffs for the trip.
Good thing the bus company decided to add an extra trip to accommodate the increase of passengers going to the provinces. On ordinary days, only a single trip goes to Banaue with the bus leaving at 10.00pm. My bus was scheduled to leave at 10.45pm but didn't leave until an hour later. After I got settled on the bus, I easily drifted off to dreamland. At around 3.00am, everybody was awoken by a strong jolt as the bus screeched to a stop. I discovered later that the driver forgot to take a needed turn and almost slammed us all on the mountainside.
The bus made a final stop-over in Nueva Viscaya just as dawn was breaking. Thirty minutes from there and everything was eye candy. The breathtaking view of valleys, limestone formations, mountains and rivers made me itch to get to Sagada. As the bus went on its endless ascent, the temperature slowly dropped. By this time, some parts of the road were already bathed in fog. Cloud-capped mountains gave me that certain calming feeling of being so close to nature. I spent time having that inner quiet that one gets from a great wonderment at the beauty of nature.
The bus arrived in Banaue at around 8.00am. I then took, along with other tourists, a jeep bound for Sagada. That was another three and a half hours on the road. Rugged mountains, steep canyons and the world-famous rice terraces came into full view. Our first stop was at the Banaue Viewpoint where we had a nice glimpse of the rice terraces, shopped for souvenirs and snapped decent photos. The rest of the way was even more exciting. We cruised along Mt. Polis' fog-covered roads. A quick stop at the huge statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary midway gave us time to buy some light breakfast. By 11.00am, we started our descent to Bontoc. Some of us went inside the Bontoc Museum and was treated to a quick preview of Mountain Province's culture.
With the long travel getting the better of me, I dozed off the rest of the way. We finally got to Sagada by 12.45pm. We all then rushed to our respective lodgings, looking forward to a refreshing shower and a sumptuous lunch. I was glad that three of my fellow travelers – Chris, Laie and Mel -- were also staying in at the St. Joseph's Rest House. Chris and Laie are both seasoned mountaineers and members of a professional mountaineering club from Subic Bay. Mel is Chris' sister who had her share of hiking treks as well.
After a freezing shower (my inn doesn't have a water heater), a superb lunch at the St. Joseph Café and a mouth-watering dessert at the Yoghurt House, I went on to explore Sagada. I had a long but leisurely walk around the town. I went to several viewpoints, had several encounters with the famous hanging coffins of Sagada, went to the Anglican Church of Saint Mary the Virgin, the famous cemetery and the Echo Valley.
I also got myself some delicious locally-grown oranges and freshly-picked persimmons. I ended my tour with a tummy-filling dinner at Cuisina Igorota. By 7.00pm, the whole town was already very quiet and a deafening silence ensued. I spent the rest of the night reading and drowning a bottle of Sagada's rice wine with my new found friends.
I woke up from a very restful slumber ready for the long adventure planned for the day. By 9.00am, we were already trudging the path to Sumaguing Cave with our veteran guide Kuya Romeo on the lead. After 30 minutes, we were already starting our 150-meter-or-so descent to Sumaguing's bosom. We spent a good two hours working our way inside. That was the most fun spelunking I've ever done.
Tired but happy, we all went for lunch at the Yoghurt House. Food was great and the mountain tea calming. We were bracing ourselves for the afternoon hike to Bomod-ok Waterfalls, aptly called the Big Falls. Kuya Romeo picked us up from the diner at exactly 1.00pm for a 20-minute ride to the start-off point. We went up and down mountain tracks for an hour. A distant glimpse of the waterfalls gave us the needed kick to continue moving.
Moments later, we were all in awe of the beauty and size of the waterfalls. A quick dip in its freezing waters was enough to refresh me from the long walk down. Our guide had to cut our merriment because dark clouds were already starting to form. The way back was doubly exhausting. At 5.00pm, we were already talking about dinner.
After taking another freezing shower, I went back to my reading and waited for dinner. We all agreed to go to the diner early this time so as to secure seats. Our fantastic dinner was the perfect way of capping our stay in Sagada.
The morning after, as the bus was leaving, I found myself repeating, 'Sagada, I will be back, I will be back.'