TRAVEL SNIPPET 2011:Destination Mt. Province

I grabbed my ‘travel cologne’ then squeezed it in my bag and left home…

  

The Banaue Rice Terraces known as the "8th Wonder of the World"

I left home for at least three days to visit the Mt. Province as my second layover of traveling this year. I wear the same scent every time I travel, at least until that cologne runs out. I am very much in touch with my senses and we all know how a scent can bring back memories. Traveling is one experience I would always want to remember.

I never thought I will get to experience Sagada. It was just a dream until I decided to make it happen. I signed up for a group travel because I know I will not have the time to create my own itinerary. I know that being a backpacker is fun but I just don’t have the time to be one. I can only afford to be away from work for a couple of days so every minute should count. Besides, am not really a backpacker. I am more of a flashpacker.

The Sagada trip was supposed to be my ultimate test of independence because I originally planned to travel there alone; but, I just can’t hide the excitement to myself so I shared my plans with friends and tagged along two of my closest, Sugar and Phil. We realized it was a significant travel for each of us because the opportunity came in a perfect timing of both ‘a beginning’ and ‘an end’ of a certain phase in our lives.

It was a long drive. We were on the backmost seats of a Nissan Urvan. Needless to say, it was a pain in the butt! And am not cursing!

We left Manila 830 PM of a Thursday and arrived at the Aguian View Deck 5AM the next day to see the stunning Banaue Rice Terraces as seen in the one thousand peso bill. Did I say it was stunning?

My closest encounter with Banaue Rice Terraces was when I was in grade school in all my Philippine History subjects known in Tagalog as Hagdan-Hagdang Palayan. It was an amazing man-made wonder of the world – carved into the mountains by our indigenous people. The detail, the art, the function, the precision, the irrigation and everything else looked so perfect.

George Inn Annex

We checked in our Inns. We were assigned to the Annex location of George House. It was a nice cozy place with an amazing view of the municipality of Sagada.

I decided not to read any blogs about Sagada Travels. I restricted myself to just checking on photos of where I’m headed. I wanted to surprise myself; and boy! Did I?!

Bana's Cafe & Restaurant

Right after our lunch at Bana’s Café and Restaurant, we headed to the Lumiang Cave to see the entrance and the hanging coffins. We decided not to do a ‘cave connection’ because we were really tired coming from a shift the day before. We thought we already saved ourselves from body pains. We were wrong.

Splelunking @ Sumaguing Cave

Sumaguing Cave was the coolest cave I have ever been into. The tour guides oriented us on what we need to do and remember as we explore this famous cave. I have been into other caves. I have even survived a cave in Nicaragua where I experienced bats passing flying in front of my face so I thought, “Am sure I’ll do just fine in this cave.”

Well, I came out fine but it was one of the scariest things I ever had to do - to SURVIVE Sumaguing Cave.  If you are an adrenalin junkie, which I suspect I am and I just can’t admit it, then you wouldn’t ask me to write more but you will start planning your own itinerary to experience it yourself. During the course of exploring the cave, I told myself many times this - "Someone can actually die here".

After Sumaguing we headed to Log Cabin Restaurant to make a reservation for dinner after cleaning up our muddy and dirty selves. Log Cabin, to me, is one of Sagada’s finest restaurants. Their pasta was superb. Their host speaks English when serving and is a fan of Prince William and Kate. I can tell you the juicy details over a cup of coffee.

Log Cabin Restaurant

Our first night in Sagada was the best rest ever – pitch-black outside, very cold weather, deafening silence, extremely tired bodies, and minds trying hard to stay away from Manila. I slept like a baby.

Day Two – We left the hotel very early to catch the sunrise viewing at Kiltepan Rice Terraces. I have taken many shots of sunsets and I have always been a fan of looking ‘UP’.

My first close experience of sunrise was while on an airplane going to Amsterdam. I saw the most beautiful sunrise and I closed my eyes to smell it; at least in my imagination.

We got there on time and truly it was a breathtaking experience. I was surprised by the number of people waiting to welcome Mr. Sun. We were not disappointed. It was very quick. Both the cloud formation and the cool breeze joined us in welcoming the sun.

Kiltepan Rice Terraces

I closed my eyes and smelled it, again, at least in my imagination.

Sunrise as seen from Kiltepan Rice Terraces

What an amazing God I serve!


We had our breakfast after at Café Bodega near the Orange Farm which we didn’t care to visit since it’s not in season. We headed to the next adventure – trekking Banga-an Rice Terraces to see the Bomod-ok Falls and back for four grueling hours under the heat of the sun. All my running efforts during weekends paid off. I survived the trekking with a smile and sore muscles.

Lunch was served a little late in Saint Joseph Restaurant so we were still full when we started 

4 hours of trekking in Banga-an Terraces

walking to St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, Echo Valley and Hanging Coffins. The group is scheduled to see the small falls and the museums in town; but Sugar, Phil and I decided to immerse ourselves in the community. We went to the town proper and walked the streets to find food to eat, things to bring home and see the people. The food trip started with a reservation at Salt Pepper Diner for our dinner for that night. We, then, visited what we have been dying to visit, The Lemon Pie House and The Yogurt House. Needless to say, we were so full that we had to take our reserved Salt and Pepper food home.

Echo Valley & Sagada Weaving

Yougurt House

The next day, which was our last, we tried the lemon pie again and claimed our reserved boxes of pie for friends. We passed by Sagada Weaving House where I bought my favorite Sagada bag. We headed home after.

Lemon Pie

We passed by the highest point in Atok Benguet, and then bought fruits in the Strawberry Farm and ate lunch in Baguio.

As I travel to different places, I thought I’d feel the satisfaction ‘traveling’ can bring. I was wrong. It only ignites the excitement, the longing, the desire to experience more.

Off to Zambales for my third layover for Attraversiamo 2011...