[Feb 24-25, 2012]
Yes I did. I fell in love with this place from the moment I got here.
Here's the story:
We left Dangwa Terminal in Baguio City at around 6:30AM but we actually arrived at the terminal an hour before. Oh it was cooooold! We had to be there that early to be able to get tickets so we can get good seats as well. When the Lizardo Transit Bus arrived, it was filled in less than 15 mins and the off we go!
But just an hour away from Baguio, this was all we saw....7 hours of this heavenly scenery!
Endless mountain ranges and rice terraces--so awesome for an island girl like me.
But honestly, the road wasn't at all awesome, it was terrifying! It looked like a one-way street all the way. The road we tread was so narrow and inclined. I had to force myself to sleep just so I can survive the trip. But I made a promise to myself --"if this old lady sitting in front of me can calmly bring herself together, acting like this is just a quick ride to the park,then I can get through this too!"
She was my inspiration.
Though I didn't get to enjoy much of the view outside, I'm still thankful my partner was diligent enough to take some pictures--just like this.
And about less than 2 hours away from our destination we had a quick stop for meal & bathroom break.
Please excuse the socks. I'm not accustomed to this weather. B-)
Oh, but I think he is :D
my sweet pillow during the entire trip :-*
Finally! After all the twists and turns, we made it here in Sagada---safe. Thank you Lord!
Our bus dropped us off near the municial hall so all tourists could register. We also informed our contact person of our arrival and we agreed to meet up inside the hall.
Our guide (whose identity will be revealed later) asked us if we have arranged for a place to stay. Unfortunately, I was not able to receive a confirmation from the famouse Residential Inn so he suggested another place for us.
One of the very first things I learned about Sagada is that--they have no public transportation. what?! so if you come here in a group then you should rent a van to help you go to places faster. Since there's only two of us on a budget travel...we had to walk to our lodging. Good thing the weather was perfect for walking.
According to our guide this is the only national road in the entire country that has a dead end.
I noticed that most of their establishments reach upto the 3rd floor with well defined structures. Most of them are inspired by modern architecture.
After a few hundred meters of walking we finally reached Kanip-aw Pines View Lodge which is situated atop of a small hill. They only asked for 250 for a room that is spacious enough for 4 people with complete set of lines and hot and cold shower. We definitely didn't any airconditioning nor a fan since it's about less than 20 degrees here in the Mt. Province.
Though we wanted to enjoy the comfort of our room we didn't have much time because we still need to grab our lunch before we go for our extreme adventure: Cave Connection.
We hurriedly settled our things and asked our guide to meet us after an hour. After we changed into our caving attires, we also put on some sunblock (this place is cold but Mr.Sun is still the boss around here, we wouldn't want to end up with sunburn 8-D )
With our camera, dry bag and headlights on hand we immediately searched for a place to eat.
We ended up here at the Salt and Pepper Diner. I was able to research about this place when I was still making our itinerary and comments were great. So here we are wanting to taste that deli they were all talking about.
And yes it was true, what they said, that in Sagada, you will have to wait for your food for several minutes because they are actually cooking it--not in the fastfood kind of way. As a result, we were able to munch on our food past 1PM already. All the wait was worth it. We were so full and satiated and ready for our adventure!
Since there was definitely no time to waste, we met up with our guide after lunch and started our trek towards the entrance of our first cave----which I will share in detail in my next post.
As we trailed on to our destination, we get to know our guide better. First timers as we are, we also wanted to make sure that we will be in good hands for this famously dubbed 'extreme adventure caving' experience.
As we trailed on to our destination, we get to know our guide better. First timers as we are, we also wanted to make sure that we will be in good hands for this famously dubbed 'extreme adventure caving' experience.
He also told us about their very simple way of life and the reason why they don't have public transportation here is because of the noise it brings. Since most of them are farmers, their principle is "early to bed, early to rise." So they need to avoid noise in the night as they need to get a good night sleep to prepare themselves for a whole day's work in the rice fields. He further told us that before they consider working in the field as their primary source of living, but because of the rapid growth of tourism in Sagada, most of their men are no longer working as Farmers. Instead, they are now tourist guides. But mind you, they are no ordinary tourist guides for they are well -trained and well-disciplined. They are professionals in their field and they have formed themselves an organization that have regulated their activities over the years. More commonly known as SAGGAS or Sagada Genuine Guides Association was founded by no other than:
our guide!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We could not have been luckier! When he said he was actually the founder of SAGGAS, all my worries just vanished! Earlier while we were still on the bus, all I ever prayed for was for us to be safe and what more to keep us safe than having thE expert as our guide! It was such honor for us to have met him because there was not a hint of arrogance from him. He was full of humility and wisdom!
You can view his complete profile here: John Magwilang.
Because of that, our excitement went up another level! hehe!
Among the things Kuya John shared to us was the fact that Sagada was actually underwater millions of years ago BUT now, it's about 5,000 feet above sea level.
As evidenced by the type of rock formations you can see behind us, indeed Sagada was submerged under the sea. These types of rocks are also found in Mactan, the island in Cebu where I grew up where they can be well appreciated during low tide. In Bisaya, we call them "kaga-angan".
This particular portion is considered as a viewing deck as it is basically on a cliff overlooking the amazing view of this Cordillera jewel. It is where most tourists stop for photo-ops right before they reach the Caves.
And after just a few more meters. We finally made it to the entrance of our first cave: Lumiang!
Waaaaah! It made my heart leaped with excitement and a little bit of anxiety! We're finally here!
[please refer to next post for details regarding our Cave Connection Adventure]
