I’m not a nature-loving type of person. Not that I tend to destroy nature, what I meant is that my idea of fun usually doesn’t involve images of trees, flowers, and skies -- especially when traveling. On my trips, I usually prefer exploring the city, food-tripping, and going to theme parks over hiking, trekking, rock-climbing, and similar stuff, so when I went to Sagada and fell in love with it, I was immensely astounded.
I couldn’t explain it. It was something I felt but couldn’t speak about. The lush greenery, the cool weather, the foggy skies—everything about Sagada hooked me in, and it was as if I wanted time to stop so I could stay there longer.
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| lovely view of the rice terraces on the way to Sagada |
It takes six hours to get to the Sagada, Mountain Province
from Baguio—six hours filled with amazing views: steep rock formations that flank
you as you drive through the narrow mountainside road; rice terraces looming
beyond the fences that safeguard you from the cliffs; clean rivers shrouded by
fog. Everything was picture-perfect!
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| with BJ, in one of the stop-overs from Baguio to Sagada |
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| on the way to Sagada |
Our trip to Sagada was an opportunity to relax after the 3rd Philippine Summer Ball competition in Baguio. Dancers from all over the country
participated, and my partner and I finished as fourth placers in Grade C Latin
and were in Top 11 in Grade B Latin—yey! Aside from being competitors, we were
also staff members and organizers of Summer Ball, so we were looking forward to
this Sagada trip to blow off some steam after that busy weekend.
Upon arriving in Sagada, we checked in at the very cozy and
quaint Masferre Hotel. We got to choose which rooms we liked, and naturally I
chose one with a balcony so I could smoke. When I saw our room, I instantly
loosened up. Incredibly spacious and cold—no need for air-conditioning! The
balcony was perfect for yosi sessions
and looking at the mountains. It was just awesome!
We settled in and made plans for the day. We had wanted to
go caving that afternoon but it rained so hard so we decided to postpone it to
the next morning. Our first day in Sagada, then, was spent in a nearby museum, the
Ganduyan Museum, wherein we learned about Igorot culture from an elderly woman
who spoke flawless English. There were lots of interesting knickknacks in the
museum like beads, kitchen utensils, weapons, bags, woven fabrics, statues, and
house decorations which are used to ward off evil spirits. All of these were
handmade by the incredibly talented Igorot people.
Outside the museum were some fish ball and kikiam stalls, so we munched on some
street food before going to our next stop, which was the Church of St. Mary the
Virgin. It was only a short walk to the church, and in order to go there we
treaded the muddy path and marveled at the trees lined up on our sides. We
weren’t able to enter though, because the church was closed.
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| Church of St. Mary the Virgin |
Farther along the path was the Sagada Cemetery, which was to
be honest, a bit creepy for me. My friends took some pictures of themselves
there; I refused to, lest I find myself with a ghost behind me when that
picture finds its way into Facebook.
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| my dancer friends |
We attempted to go to the Echo Valley, but it was quickly
getting dark so we found ourselves stumbling backwards. While trekking, we were
shouting random words into the void, into the dense forest, thinking that if we
heard our voices bounce back, then it means we were already in Echo Valley. I
know, we are stupid like that, we are like that sometimes. Haha!
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That night, we went to the Sagada Pine Café – an incredibly
cool, reggae-themed bar reminiscent of Cubao X. The place’s concept was simple:
grab a beer and sit anywhere you like. With its wooden benches, posters, and the
organized clutter, one would think it was a bedroom of a high-schooler dreaming
to be a musician, transformed into a bar. I totally loved the laid-back
ambience and the relaxing reggae, bossa, and samba music. Good music and cold
beer always blend well.
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| my favorite spot at the Sagada Pine Cafe |
Sagada Pine Café was truly an amazing way to cap off our
night. After a few bottles of beer, we decided to call it a day and get some
rest in our hotel. We didn’t, though—what makes you think we did? As I always
say, a vacation should be maximized, so naturally we horsed around the hotel
until we had no choice but to collapse into exhaustion. Our first day in Sagada
was certainly a blast.
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| "graffiti" wall |
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| with my friends, BJ and Jaypee |
~*~
Other blogs under the “Sagada series”
- Spelunking in Sagada: The Lumiang-Sumaguing Cave Connection Adventure
- The Epic (Fail) Trek to Bomod-ok Falls
- Sagada Snapshot: The Kiltepan Sunrise
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Great share of Sagada adventure...
ReplyDeleteThanks Ian! Nice blog you got too! You've travelled so much. :)
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