I’ve always wanted to visit Sagada. Countless friends and blogs have made me believe that this place up in the northern part of the Philippines is beautiful and an absolute must-see. Upon watching the movie That Thing Called Tadhana, that desire to see and experience Sagada just intensified.
After a long, exhausting, and emotionally taxing day in March, a friend of mine whom I met in a local book club asked me if I wanted to join the Banaue-Sagada-Baguio meetup trip that she and our mutual friend signed up for. It was scheduled in time for the Holy Week break. I usually don’t leave the house during this time but at the time my friend asked, I was emotional and I said to myself, to heck with it, I’m going. I logged on to Meetup (where both our book club and this trip were hosted) and RSVP’d YES. I had no plans of screaming in Mt. Kiltepan or even crying during this trip (like what Angelica Panganiban’s character did in the movie) despite the fact that I went through a painful breakup just a few months back. What I wanted was the opportunity to meet new people, make new friends and do something new.
But on the day of the trip, four people backed out of the trip (including two of my book club friends) because of the impending typhoon which was forecasted to hit the North. I almost didn’t go, too but 1) I already paid the downpayment which was not refundable, 2) the typhoon wasn’t supposed to land until Saturday; we’d already be on our way home by then, and 3) I really wanted to go. With coaxing from three of my friends, I finally decided to head to the meeting place. There was no turning back.
There were 13 of us in the rented van, including the driver. All strangers. No one knew each other (except Gigi who knew the driver and Rein). It was all new to me and while it felt a little bit scary at first, it was also very exciting and… freeing. It’s the first time I ever traveled with someone that’s not my ex-boyfriend and I was essentially alone. How liberating it was. We were told to bring with us, besides all travel essentials, positive attitude. You need it every time you travel solo or with friends or family but you need it more when you’re traveling with strangers.
It was a long trip to the Banaue, what with the thousands of vacationers also heading to Sagada and Baguio. The movie was very famous at the time of its commercial release. All roads led to Sagada on the night of April 1st. EDSA was hell, even at 11ish. But as I’ve said countless of times during the trip, ginusto natin ‘to eh.
We arrived in Banaue at 7am, an hour behind schedule. This was good, considering the traffic the previous night. We would later learn that we suck at sticking to plans and that our itinerary would be more of a suggestion than an actual plan.
Next stop was Halfway Lodge and Restaurant where we had our free breakfast. I have no photo of the group or the food but I can recommend the full breakfast, especially for travelers who’ve had a long, hungry night. This full breakfast is really… full. It has eggs, tocino, luncheon meat, rice, and a banana. Perfect start for a long day.
Breakfast was the first time that we really saw each other face-to-face. We were seated in a long table and Emman, the group’s funny man, started talking about his previous travels and asked us about ours. The guy’s been all over the Philippines. The rest of us shared where we’ve been. The only one who didn’t speak up was Thomas (and this would become a trend), a Chinese national who we’d later found out does not speak and understand English. He only talked to his companion, Victoria, also Chinese but very fluent in English.
After breakfast, we went to the Banaue Rice Terraces View Point where we took photos of… well, the Banaue Rice Terraces. Pictures cannot and will not fully describe just how beautiful the terraces are. But here, let me try…
We finally arrived at the lodge at around 1pm. I have no idea what the area is called but it was at least a 15-minute drive away from the town proper. (Later, during an SMH-worthy moment, we’d found out that it is 2 hours away from the town proper… on foot.)
Unfortunately, I don’t have a photo of the house we stayed in (I don’t think any of us do, how weird is that?) but I have several photos of the view in front of us.
It’s way past lunch time and we haven’t eaten yet. We were supposed to go spelunking at Lumiang and Sumaguing Cave during this time but Emman and Rein have tried caving before and found it overrated. I, on the other hand, found it daunting and dangerous because of the blogs I’ve read about Sumaguing. We weren’t that eager about this whole spelunking thing, not to mention we’re tired and hungry. So we decided we’d just have lunch and do the walking tour instead, which wasn’t supposed to happen until the following day. Told you we sucked at sticking to plans. Again, this would become a trend for us.
We had our lunch at Masferre’s Country Inn and Restaurant, a sort of canteen place where ready-to-eat meals are served. No waiting, you just point which food you want, pay it at the counter and you’re good to go. The food tastes good, not spectacular but okay, and is relatively affordable.
Now the Echo Valley walking tour begins. Our guide, Kuya Larry, brought us to the first stop, the Episcopal Church of Saint Mary the Virgin in the Poblacion. It’s an Anglican church established in the early 1900’s.
Next stop was Calvary Hill, the town’s burial site for the locals who died of disease, murder or accidents. War veterans were also buried here, as well as one of the Fallen 44.
Echo Valley is called such because of the bouncing sounds you’ll hear when you yell. The valley is said to be shaped like a large megaphone. Although there are lots of Hanging Coffins in Sagada, Echo Valley is one of the best spots to view the cliffs where these coffins are placed.
The process of hanging the coffins of the dead is an old tradition which was based on the belief that when loved ones call on to their dead, the spirits will find it easier to go to them, unlike when the dead are underground.
The trek continued after a brief stop to look at the Hanging Coffins. The end goal is the Underground River.
I suck at trekking, I really do. Especially when going down. I always have this feeling that I’m gonna slide and fall down. I’m pretty sure 90% of the photos I have on these guys’ phones show me holding on to the person nearest me. I guess after all those handholding I did with Mike, Arlene, and Claire, we had no choice but to become friends. Hahaha!
It’s also important to mention that since we didn’t think this would be a tedious trek and because we knew our feet would be wet from the barely-there river, we wore slippers. Semi bad idea. Also, we thought the cave was short (and I guess it is, compared to Sumaguing and Lumiang) so we didn’t bring our headlights and gloves. Another semi-bad idea.
Things I learned from this trek:
- Slippers are no good when even a light drizzle hits the ground. Better trek barefoot.
- Cloud 9 Salted Caramel energy bar tastes even more delicious after more than an hour of trekking.
- Never underestimate the importance of drinking water during treks.
- My travel buddies are cam-whores. Arlene, in particular, would literally stop whatever it is she’s doing when she hears someone shouting “Picture!” and she’d be ready with a smile and a pose.
At around 5pm we stopped by Sagada Weaving and looked at some of the stuff they sell. It was uneventful.
We were tired but we’re not done walking yet. On the way to the town proper, we passed by the hospital and saw the ER. Gigi, Mike and I couldn’t help laughing as we joked that we need to get out knees and legs checked out at the hospital first. Or maybe get some sleep on the hospital beds.
I should also mention that while all this is happening, while we were all getting to know each other, Thomas was just asleep in the house. Um.
For dinner, we went to Sagada Lemon Pie House out of curiosity about this famed lemon pie. There was no electricity in the town proper at the time so dinner was candle-lit. The table was so low, like at Japanese restaurants and you either sit on the floor or on short stools.
Alas, when we got there, there was no more lemon pie or any kind of pie at all. It was so disappointing because that’s really the reason we went there. But we were already seated and hungry and tired so we stayed and order rice meals and teas. Like in almost all restaurants in Sagada, the waiting time is long. We occupied ourselves with travel stories and recommendations and wishlists.
When food finally came (after 30, 40 minutes?) I wasn’t hungry anymore. I was not very hungry to begin with, which I found strange considering the strenuous activity we just did. Adrenaline rush, perhaps? But the food was okay. Not special but tasty enough. The mountain tea was good though.
Then it was finally time to go back to the house. We washed up and then at around 9pm, some of the guys built a bonfire (perfect for the cold night) and some of us gathered round for alcohol and hugot. It was time to get serious.
We traded stories, sob heartbreak stories to be exact, around the fire and made hugot until past 10. We finally realized that this group’s mostly made up of people who are either heartbroken and single or in complicated relationships. Our driver had the best hugot moments of the night, but that’s another story altogether.
And that’s Day 1 of my Banaue – Sagada – Baguio trip. It was an exhausting but fun day but I assure you, day 2 was even better. Stick around for more, okay?
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