Northern Philippines: Sagada

This Igorot boy was my quiet seatmate during our bumpy 7-hour bus ride from Baguio to Sagada. My brother O, my friend Kikoy and I were trying to sleep as soundly as he was, but the shaking bus on the zigzag roads made us sway all over the place.

We had scheduled our arrival to fall on the first day of November in order to witness Sagada's unique All Soul's day tradition. Instead of lighting candles for their beloved departed, they light bonfires next to every newly-painted tomb. Imagine the unusual sight that greeted us as we approached the cemetery on a hill where countless bonfires were kept burning amidst the white tombs.

These boys were either escaping the fumes or simply enjoying the scenery of bonfire. They're probably smoking the weed, too, but Sagadans do not appreciate visitors' misconception that marijuana is widely used here. So no, the locals did not take us to the plantations.

Meanwhile on another mountain not far away, a friend of mine also went trekking somewhere in the neighboring province of Kalinga (still part of Cordillera)... They ended up camping right on a huge marijuana plantation! On their trip back to Manila, some of their backpacks were inspected at the checkpoint. Luckily, she was with "experienced" mountaineers, so none of them got caught with the weed!

SPELUNKING IN SAGADA!
That's me and my brother exploring the cavernous halls and subterranean channels of vast Sumaguing Cave. It was an interesting caving experience which allowed us to literally "interact" with the cave! We got to climb the rocks, slide on them, crouch under, wade on high water and swim through passageways.

The best part was squeezing through incredibly narrow rock crevices, holes so tight that our guide had to instruct us which body part to slide first - the feet or the head! We also climbed with a rope at one point, crawl with our bare hands, experiencing the various textures of the underground rocks.

When we dared to swim in one of the subterranean pools, I forgot to prepare myself for the freezing water temperature and just took the plunge. After I got out of the water sooner than planned, I stood next to a gigantic rock, felt it with my bare hands and I swear I felt a thud, I felt something! I sensed a vibration, more like life energy ........ the cave was alive!



UP NEXT........ BANAUE RICE TERRACES AND THE IFUGAOS.

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On May 13, 2006, I joined 68 volunteers (Ayala Mountaineers) to help bring school supplies for these school children. They're from Lacub, an isolated village in Abra, another province in the Cordillera Region.

After a 9-hour bus ride from Manila, followed by a bumpy jeepney ride for 4 hours on rough and dusty roads, we immediately started our trek on the expansive slopes of Lacub’s verdant mountains. Bathing in the river at sunset after our 6-hour climb was my exhausting day's reward!