I have to say this was my favorite part of the trip
our original plan was to go to Kiltepan early in the morning in time for the sunrise. our guide Kuya Daryl suggested however that we go to Marlboro instead anticipating that most trekkers will have Kiltepan in their itineraries
the only catch was that we had to be ready to go by 3 am
so the night before we already had taken our showers para we don't freeze to death by taking a 2 am shower haha
we were all up by 2:30 am and Kuya Daryl picked us as scheduled
it was about a 20 minute drive to Marlboro
the lights of the FX we used were still on kaya we had a bit of a light at the onset. the rest of the trek however we relied on flash lights na lang
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| chilly morning, icy breath |
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| finally reaching Marlboro |
yun pala he was planning on building a bonfire to help rid of the cold
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| ah heat finally |
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| roasting spanish bread on an open fire.. |
in fairness masarap ang tinapay at Chocolate flavored pa ang 3-in-1 coffee :)
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| Jeff enjoying his bread on a stick |
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| what a great way to start the day! |
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| not exactly sure what the story behind this shot is. ang astig lang kaya andito. hehe |
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| finally daylight... |
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| though the moon and the fog remains |
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| we still huddle by the fire amidst the bit of sunlight |
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| welcoming the sun! |
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| golden rays of light
since we've been in the campsite for about 2 hours na, we moved to a different side naman
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| the hills are alive... |
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| Marlboro |
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| me and my Cowboy hat - bagay sa Malboro | eep ang payat ni Jeff dito |
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| buti matiyaga mag-take ng photos si Kuya! |
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| yes.. pang-mountaineers talaga ang get-up |
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| by the foggy ravine |
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| peek-a-boo Jeff |
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| half-skip-half-jump |
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| my classic jump |
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| go Chai! |
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| Katie's Hindu jump |
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| pa-hard to get jump |
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| group flight! |
I really love this place! and we had a blast just by taking photos
and we just can't take enough. haha
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| emo moment |
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| haha, parang hinahampas lang |
one final shot before heading back down
but we actually did more than that.. we even filmed an MTV! Gangnam-Sagada style!
though not sure if I should post that here. haha. let me get everyone's consent muna. ;)
finally the descent
and into the woods which we blindly passed through earlier
we got back to the end of the trail I think around 8 am and decided to have a 'full' breakfast meal at Rock Inn Cafe
on our way though, we saw a lot of other hikers presumably from Kiltepan headed there too, so we figured it would be better going somewhere else for breakfast
the place had an "Ifugao" feel to it. haha for lack of a better word. I liked the draperies and the lamps and they showcased a lot of tribal photos. however they didn't allow guests to take photos of these.
the place was pretty packed. so it took awhile for our orders to be served.
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| Katie enjoying her cup of hot chocolate |
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| Mexican Pork meal for Jeff |
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| Beef Tapa for me |
the meals were okay. nothing extraordinary sa tapa and interesting mix on the pork but didn't like its herby-after taste
noticed too that meals from the known restos here in Sagada have the same price range and a little on the steep side at that. and not too sure it's worth the price
and to top off our meals, syempre we had yoghurt for dessert!
yoghurt is really not for me. but I did like the cookies that topped the yoghurt though
since we still had a long day ahead of us and we already lost a lot of time waiting for our breakfast to be served plus it was getting quite sunny, we made a quick dash for the hotel to freshen up and change
by 10:30 am we were off to the waterfalls!
original plan was to go to Pongas, but Kuya Daryl figured it would be like a mall by that time, so he recommended we go to the Big Falls instead
it was at least a 20-25 minute drive to the Big Falls
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| registration |
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| cute pooch! |
buti na lang the view was just amazing so you would hardly feel tired!
and bountiful sunflower bushes all around!
half way down we had a stop over for another registration. and we had a change in our guide
now back to the trail and going further down..
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| passing by an old hut |
through the rice terraces
and over rocks
and finally the water falls!
such a relief after enduring the heat on the way down
mukhang there were that many people in Sagada that weekend because the water fall area was quite packed!
we made our way towards the falls but it was pretty hard taking photos with our cameras because of the mist
Jeff and Chai were very determined to swim though
kahit the water was freezing haha
hindi talaga pa-awat
this jump was quite unfortunate though kasi nagka-injury si Chai from a rock underwater. good thing it wasn't anything major
Katie and Jeff found a special friend. who seemed to know his way around the rocks
though I think mas close kami, haha
misty shots closer to the falls
before heading back up, we took a quick snack break of our leftover food from the previous night, haha
and finally we were ready for the trek back up!
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| Katie and her 'dwarves' |
detour muna for a shot at the hanging bridge!
finally a familiar place reminding us that we're closer to the top
we took a different route from that point which was more leveled haha so it was quite easier
Jeff fooling around since we were ahead of the group
and of course, his favorite move: planking!
yun pala he was also scheming to prank Katie and Chai
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| surprise right ahead! |
this time with the rest of the group
and finally back up!
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| we've come a long way! |
instead of the registration area where we started, we ended up behind a school
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| no smoking, no spitting of momma |
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| back at the van: dead tired and hungry |
it was almost 3 pm na when we got back to the hotel and we haven't even had lunch yet. so we set out to the marketplace since they were craving for Arroz Caldo. we actually stopped by the Strawberry Cafe since they recall seeing it in the menu. however they ran out of it na as this was usually served in the morning.
as we were also in search for an ATM machine, we chanced upon the Sagada canteen and decided to try it na rin
interestingly enough they had the same line-up of dishes served in the more popular restos we've eaten at
but at half the price
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| Chicken Curry |
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| Chicken Adobo |
and we were even given a free dish!
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| Chopsuey |
the food was good and very generous ang serving size
they also had friendly servers
nagpa-picture kami kay Ate and she thought we meant that we wanted to have a photo WITH her. hehe. we didn't bother explaining na and just took a photo of her with Katie and Chai. pero syempre we requested to have her take a photo of us na lang. haha
with the few remaining hours and still a number of places to go to, we headed on out back to the road
haha funny lang na kung kelan we were close to ending our trip e dun pa lang kami nagkaron ng chance to go around the town itself and had these photos taken
this was on the way to our next stop: Sagada Weaving
unfortunately we weren't allowed to take photos inside and we found the products a but pricey so I only ended up buying a map of Sagada (which was a tad bit late na to be of use to us) and a string bracelet
a good find though was Navales Bakeshop which turned out to be the place where Kuya Daryl got those tasty spanish bread earlier
apart from the spanish bread they also sold pan de sal, pan de coco and cinnamon bread! all priced at 19 pesos/pack!
we all bought a pack each and figured we could have it for meryenda with coffee or for the morning after when we're traveling back home
with breads in tow, we headed next to the church
this was the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, and I only found out about it while doing this blog post. hehe. I only found out too that the Sagada Museum was the structure fronting the entrance to the church. sayang we didn't get to check that out na.
at the back of the church naman was the way towards Echo Valley where we were supposed to wait for the sun to set. however, medyo nahuli kami kasi when we got there most of the people were going opposite our direction
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| to and fro |
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| yellow sunflowers and yellow plastic bags haha |
the rest of the time then we spent taking photos and recreating scenes from a movie
take a guess na lang what movie involves lovers and lot of pine trees
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| still goofing off |
when we got there though Jeff said they had like a sort of ceremony going on so we didn't bother going up anymore
so we went to shop for souvenirs instead
I got a Sagada shirt and a container of oatmeal cookies. we were stopping by Baguio anyway, so I figured I could buy other pasalubong pa from there
the thing though is we've not completely settled how we're actually getting home the following day. our guide, Kuya Daryl offered to take us to Baguio since he was bringing his boss' van there anyway. kaso we have yet to agree on the price
finally, we bring the day to a close. but not until dinner!
dahil we were running out of ammo hehe and tinamad na rin to eat out, we bought about 8 packs of pansit canton and requested the hotel to cook the pansit for us na lang!
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| lamon time! |
still uncertain about our way home, we all got up early, prepared and waited for Kuya Daryl. kaso past 5 am he still has not arrived and was not picking up his phone.
knowing there was a bus leaving for Baguio at 5 am, we hurriedly left, having settled the bill naman the night before
good thing, umabot kami though mahaba na ang lines. at least the bus has yet to start boarding
though the bus didn't leave until about past 7. at least naman we had secured seats na
we got to Baguio by 1 pm. and this was when the anxiety started again. we went to Victory Liner to buy tickets and planned to have lunch muna. kaso when we got to the counter, ang next sure trip was 1 am of the following day pa!
we decided to check other liners like Genesis, but when we got to the terminal, all full trips na rin. we tried to wait for Philippine Rabbit bus lines, kaso mukhang paakyat pa lang ng Baguio yung next bus.
good thing, may dumating na Genesis bus and Jeff and Chai got to reserve seats for us! whew!
it was a looong trip back but just glad to be able to come home that night
Sagada was quite an experience. I would really love to go back but make sure I get to stay longer. will be sure to be prepared with more food and warmer clothing hehe and be more ready in terms of transportation options :)
btw, we got certificates pala for signing up in the package tours
highly recommend our guide too Daryl Bolares. but only for the tour within Sagada ;) not sure I can vouch for him anything past that. haha
His contact info as follows:
darylnico@yahoo.com or via saggas.net
0918-3549525
Sharing as well the map I bought at Sagada Weaving. just click on image below to enlarge
and finally my Sagada blog post is complete! :)
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