Sagada Escapade

Aug 24 (Fri)

Head count, 2. It’s just me and Rosahlee leaving for Sagada. Mellany, Dory, Ava, Joyce and Marge have not confirmed so two brave souls, rain or shine pushed through as planned.

I stayed up late last night to fix the things I’m going to bring in our trip to Sagada. The weather looks fine though intermittently it rain in the afternoon. It was past 5:00pm when I called up Rosahlee at her office. She had reminded me of the “must have” stuffs in my backpack: sleeping bag, extra jacket, sleepers/mojo, flash light and above all, pocket money! From the list mentioned, I don’t remember packing any of those stuffs in my bag. Rosahlee was quipped to say “Don’t tell me you only bring camera and lenses in your bag!?” She of course based the essentials in our first Sagada experience it was sooo cold considering it was summer. I was hesitant to bring the bulky sleeping bag because I got the feeling that the weather is pleasantly beautiful in Sagada. Well, I still followed Rosahlee’s must haves for my own good =) “Mahirap na baka manigas ako sa lamig! Hahah”! I still have time to pack those essentials, so I called my cousin Gemma and requested the stuffs to be brought to our office in Ortigas.

After dinner, I left the office past 9pm. I took a cab and headed to Victory Liner, Pasay station. I texted Rosahlee that I was already at the terminal. In a few minutes, we met and boarded at exactly 11:00pm. Our route was bound for Baguio. Rachel and Ten, both OCMI members and real life sweethearts =), are also leaving for Sagada on the same day. They left 10pm onboard Autobus straight route from Manila to Banaue Sagada. So we will just meet them in Sagada.

Aug25 (Sat)

It took 7 hours travel from Manila to Baguio. We safely reached Baguio at 5:45am. Just as I stepped out of the bus, the cold weather sunk into my skin causing my sleepy head to wake up “aaargghr, ang lamig! ” Men were standing at the waiting area beside the bus station offering transient houses for rent. We decided to take breakfast at Chowking before going to Dangwa station. Since it’s going to be a long travel, we also bought packed lunch. The first trip to Sagada was at 6:00am followed by 7:30am trip. We’ve missed the first trip so we’re in for the second trip. A 70-seater non-aircon bus was waiting and already half-filled. The front and rear seats were occupied by Koreans. We were seated at seat nos. #33-34.

There were three stop-overs en route to Sagada. At each stop, fresh vegetables and snacks are being sold by the locals. One has to take advantage of these stops to eat, stretch and take pee, otherwise you’ll wait for hours for the next stop. The used to be bumpy and dusty roads to Sagada had now turned to wider and concrete roads. Some re-concreting of roads were still in progress.

We arrived safely in Sagada at 3:30pm. Rachel and Ten arrived earlier and had already settled at St. Joseph’s Inn. Their room cost PhP500/day. We’ve not eaten the packed lunch we bought at Chowking so we took the first inn we checked, Traveler’s Inn, and settled. August month is not peak season in Sagada so we’re the only guests that day. The ground floor has a mini grocery and a souvenir shop There were approximately 6 rooms on 2nd floor, I just don’t remember, there are rooms with 3 beds and common CR and a room with two beds with CR inside. The 3rd floor has similar set-up. There’s a common kitchen with free use of gas range. We got the room for two persons with CR and water heater inside; it cost PhP200/head, a little lower than the rate of George’s Guesthouse. We then ate our packed lunch inside the room.

After lunch we unpacked some of stuffs in our bag, wasted no time met with Rachel and Ten and walked around Sagada. We went to the famous Log Cabin Guesthouse and Café for dinner reservation. A visit in Sagada is not complete without the gastronomic buffet in Log Cabin sumptuously prepared by French Chef (a.k.a. Chef Aklay). He considered Sagada as his second home. Reservation is until 12noon, no walk-in except for Weekdays where they served regular menu. We met Mildred, whom introduced herself as the sister of the owner. She has a bubbly persona and very accommodating. She allowed us to take photos inside the restaurant. We met Chef Aklay in the kitchen busy preparing stuffs for dinner. He has nice built, tall, good-looking with natural curly hair. I wanted to take photo of Chef Aklay but he refused and jokingly told me “You need to get permission first from my mom.” Chef Aklay was camera shy! =)

We asked Mildred of nearby sightseeing and she suggested us to go to pottery. We were lucky enough to get a ride up the hill where the pottery was. Nobody’s around when we got inside the pottery. May be because it was weekend so there were no workers. We took pictures inside and headed back to the town. It was already 5:00pm. Usually it drizzles in the afternoon. We dropped by a souvenir shop bought a map and asked for a nice spot to explore for tomorrow. The man recommended us to hike Kiltepan upon seeing our cameras. He offered us to buy native coffee called Pidlisan but we promised that we will just go back tomorrow afternoon. We headed back to our house, took a bath then met with Rachel and Ten for the much-awaited dinner at Log Cabin.

Inside a cozy Log Cabin, you’ll hear a gentle background music, fresh flowers were set on each table with candle lit, and a fireplace completes the ambiance. It was a gastronomic feast for the four of us. Desserts and coffee were perfect combo. It only cost us PhP250! We talked over dinner our itinerary for tomorrow.

Aug26 (Sun)

Rosahlee’s mobile phone alarmed at 4:00am. The cold weather was tempting to sleep more after a long travel that we’ve been through yesterday. In a few minutes we woke up and Rosahlee called Rachel on the phone that we’ll meet them in front of George’s Guesthouse. The main entrance of their inn was of course still closed at that undgodly hour. Rachel and Ten were stuck inside and cannot find the other way out. The housekeeper was still sleeping and they don’t know where to find him. We agreed to go ahead. Rachel and Ten will just follow us at Kiltepan.

It’s 5:00am.”aaarghrrrr” cold! Lizardo bus was waiting for passengers in front of St.Theodore’s hospital. The bus usually leaves at exactly 5:00am followed by 6:30am trip going to Baguio. We started walking a few meters with no idea where Kiltepan was. All we have was a map for direction. After a while, Lizardo bus was approaching. We flagged it down and asked the driver to drop us at the jump-off site, approximately 300m from municipal hall. We’re lucky to have ridden the bus and asked for direction. There was no signage that would point the way to Kiltepan and there were no locals yet at that early morning to ask for direction. The ride cost PhP 15. From jump-off it’ll take 45 minutes to reach Kiltepan. The driver told us to just follow the trail and keep right. The trail was established already, it can even accommodate a 4x4 vehicle. One cannot get lost.

When we reached the summit, we were greeted by sunrise! Intermittently the fog would cover the panorama and the cold wind would blow on our face. It was such a fascinating moment to be with nature and experience this magnificent scenery. Rosahlee and I enjoyed every moment taking photos of the rice terraces and a village on top. Rachel and Ten followed few hours later. As promised, they brought a cookset with them and made coffee for us. What could be better than that?! Sipping coffee atop Kiltepan while looking at a magnificent view. I can feel the fog running through my skin. We were all thankful for that golden opportunity. We’re all elated as we descend the trail.

We walked from jump-off back to town. We were hoping that a bus would again pass by but unfortunately there was none. We went straight to Episcopal church where we met two local boys. They accompanied us at the Calvary, echo valley and in the hanging coffins. It was very tiring as you have to walk uphill and sometimes rolling. The boys never seem to get tired! =)

After an exhausting walk, Rosahlee and I decided to eat at Yoghurt House while Rachel and Ten went back to their inn and cooked lunch. Yoghurt House serves American menu. You can order various combinations of yoghurts, jams, cereals as well as pastas. All of them homemade, and go well with a hot cup of coffee. They also have tasty breakfast set menus that include the usual eggs, toast and other sandwiches. We had spaghetti with vegetables, triple decker tuna sandwich and banana yoghurt for lunch.

The hearty meal definitely recharged my worn out itchy feet =). We went back to Traveller’s Inn for the needed rest and hot shower. Around 3pm we called up Rachel and Ten and informed them that we will be going to a souvenir shop to buy the local Pidlisan coffee as we promised the man whom recommended to trek Kiltepan. Afterwards we met Rachel and Ten whom already arranged for the guide at the Municipal Hall going to Sumaguing cave. The cave trip cost PhP100 each. Freddy was the assigned guide for us whose been doing it for more than 10 years. So we’re safe with this guy, surely he knows the ins and outs of the cave. =)

From the Municipal Hall, Sumaguing cave is approximately 200m. We walked going to the cave. You can actually rent for a ride, of course that’s additional cost. We stopped at a nearby sari-sari store while Freddy got his lamp. The way going inside the cave was slippery. You can hear the bats “eeeking” and bats’ droppings are all over the place, from your hands and even on top of your head, ngek! =) But don’t worry, you get to wash your hands as there are flowing waters inside and for sure your whole body will get literally wet during the caving trip. I managed to take several shots inside the cave but did not attempt to go far where you have to cross the ledge with flowing waters. I have experienced the whole caving thing during my first Sagada trip though. I was afraid of what might happen to my camera. I didn’t take the risk. Dad did the same thing. Rachel and Ten went on with Freddy. It’s not really advisable to bring SLR camera inside the cave. A compact camera would be good enough to capture the images inside.

We’re lucky to get a ride on our way back. It was only 5pm when we got back to the Municipal Hall. Rachel and Ten went back to their inn to rest and prepare food for dinner. Dad and I went on for another food hunt, this time we dined at Masferre’s restaurant. Old photos were hanging on the walls depicting the unexploited images of rice terraces, the villages and natives of Sagada. All photos were beautifully captured back in the 1930-40’sby master photographer Eduardo Masferre',the Father of Philippine Photography, all in black and white. His works depict the unspoiled local customs and traditions of the Cordilleras. I hope his works and the images will be preserved or perhaps put in a museum. Taking picture inside the resto is not allowed.

Masferre’s restaurant offers Chinese and Filipino cuisines. We ordered chopsuey and beef steak which were very delicious, I liked the fresh veggy very much. After dinner we went back to Log Cabin for coffee but unfortunately they don’t serve walk-in diners even for just coffee. We decided to try St. Joseph’s restaurant but we’re too tired to walk as their location was too steep. We then went at Alfred’s for cup of coffee. We met and chat with Benedict who was there in Sagada along with other UP alumni. But he was dining alone, enjoying a quite moment. He was eating Alfredo’s special, a yellow rice mixed with veggy, and pork and egg on top. We later ordered and take out Alfredo’s special for tomorrow’s packed meal. We had a nice chat with him while drinking hot coffee.

Aug27 (Mon)

We failed to catch the 5:00am trip to Baguio so we took the next trip at 6:00am. The bus left at exactly 6:00am but it stopped now and then because of oil leak which caused us delay.

We arrived at Baguio past 1:00pm, went straight at Jollibee and bought lunch for take out. I had to sneak out to buy “pasalubong” at a nearby market that took me only15mins. to complete my list. We haven’t got ticket bound for Manila but as soon as we got in the terminal the driver had told us to already go inside the bus, as it’s about to leave. “Yehey! Uwi na kami!” =)

I highly recommend a visit to Sagada. A weekend getaway is fine but if you can stay longer do it. There’s so much beauty too see and experience, clear mountain air, slower pace of life, the cold weather, the friendly people of Sagada, the good company and most especially the succulent food. =)

I hope to visit again soon!