Roadtrip 2010: The Banaue -Sagada experience (part 3)

Part 3 of a series.

April 3, 2010
Day 3: Batad day

We were excited for this day because we are on the path to finding a great waterfalls. They said that it was going to be a 45-minute trek going to the falls and that we do not need to worry since there is a pathway good enough to walk on.

The thing is it was about a 2-hour drive going to the start of the trek. And it was literally a ride going up the mountains. It was a long, bumpy ride. When we got at the site, we rented out walking sticks at 10 pesos each. They said we were gonna need it along the way. The whole group came -- including our baby boy Zye. We wouldn't want him to miss that falls.

The start of the trailHalf way there? Not yet! But the view was great.

The trail was loooong! Honestly, it wasn't a 45-minute walk. From the start of the trail up to this stop ( picture below) it must have been a whopping 1 hour already! And we were only half way there.

PITSTOP ONE

A quite difficult trail. The walking stick was indeed needed. Yes, we walked across the terraces..literally. Where is the falls? Somewhere else. This is PITSTOP TWO.

So after more than an hour we finally were done walking across the rice terraces only to find out that there is yet another hour to reach the falls. SERIOUSLY!!! That was too much for most of the oldies. But we didn't come all the way to not see that intriguing falls. So the four cavers (Me, hubby, Nikki and Renna) along with my FIL and MIL went on. The picture above is a bird's eyeview of the trail going to the falls. This was over looking the trail at the first stop from PITSTOP TWO. It wasn't the greatest sight to see. It was quite a dangerous trail most especially if it rains.

At last!!!! The falls is real!!! We saw it, we came, we conquered. It was perfect! The sound of rushing water was great to wipe out all complains we had. Still a few more to go to finally reach the swimming area of the falls.I think we spent just about 30-45 minutes at the falls because we still had to walk back again. Uugh! I honestly did not want to walk anymore. But there was no easy way going back. We did not even change clothes. We just let ourselves dry up while walking and when we got back at PITSTOP TWO we were dry as El Nino. At about 12NN everyone was walking back again across the rice terraces under the scorching sun. Struggling is the word. When we got to PITSTOP ONE, we were famished. Finally, lunch! Our lunch was also an experience. No, not the food. But the food server. He did not like getting orders all at the same time, you have to wait for him to finish one thing before asking for something else, and the best thing? He had us computing for what we ate and gave us tip for doing so. Funny!

A small "falls" which also is a swimming spot free for all. Our last photo opportunity after our Batad experience.

We got back to Banaue at around 5:30PM. At around 7PM we were off the road again going back to Manila. Still tired but smiling from the great adventure we just had. Our road trip for 2010 was a blast! We can't wait for the next trip.

Some great tips if you are going to Banaue-Sagada:

1. Spend one day in Banaue, overnight stay in Sagada, and overnight stay in Batad to fully enjoy the trip. That's roughly about 4-5 days of well spent nature trip.

2. Make sure to bring camera -- whatever you have bring it.

3. Leave only footsteps. Don't litter.

4. Essentials for the Batad falls trekking: Water, towel, extra shirt, walking stick, candy, energy bar, sunblock

5. Wear comfortable clothes when you go caving. If you are physically fit, the interconnecting cave is much more fun.

6. HAVE FUN and ENJOY GOD'S AMAZING WORK!!!

Roadtrip 2010: The Banaue-Sagada Experience (part 2)

Part 2 of a series.

April 2, 2010
Day 2: Sagada day

At 5AM the group was busy preparing to go already. We were off to an early start so that we can go back early as well and make sure that we don't get caught in Sagada come night time. At around 5:30AM, we were already driving away from Banaue. It was another long drive going to Sagada. Roughly around 3 hours from Banaue if my memory serves me right (which includes the stops we had for picture taking). I think that the roadtrip from Banaue to Sagada is not measured in miles but in the number of mountains that you are gonna be crossing.

After 30 minutes of driving, we saw a tower from way up the mountains and so my in-laws told us, when we get there we are half-way near Sagada. And it was like --- what the?! Seriously. Because we saw ourselves getting near the tower. Until we saw ourselves having a stop over at THE tower. And darn, it was freezing up there

After sipping coffee, we headed back on the road. And stopped again at the sight of a village of rice terraces.
After another hour or so,we finally saw the sign: Welcome to Sagada

Just along the road before going to Sagada proper, we took a hard stop We saw the famous hanging coffins which really looked like amazing big stones. Of course, this was another photo opportunity.

Breakfast was first. Before doing so, we registered first for the Sagada Caving exerience, just the four of us: Me, hubby, Nikki and Renna. The oldies had to wait or else the caving may take the whole day. Of course, that's exaggerating it. After the registration, we got to a basement of some sort for breakfast. Nothing fancy but the red rice was an experience. Now, off to the cave! We stopped at the registration center to look for our guide. Oskie was the one guide assigned to us.


Pictures first at the entrance of the cave. While Oskie lights up the lamp, we surveyed what's in store for us. Dark, cold. But there were a lot of people so it wasn't too scary.

The caving experience was nice. It was a matter of knowing how to follow instructions basically. I can sum it up in three parts: The "smelly" part, the "watery" part and the "climb". I'll let the pictures speak for itself and leave you with your imagination. Over-all it was worth the experience.

The cavers: (from left - clockwise) Renna, Dingdong, Nikki, Jown

It took us around an hour and a half to finish the caving as we got to have enough proof that we did it. After that we took a shower, changed clothes then off to see Sagada. We tried going to a "small falls" but the path is not too nice. The little twigs that fell off made the soil too slippery so we went a few hills down and got pictures of the green rice terraces then we went to what Oskie referred to as a water cave. Funny thing was, there was no water due to El Nino. We drove home after that, wanting to be back in Banaue before it gets dark.

The group in the "underground water" tunnel -- without the water!

We had a feast of binagoongan, chubby cheesedogs, green manggo, and tilapia for dinner. Then we helped ourselves for some videoke. Tomorrow, we go to Batad falls in the morning and straight home the next day.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Road trip 2010: The Banaue-Sagada experience

Two weeks before April 1, 2010:

The search

Since my in-laws have been to Banaue, we already had a place in mind.I called Manong Noel of Hiwang Native Inn to reserve ourselve a placegood for 9 adults and 1 toddler. Unfortunately (though it became afortunate event too) there weren't any vacant huts for the coming holyweek. Crap! Where are we suppose to go now? Found the guts to ask Manong Noel if he can refer us to a place. After an hour, somebody texted me offering their lodge. I don't have a clue where it is, some bathrooms apparently had leaks but were usable, the place didn't have an official name because they normally just offer it to friends or friends of friends. I've tried texting other lodge/inn/hotel (mostly found from web search) but opted for the one the Manong Noel referred simply because they don't even ask for any reservation fee. So I confirmed with Dianne, the contact person for the lodge, the time and day of our arrival. She agreed to meet us at the hall of justice of Banaue. We got three rooms, each room at Php800/night good for 3 persons (With Toilet/Bathroom). Php200 for every an additional bed. There were 9 of us plus our son so three rooms were enough for our accommodation. Several days after, I asked Dianne if we can do our own cooking and she said that they'll do something about it since the main kitchen is only for the caretakers. We also have the option to just order for food if in case we get too tired to prepare one.

March 31, 2010
The "getting there" part

Since we were bringing two vehicles, we decided to meet-up at a gasoline station near Makro Cubao. Excited probably, Dingdong wasn't able to catch a nap after work and we decided to leave our house early with the anticipation of heavy traffic due to the long weekend (Long weekend = out-of-town trips). It was a 9 hour drive from Manila to Banaue, having just one main stop over for coffee. The road was quite a curve at times, a little steep, mostly a little dark. I'm glad that Zye wasn't really a headache during the whole trip. He was awake for the first two hours and slept his heart out until we reached our stop over. He slept again a few minutes after we hit the road.

Coffee stop

April 1, 2010
Entering Banaue

Our official time of arrival in Banaue: 6:45 AM. Took some time taking photos of the vast mountaneous area. Wish it wasn't El Nino so that the scenery would have been much greener. But the cool, crisp air and just the thought of nature at its best was enough to capture us. After some group shots, I sent Dianne a message that we were in Banaue already. At around 7:15AM we were already at the Hall of Justice, taking turns in having our pictures taken. This petite, young lady approached me and I immediately asked if she was Dianne. She apologized that the place was still getting cleaned up but we can drive there already. The group hurriedly hopped back in the vans and off we go to our accommodation.

Normally when you say lodge, you wouldn't really expect as much. I mean, it is probably a decent place to spend the night in but that's just about it. When we got to the lodge, it was a three-story building, more inclined to look like a house of a wealthy person rather than a lodge. The reception area at the first floor was nice and cozy. We got to the third floor where 5 rooms were located and so is a dining hall that is overlooking a great view of rice terraces. Yes! It was an amazing sight! Imagine the rays of the sun trying to sneak a peak amidst the morning fog over the man-made rice terraces -- and having this backdrop while having your morning coffee. Loved it! We were "wowed" on how nice the lodge was. There was a refrigerator that can be used, they have coffee (for free) if in case you don't have your own, and they have set-up a stove for our use as well as a make-shift waterhose at the second floor which we can use for washing our dishes. Cool. Dianne, her cousin and brothers were sooooo accommodating (yes, had to put more "o" for emphasis). When the rooms were all cleaned, we headed to our room assignments. Each room had its own toilet/bathroom , a queen size bed, a wooden closet, a table and a mirror. Each of the rooms were given their own water heater too so that means no cold showers for us! The rooms were not airconditioned nor did it have any electric fans. But it was cool enough to still have a good night sleep and though there were those flying insects at night (mostly drawn to the light), it was surprising that we did not experience any mosquito bites.

The dining hall overlooking Banaue mountains and terraces

Settling at the dining hall

Terrace outside the dining hall -- overlooking a great scenery!

Room invasion: one of the rooms we reserved (still with a magnificent view)

Day 1: Banaue day

Everyone was tired from the 9-hour trip. So after eating breakfast, we all dozed off. We woke up at around 12NN. We then discussed our itinerary and asked Dianne for suggestions on where the nice tourist spots are. She enumerated a few and we had to do computations on how long it will take us to go there. We needed to maximize our stay and had to plan well. Since half of the day was almost over, we decided to just visit nearby places: Banaue veiw deck and Hiwang native inn. It was ther perfect excuse to have all sorts of pictures taken. We specifically enjoyed being at Hiwang and how it felt like you were nearing the heavens, overseeing the earth, while voices of a praise and worship team echo. It was perfect. Got back at the lodge at around 6PM. We just ordered food and headed off early to bed that night because the next day was Sagada day.

At the view deck

At Hiwang

The native huts of Banaue

Having fun at Hiwang

View of Banaue at the hills of Hiwang

TO BE CONTINUED...