Mount Pulag,
Kabayan, Benguet
My
northern adventure began on the night of March 10, 2015 when I boarded a plane
from Davao City going to Manila. After landing, I went straight to Victory
Liner in Pasay City and rode on the 11:15PM bus bound for Baguio City. I
arrived at Baguio City at around 6:00AM the next day, ate breakfast and went to
the van terminal bound for Kabayan, Benguet. Since I do not know the place, I
told the driver to drop me off DENR Ambangueg. It was a 3-hour ride and I
realized when we stopped over a restaurant after an hour and a half that I was
the only female among the passengers. But I sensed the rest of the passengers
were nice people. My seatmate whom I guessed was at his sixties was even kind
enough to tell me the names of the beautiful sights and places we passed by,
including the Ambuklao Dam. I believe he
was just so proud of his place, but he should be.
At
DENR Ambangueg I registered for my Mt. Pulag climb and had an orientation. Then
I rode on a ‘habal-habal’ for the
price of P500.00 for a 45-minute ride going up the Ranger Station to enlist
myself again for the climb and pay the Environmental Fee and fees for guide and
porter. They charged P600.00 for the guide and another P600.00 for the porter. The
guide is a must, the porter is optional.I also rented a tent and a sleeping bag
there. The Scout Ranger even gave me his number for contacts in case of
emergency. I appreciatedtheir organized and systematic procedure of Mt. Pulag
climb. That, I understand, is how sacred the mountain is for them.
After
lunch, we started our trek. At about 4:00PM we reached Camp 2 and decided to
fix my tent there because it was already drizzling. At 4:00AM the next day, we
began our climb to the summit and it was freezing cold. Along the trail, we met
other climbers who slept-over in other camps. At about 6:30AM we reached the
summit and it was still dark. We waited for the sunrise. And there it was, the
beautiful sunrise revealed the sea of clouds. It was about 12:00NN when I got
back at DENR, logged-out, fixed myself and had lunch.
Baguio City
Since
there was no public vehicle direct from Ambangueg to Sagada, I went back to
Baguio City. I had a prompt tour around the city and got a taste of
strawberries. Had a few hours sleep in an inn to have energy to catch the early
trip to Sagada the next day. Though I’ve been in Sagada the year before, I
still wanted to go there even just for a day. It’s one of the places that I
want to keep coming back to. I even want to live there, hehe.
Sagada
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| Market day in Sagada. |
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| Bob Marley bar. |
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| St. Mary the Virgin Church. |
Bontoc
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| Tools of early Bontoc tribe. |
Banaue
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| The amazing Banaue Rice Terraces. Largest human-made architecture. |
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| Finding foreigner friends in Banaue. |
My trip to Banaue was a surprise. I
really have no plans of going to Banaue again since, the year before, I already
saw the Banaue Rice Terraces, the one in the One Thousand Peso bill. I was
planning to go to Nueva Viscaya but I was not able to catch the
last trip to Solano. Fortunately, there was a van, a special trip to Banaue
since there were passengers who requested. The driver told me that I could take a jeepney from Banaue to Solano. But we arrived Banawe at almost 6:00 o'clock, so I decided to stay overnight. It was just a right decision. I was amazed to discover that most tourists visiting Banaue are foreigners. I was even mistaken for a Vietnamese, hehe. I stayed at Halfway Lodge an Restaurant and all my lodgemates were foreigners. The lodging houses were cheap. It can range from P200 - P300. The food are a little bit expensive, kind of a hotel price. |
| Anitos of the Ifugaos |
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| Skulls of animals captured by Ifugao hunters. |
The following morning I took a short tour to the tourists spots via a tricycle. I paid only P200.00 for the tour. Then bought some souvenirs and went off to the terminal bound to Solano.
Nueva Vizcaya
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| St. Dominic Church in Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya. |
From Banaue I took a jeepney to Solano, Nueva Vizcaya via Lagawe, Ifugao. It was an almost 2 and 1/2- hour ride and the fare was P100.00. It was still cold when I left Banaue, but when I reached Lagawe I could already feel the heat and the dusts are coming in. So I realized that not all parts of Ifugao Province are cold, as what I always assumed.
When I reached Solano, I made a quick change in the restroom of a gasoline station. Then I left my backpack in the baggage counter of a department store, ate my lunch and took a tricycle for a quick tour in Solano and Bayombong thru a tricycle.
I went to Heroes Park in Solano and the tricyle took me to St. Dominic Church in Bayombong. I was also able to see their provincial capitol.
Isabela
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| LaSalette Shrine |
My itchy feet brought me as far as Isabela province. After Nueva Vizacaya, a van took me to Santiago, Isabela. Since I already ran out of time as I need to go back to Manila that day, I just had a very quick tour, again, via a tricycle. I just went to Balay na Santiago, the Chapel of Transfiguration and La Salette Shrine.
After a tiring but interesting day's tour, I rode on a night bus going to Manila. I took the 9:00 o'clock bus so I wouldn't be late for my 10AM flight to Davao City the next day. The trip from Santiago to Manila was ten hours and cost almost P600.00. |
| Chapel of Transfiguration |
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| Giant statues of The Way of the Cross. |
Travelling alone is just so fun. Aside from the learnings, experiences and self-discovery, it is also empowering.
