THAT EPIC WEEKEND | Sagada

One afternoon, my sister invited me to book a trip to Sagada. 

First thing that popped up in my head were scenes from the movie “This Thing Called Tadhana”. I envisioned clouds over mountains, hanging coffins, lovely sceneries and a whole lot of opportunities to do some muni-muni moments while hanging out with nature. So in an instant, I said yes!

We invited some other friends of ours to join us. Most of my sister’s friends (who were also air traffic controllers like her) couldn’t come with us since they were attending the Bohol International Marathon on the same weekend. In the end, our initial count was 6 pax. We tapped the services of Viajero Gabrielle Travel and Tour, as suggested also by a friend. More details on how to contact Viajero are on the bottom of this page.

However, the final count went down to 4 pax. Team Bohol, as we called ourselves, consisted of myself,  my boyfriend (Chris), my sister (Jinyang) and her friend (Mike). Otherwise also known as Team Sore Eyes since I was basically a walking virus and it was my goal to infect the three at the end of the trip. #BITTER

The thing about this trip is that everything sounded so easy at first. Reading their sample itinerary somehow gave me that feeling that it’s just going to be like Baguio and we’d be enjoying the cold weather. None of us read in advance on what to expect for this trip. 

Little did we know that we were in for an amazing adventure that we will never ever forget! And when I say adventure, it really wasn't a walk in the park nor a simple trip to begin with.

This is Viajero's sample itinerary. 

Day 00

0900pm: Assembly MOA (JCO next to Goldilocks and Hypermarket)

1000pm: ETD from MOA

Day 01

0600am: ETA at Banaue, Breakfast, Picture Taking Viewpoints 

0700am: ETD to Sagada

1000am: ETA to Sagada Check-in

1200am: Lunch 

0100pm: Proceed to Lumiang Cave and Sumaguing Cave

0500pm: Estimated time of return from the cave

0530pm: Back to Lodging (Wash up)

0700pm: Dinner

Day 02

0600am: Wake-up call. Breakfast

0700am: Proceed to Falls jump-off

0730am: Start of Falls Trek

0830am: ETA Falls, Swimming, Picture Taking

1030am: Trek back to Jump off

1200pm: ETA Town

1230pm: Lunch

0200pm: Proceed to Sagada Weaving, St Mary's Church and Echo Valley 

0400pm: Visit Pottery House

0530pm: Sunset Viewing Lake Danum, Picture taking

0700pm: Dinner / Souvenir hunting

0800pm: Socials

Day 03

0500am: Wake up call, Check out

0545am: Sunrise Viewing Kiltepan Tower

0630am: Breakfast Rock-inn, Orange Picking in the Orchard

0730am: ETD from Sagada to Baguio

1000am: Early Lunch La Trinidad Jollibee or Mcdonalds

1130pm: ETA Strawberry Plantation

0200pm: Visit The Mansion, Burnham Park, Mines View

0300pm: ETD from Baguio

1030pm: ETA to MOA

Sounds simple, huh?

To be honest, the itinerary changed a lot. But nevertheless, it turned out much more efficient and more enjoyable.

DEPARTURE TO SAGADA

The group met up at SM MOA on the night of August 28. Chris and I were already at the meet-up place as early as 8:00 PM. Jinyang and Mike took a flight from Cebu which arrived late, and they also got more delayed for not being able to get a taxi for about an hour. As soon as we were complete, we met Kuya Ave (our driver and guide) at the parking lot. We paid our fees and took our seats in his black Toyota Grandia van. We took off around 10:30 PM. Supposedly, we would take EDSA but it was the same night when Iglesia ni Cristo decided to camp out at Shaw. Thus, we took a different route in Manila, along Bonifacio Avenue.

It normally takes 8 hours to reach Banaue. In our case, we encountered 3 hours of traffic at Nueva Vizcaya due to a road accident. From then on, the whole itinerary shifted.

BANAUE AND ITS BEAUTIFUL RICE TERRACES

After several stops and comfort room breaks, we finally arrived in Banaue. And there it was, my first look at the famous Banaue Rice Terraces. For most of my life, I only saw pictures of this place on my Social Studies book and the old 1000-peso bill. But it was beautiful!

THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED

It was just a short stop at Banaue. We left and traveled another 2 hours to reach Mountain Province. The zigzag road we took was one of those scariest places to drive on any time of the day. As I looked on the left side, we were amazed by the wondrous landscape of the province, the high mountains and the lush forests. But as I tried to look down, I got that feeling of being on top of a building. It wasn't such a good view for anyone who is scared of heights. On the right side, we saw views of the rocky and muddy slopes of the mountains and had mini heart attacks for every landslide we passed by. Unfortunately, I took no pictures of the road. Let my words explain further why it was the dizziest part of the ride. 

ARRIVAL AT SAGADA

Finally, after hours and hours of enduring back pains, we arrived at Sagada. It was around noon and Kuya Ave dropped us off at Salt and Pepper Diner for us to take our lunch. After which, we checked in at Pinewood Lodge.

Since we already ran out of time, Kuya Ave decided that instead of doing the caving on that afternoon, he told us we'd do the falls trekking.

We prepared our things and took off around 2:00 PM.

THE TOPLOAD EXPERIENCE

On our way to the falls, we came across a landslide. So we had to leave the van and walk to the other end of the road. From there, a jeepney was to pick us up and bring us to the jumpoff point.

While we were waiting, we came across the idea of climbing on the top of one of the jeepneys which were parked on the side of the road. We were making fake poses while on top. Yes, fake. The jeepney was (at first) just parked. 

Since our chartered jeepney was taking too long, Kuya Ave then told the driver of the jeepney (the one which we were on top of) to take us to the jumpoff. What was once a drama of riding topload ended up for real! 

Other members of our tour group (Khamille, Ace and Bon) also joined us on top and we were laughing all the way with such a funny experience. Watch my sister's face. Epic! LOL

TREK TO BOMOD-OK FALLS

When we left, the weather was fine. Since we were going to a waterfalls, we all wore shorts and imagined ourselves bathing alongside the falls. We thought too that it was just like a short trek or something. Well, we were wrong.

We arrived at the jumpoff at 3:00 PM. We were given a local guide (sorry forgot her name, she was a very kind woman), and also had been briefed about the trek. As we started to descend on the concrete pavement, I realized that the falls was on the other mountain and it was FAR! 

We weren't even halfway when the rain started to pour heavily. None of us brought jackets. So just imagine how colder it was. We made use of some plastic bags we brought to secure our cellphones and other valuables. Good for me, I had my waterproof Nikon Coolpix AW120 handy. 

After an hour, we reached Bomod-ok Falls. And damn, it was beautiful! The tiresome trek was worth it, seemed like nothing else mattered because the cold never bothered us anyway!

SEA OF CLOUDS AT KILTEPAN PEAK

It was Day 2 of our Sagada tour. Wake up call was 5:00 AM. We left for Kiltepan Peak to watch the sunrise. The place was famous for that scene in the movie I mentioned earlier. As we walked, I imagined shouting at the top of my lungs like how it was done in the movie. But to my disappointment, there were more people in Kiltepan than those rallying in EDSA (exaggerated of course). So I just shut it and enjoyed the view.

THE DEATH-DEFYING EXPERIENCE | CAVE CONNECTION 

We went back to the lodge and made ourselves ready for the Cave Connection. In my own understanding, the terms "cave connection" meant two or more caves connected as one. So as you enter one cave, you come out on another. Well I was right. But just by definition, and as to how our local guides tried to explain it during the briefing, it sounded as simple as this-- wear slippers (not our Merrell shoes), careful not to trip, stay with the group and keep your head away from the rocks. Our guides, Gian and Geefford, tried to keep it as simple as possible. They said what we are going to do will take 4 hours, and should we choose the easy route, there's another option which will only take 2 hours.

Seven of us took the 4-hour challenge. The other two took the 2 hours instead.

The adventure started at Lumiang Cave. After a short trek to its opening, we saw the burial coffins which were mostly undisturbed. Best though if they are kept that way. There's so much history in itself, making the experience more interesting.

The guides prepared the ever-dependable Petromax which served as our light source for the next 4 hours. And so the caving begins...

As we started to descend on the large rocks, we realized that this whole thing is not as easy as it sounds. We had to climb rocks, rapel ourselves up and down in certain points, glide against slippery walls of rocks and dive into freezing water. Too cold that according to Jinyang, it froze her nipples. And I'd say too that it was extremely difficult to pee since everything down there is basically frozen!

Words can not explain much of what we went through so we took a lot of pictures to give ourselves more memories of that epic caving experience. And again, thanks to my waterproof camera, we didn't have to worry about having it wet or frozen inside that really cold cave. And by the way, a friend of mine (Charles), already warned us a day earlier to not bring cellphones as these might get wet. Good thing we followed his advice!

Our guides were so funny that we laughed most of the time. Geefford's corny "OLRYT ROCK AND ROLL TO THE WORLD" jokes and Gian's funny expression each time he tries to carry me unto the rocks were just priceless. It made us less tense and more agile to continue and reach the end.

That was really the most difficult yet adventure-filled part of the whole weekend. I couldn't really believe how I was able to fit my large body in those tiny holes in between rocks! But not to brag, I didn't feel any of my muscles ache right after. Perhaps because I've had several climbs lately. It really helped a lot.

But the sad part, my leggings got so ripped that I had almost exposed what doesn't need to be exposed! It was that intense.

Let these pictures tell you more of the difficulty level of the cave connection. I can't say more. Just this... AMAZING!

And finally, after 3 hours, we successfully made our way out on the other end, the Sumaguing Cave. Glad that we made it out an hour earlier than the usual 4 hours. Perhaps because there weren't as much people as compared during the summer. As per our guides, traffic inside the cave can even delay it up to 7 hours.

THE HANGING COFFINS OF SAGADA

We were all exhausted from the caving but Kuya Ave and our guides decided to take us directly to Echo Valley, instead of the lodge. With this, we can finish the day's itinerary and have the rest of the afternoon as our free time.

From the St. Mary's chapel, we trekked again for another 30 minutes along Echo Valley to the site of the Hanging Coffins. 

THE BEST PLACE FOR A FOODIE

During our free time, we explored the town proper for great places to eat. We heard Sagada has some of the best-tasting food, and it surely didn't disappoint us. 

We were able to dine in some of the restaurants near our lodge but our favorite was Yoghurt House. It's definitely a must-try!

After all the uncontrollable food intake, wherein their rice servings are as large as the plate itself, we all decided to unwind back in our lodge and had a few drinks. And thus, Team Viajero was born. 

In every tour, the very best part is always the one wherein we gain new friends.

At the end of the evening, one of us got so drunk (name undisclosed for privacy purposes) and vowed to treat everyone to a trip in Bohol, with matching paperworks. A contract was made and signed by each one on this table. 

Looking forward to seeing all of you again soon!

LEAVING SAGADA

On our 3rd day, we checked out of our lodge and left Sagada at 7:00 AM. Initially, we were to take the same route on the way back to Manila because there was an advise that roads leading to Baguio were not passable due to landslides. But in the sudden turn of events, the weather and other conditions permitted us to go to Baguio City. We then made a sidetrip to the Strawberry Farm and other parts of the city.

The trip back home went on safely. We arrived back in Manila around 9:00 PM.

And this is the part when I can really say......

WE SURVIVED SAGADA!!!

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MORE DETAILS ABOUT THE TOUR

Here are some details of the expenses for this trip:
- Tour Fee (via Viajero) = P 2,899.00 (per person)
- Tour package includes round trip van transfer, 3D/2N accommodation, 2 days tour in Sagada, Side trip in Baguio, toll fee, gas, driver's meal and accommodation
- All meals are under the participant's account
- Local Guide at Bomod-ok Falls = P 500.oo (divided by the group)
- Local Guide for the Cave Connection = P 450.00 (per person)

Here are the details of our travel agency:

VIAJERO GABRIELLE TRAVEL AND TOUR

Email: viajero_gabrielle@yahoo.com

Contact Numbers: 09173345206 / 09273071736