Banaue - Sagada Adventure

We never had a serious break this summer as I was busy attending to our family business and my brother who is helping me was vacationing in the US. So when he finally arrived about two weeks before school time starts again, I decided to bring my wife to Sagada. We were joined by our two eldest daughters and friends Manda and Shari.

Nope, I've never been there and I don't know how to go there. So off I searched in the web for clues on how to get there. Eventually I puts bits and pieces from different blogs so here's my own blog and tips on how to get there.

You can get to Sagada via Baguio which is about four hours from Manila. Baguio to Banaue is another six hours and from Banawe to Sagada via Bontoc is another three hours. This time, we decided to take the alternate route directly from Manila to Banawe instead.

Road travel to to Banaue from Manila is nine hours. It's good that we decided to take the bus instead of bringing our own vehicle. If you take the Florida Bus transportation, they have only one Deluxe aircon bus that goes to and from Banaue daily. Bus leaves at around 10pm and you will arrive Banaue around 9am the next day. Night travel is quite comfy as the driver seems to be just taking his time leisurely driving and you can have a reasonable night sleep before your adventure the next day. Florida Bus is at the corner of Earnshaw st. and Lacson st. (formerly Gov Forbes), though there is another bus company Autobus that also ply the same route. You may need to buy your tickets in advance at least a day before.

When you arrive at the terminal in Banaue, you will be greeted by drivers and operators who will offer you tours of the place or transfers to Bontoc or Sagada. You can go to Sagada via the communal public transportation which is also limited and runs on scheduled trips or hire one for yourself. In our case we hired one and divided the fee among the number of persons we are in our group. We decided on this because we would want to stop every now and then when some places of interest would catch our attention.

As of this writing, price of diesel is at 55 pesos per liter. Trekking the rough mountainous terrain from Banaue to Bontoc for two hours and another hour to Sagada is no joke and not cheap either. It will cost you at least 3,600 pesos one way. Our driver - friend Joel Tindungan however was kind enough to give us some discount and we also get him to fetch us at Sagada three days after to bring us back to Banaue. These guys will serve you one way and return back with no passengers on their load.

If you get a chance to have Joel as your driver (09217503248), he can be your tour guide in Banaue as well. You may want to polish your chess skills also as this guy has only one defeat in his Banaue home town. Near the bus terminal, you can check out the viewpoint to see the famous Banaue rice terraces and be on guard for boys playing with their wood carved scooters. There are also genuine Ifugao huts for rent here where you can try to live for a day or two and experience how it is to live in their native homes.

There are a lot of affordable inns and lodging houses in Sagada. We were lucky to meet Tita Mary (09196728744 or 09296257419) of homey and comfy Residential Lodge. The place have rooms for couples or groups but you also need to book ahead as we find many travellers from Baguio are requesting for rooms by chance to all of the inns in Sagada after they have arrived. This retired teacher is so warm and hospitable in dealing with her visitors that you would really want to call her Tita (Auntie) Mary. And if you ever feel cold from the weather or tired and want to relax after long hikes and cave spelunking, then try the brewed Sagada coffee and mountain tea they serve to the visitors.

For things to do and adventure, you should go and visit Dina Calpi Salcedo, the friendly and accomodating lady in the tourist information center. Would you believe she walks three kilometers daily to work and another three going back? She is the person to ask for suggestions on the places of interests in Sagada and how to get there. Their tourist center is so organized that if you approach any one of the tour guides, you will be pointed to do your transactions with the tourist center. Transport to all the spots can also be arranged here. And when you get your assigned guide (we met Pid, Crescio and Tigger), try to start a conversation with them. The people in Sagada are very friendly but they are shy and modest in a sort of way. You will be surprised with the many stories and history that they will want to share with you.

Don't miss the sunrise at Kiltepan where the view of Sagada's magnificent rice terraces is really a sight to behold. You can also see the Cordillera mountain ranges from here where the sight of the heavens are touching the earth is really breath taking. There are lots of activities waiting for you in Sagada - from visiting the burial grounds in Lumiang caves to spelunking in Sumaging cave. Keep your eye on the lookout for hanging coffins near Echo Valley and be refreshed from the cool waters running from Bokong falls or Lake Danum. Along the way from Banaue to Sagada you can catch portions of the Chico river which is the longest river here in Luzon.

Food in Sagada is an experience. Each restaurant has their own specialties and each one with a story to tell. Ever heard of a foreigner who was stranded in this town and later on fell in love with the place? He happens to be a French chef and he whoops up buffet dinners every Saturday night at the Log Cabin house. We were not able to sample his famous buffet because we it was fully booked then. We were lucky enough to try the ala carte menu served on other days but also almost missed it as we would later find out that they require advance reservations.

Try the chicken paprika served with black rice and bowl of chili at the Bilig cafe, the everyday breakfast meals at Ganduyan Inn and Resto, the specialties of Yoghourt house, Masferre's and The Lemon pie house. Sagada has their own version of the halo halo that you can find in the wet market, complete with macaroni and avocado from among the usual ingredients we have here in Manila. In the evening there's Persimoon bar for those who would like a beer or two. And for souvenirs, visit all the shops there as they sell different and unique things from each other so shopping here is not boring and redundant. Say hi to Mae Lumbag and her son if you get to see them.

The sights, the tranquility of the place, and the people interwoven in this fascinating place called Sagada is really enchanting. Go and have an adventure in Banaue and Sagada now. You may not want to leave the place!

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vacation with friends minus family

If you already have a family, you are most likely to go on vacation with them.
This summer, after fifteen years of marriage, Suzette and I went on an overnight vacation with five other parent friends without our children. My wife has her own blog about this. We left our five children behind to have this enjoyable and relaxing trip to Tagaytay. It is definitely something different from the usual family vacations that we had as parents are free to do as they wish without looking after the kids.

And as if that trip wasn't enough, a month later, we went on another three day and three nights adventure trip to Sagada with another couple. Although our eldest and second daughter were with us this time, it is still another different experience with more mature company rather than being harassed and or limited when with smaller children.

i'm a self appointed travel photographer

i've always liked photography. my first slr was the canon eos 620 which i would later sold to finance my eos 3. i also have several lenses that reinforce my film camera. with the arrival of digital cameras, it took me awhile to decide to buy one because initially, prices for digital slr is way beyond my budget and i opt not to buy compact digital cameras because i am not happy with the short battery life and slow shutter response from the first models that came out.

but last year i decided to buy my first prosumer digital camera, the canon s5is. it is placed somewhere between the point and shoots and the digital slrs. the large 4gb memory space that it provides leaves me shooting anything from people, landscapes, rocks, flowers, insects, and other objects that catches my attention. i also bought a waterproof and shockproof olympus sw-850 camera to complement the s5is in unfriendly environment situations.

and so, now i'm happy firing away shot after shots of scenes, unmindful of the limited film count my old trusty eos3 has. i've documented our travels in lucban, baguio, batangas, sagada, banawe, bontoc, subic, davao, and countless family occassions such as parties, graduations, school activities much to my delight. though i can never be a professional portrait or wedding photographer, my family and friends hail my travel photos a lot because of the way i record details that help remember our stay in those places.

i miss the feel and magic of my trusty slr though, but i know someday i can use my old lenses again when i get my hands on my first digital slr.

waterproof camera?

i recently bought an olympus SW-850. why? because i wanted to record memories for our adventure trip to banawe- bontoc-sagada. i don't want to bring my trusty canon s5is along the trip and without any trial use beforehand, i would completely rely on this pocket-sized point and shoot camera.

and why is that again? first, i am going spelunking and i might damage my other camera. second, the moisture from the cold sagada environment might also seep through my canon's electronics. third, i can always lend this to my children when they need to take some pictures when i'm not around. yes, even little pio at two years old have already took some shots with it. the camera is supposed to be waterproof for 10 feet and shockproof for 3 feet.
and so, i am ready to challenge the rugged outdoor adventure of mountains, caves, rivers, and falls.

image quality is decent though i would prefer the sharper images my other cam takes. it is equipped with 8 megapixels and an optional 8gb memory card which is more than enough for a thousand pictures. it takes video clips and has image stabilizers as well. i find the custom scenes selections very useful because it lessens the time for me to make camera adjustments especially inside the caves. it has decent low-light taking picture capability and its small size really makes it easy to carry around especially if you need both of your hands in climbing the walls of the caves.

you may need to buy an extra battery pack if you are trigger happy like me. i find the battery life rather short (way below what's in the manual). luckily, i get to charge it in during our rest in between our itinerary. i also miss the wider angle 28mm lens that would be great for shooting panoramic landscapes and close indoor shots.

but hey, for 10,000 pesos, this gadget gives you more value for its worth! am hoping to go snorkeling soon so that i can test the quality of its underwater images.