Showing posts with label Mountain Province. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mountain Province. Show all posts

Find Yourself in the Cordilleras: The Farming Communities of Benguet and Mountain Province

November 23, 2020

Home to a magnificent set of picturesque highland countryside, the region of the Cordillera featured an abundance of wonders. From its cool weather all year long to its majestic set of nature, fascinating culture, and mouth-watering local cuisine, an all too familiar feature of the region was gaining much-needed attention. These were the fruit and vegetable farms of Benguet and Mountain Province.

A ‘meaningful travel’ to the Highlands of Barlig, Mountain Province

April 13, 2017
Luzon / Mountain Province / Voluntourism

A ‘Meaningful Travel’ to the Highlands of Barlig, Mountain Province

By Marky Ramone Go April 2017

“Happiness and kindness is something if you give it away—then it comes right back to you,” the song reverberates harmoniously inside the classroom as the pupils of Ogo-og Elementary School sing in unison. A few minutes more and our Meaningful Travels PH group will be distributing the school-supply kits to each one of them. Everywhere, wide smiles are on display as the little ones happily goof around with each other, unable to contain their pure excitement.

Sagada redux

July 18, 2009
This was my second time around to go to Sagada, right after our trip to Batad Rice Terraces in Banaue we headed straight to Sagada-which is another 3 hour drive from Banaue.
With our body and legs battered by the hike to Tappia Falls we arrived in Sagada at about 11:00 pm, found a nice place called George Inn that gives a wonderful view from its window on our room on the third floor.

view from our window
view from our window

The next day we woke up at around 6am, had our breakfast at about 7:00 am at Yoghurt House.

don, kat, kim and mark m.
don, kat, kim and mark m.

After fueling our gas tanks, still feeling a bit tired from the previous long day at Banaue, we started our cave connection ( Lumiang Cave – Sumaging Cave). On the entrance of the cave, a horde of wooden coffins can be found all humped over another stretching from the bottom of the cave’s mouth up to the rocky ceilings – positioned peacefully and bringing an eerie feeling of unfortunate circumstances once disturbed.

wooden coffins
wooden coffins
There was a coffin with a hole in it, large enough for a human skull to take a peek. It feels weird looking at it, thinking that it was once a live human being walking and feeding and talking like us, but right now it firmly rests there with its soul in the other world.

Peeping skull
Peeping skull
Inside the cave, the five of us plus our guide then another group of people are in the cave as well, producing a short queue on the tiny opening at the start where one has to use a rope to get down. While waiting for our turn Don exposes his “chemical gas” that almost rendered our guide unconscious.

to the bat cave
to the bat cave
Inside the cave was a maze of rocky passageways requiring body contortions, balance and the reliable lamp light, without it, the cave will turn into one pitch black world.

Batad 053-053

Pools of cold water greets you inside, flowing along rock formations whom the local guides refers to as the king (as it forms like a penis), queen, pig pen, chocolate cake, elephant trunk and so on (you’ll know why when you see it trust me)

Batad 098-097

We took a dip into one of the cold pools found inside. The cold water meets your skin like needles the first few seconds after you go under it but as time goes and your body adjusts to the cold water it feels like therapy feeding your skin with energy.

Batad-109-106
Batad-104-103

After 15 minutes we got back on our trail and were met upon by more cool rock formations and crossed small pools of water again.

Batad-089-088
Batad-116-111
And here’s Don when he’s not farting inside the cave.
Fartstarter
Fartstarter
One by one we climbed up about 6 feet using a rope heading to the exit of Sumaging cave.

Batad 154-153
the Queen
the Queen
Batad 168-157

We stayed at Sagada until the next day then headed back to Manila, it was a long trip that started friday night to Banaue, went Tappia falls, then to Sagada, went caving, foodtrip, pictures and then back to the maddening real world in the city. Something to look forward to again, because the life on the road forever awaits you.

Batad-183-178
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