18 February 2015

That Place Called Sagada

Why that title? 

Well, I just watched "That Thing Called Tadhana" and one of the locations on the movie was in Sagada! I have long planned to blog about that trip since it was one of my favorite travels with my best girlfriends, but I thought it's overdue. It was, after all, almost 5 years ago. But that movie brought back memories and got me feeling a bit nostalgic. I dug out the old photos of that trip and somehow it felt as though it was just days ago.

This trip was planned by Karla's officemates who I haven't met before the trip. It's always fun getting to know new people! They made this adventure even more memorable. It was even convenient for us because Ate Gela has been there. Here's us:


We took off from Manila to Baguio 10 PM. The fare that time was Php 430. At around 4am, we were in Baguio. We bought strawberry taho and head off to the terminal for the bus ride to Sagada. The trip is at 6am, giving us time to have our breakfast before another long travel.

I can't remember much about the trip from Baguio to Sagada, aside from the stops for toilet breaks. Minutes after we sat on the bus, I dozed off. It was lunchtime when we arrived in Sagada.
As soon as we got there, we went to the tourist information center to log in our personal information, for our own safety.


We, then, went to look for a place to stay, freshened up, changed clothes, and ate lunch. While we were waiting for our meal, Ate Gela went to find and hire a tour guide. He was the same tour guide they hired when she and another group went here before us.

We set off for the day's adventure soon after we finished lunch. 

DAY 1

First activity was SPELUNKING.
We went to Sumaguing cave. It was a long walk and a lot of photo opportunities with the gang.









These are just some of the pictures inside the cave. There are just too many to post all here. It was so fun. We went down the cave, got wet, squeezed in narrow paths, then climbed back up. We lost track of time until we're out of the cave. Without our tour guides' lamps, we would be walking in total pitch black. We did not feel tired at all. That is, until it was the next morning.


DAY 2

The next day's activities included trekking to Bomod-ok Falls, visiting Sagada Weaving, orange-picking, and trying out pies at the Lemon house. 
Before the trek, we passed by the Yogurt House, so Karla and Che tried it out.

It was a long trek ahead, so it helped to bring water and wear shoes made to keep you from slipping.
The weather was a bit gloomy that time so the track was a bit more slippery than usual. We also trekked through rice fields so it was muddy, too. I think that kind of weather was just right. It wasn't too hot for the long walk.

It was a long way down...
... but with amazing sights.


After the trek, we grabbed lunch at 7J's Diner

We, then, freshened up for the next destinations. 
We visited Sagada Weaving

"Ub-Ubbo" Pottery


and then we went orange-picking.


The next destination was the Lemon Pie House.
The place was cozy, we bought the famous lemon pie and egg pie, too.
We were the only group there. We borrowed cards and board games, and played scrabble.




DAY 3

The last day, we woke up early to go to Kiltepan Viewpoint before heading back home. We went there before sunrise and took some awesome photos.




Sagada is one of the places I would definitely visit again.