My Days in Sagada

 My Days in Sagada

Sagada, located in Northern Luzon of the Philippines is one my most visited places during

holidays, From historical landmarks, cool climate, scenic mountain views, and culinary delights,

it has time and again impressed me on what it has to offer and today let me tell you about my

experiences in the wonderful place that’s called Sagada.

Day 1: The Road to Baguio

As me and my family traveled on way to Baguio, the scenery changed slowly from busy city

streets full of people full of bustling businesses to quiet mountain roads with an occasional

village that we drove through and made occasional stops to reach our destination because of

the location being inexpicably cold we had to stop to eat some hot food as we are very weak to

the cold, the scenery breathtaking as we look from the mountainside and the mist rolling across

landscape with the cool air hitting your nose with a clean, crisp smell and eventually as the sun

falls and is dark out we finally reach the long journeyed for destination, Sagada. As the journey

was long and tiresome we retreated to a lodging, Saint Joseph Resthouse, with the day almost

over we tucked into bed ready to greet tomorrow to come.

Day 2: Exploring History, Culture, and Creativity

The next morning began and decided to have breakfast, as the lodgings and the canteen are in

2 separate buildings we have to walk down a hill for a couple of minutes in order to reach it and

as we enter the canteen we were greeted by a rustic looking room full of local trinkets, pictures

of the indigenous people that lived in the past, and various caves that can be visited and seen in

the area. I ordered a local delicacy consisting of pork, rice and pickled vegetables very much

similar to tapa but still all the same delicious but unique to the area as talking with the owner of

the house we learned a number of things as how long they have been in business, what

adventures they had been through, and relevant to the food we have been served, what

ingredient they used that makes it different from the usual that many people in cities may be

accustomed to. As we go out of the lodging we tour around the nearby businesses and

buildings, as Sagada is a very mountainous area we were situated atop of a hill and as we go

down the road we see several shops selling local trinkets, from keychains, to clothes including

the indigenous headwear that the locals had worn, as my mother is very into shopping we spent

the whole day looking through every shop buying whatever suits her fancy while my other

relatives relax at a nearby café, Yoghurt house, which by the time we finished it was already

nighttime and so we also walk back up to the same café that my other relatives had been

waiting in. The Café is very humble and demure, best known as the name suggests, for its

yoghurt, which we tried and was very taken aback as many of us are used to the very mild and

creamy yoghurt that can be seen in stores, the yoghurt served in this café was sour, which now I

very much enjoy, as a young teen who mostly likes sweets was disgusted by and could not take

single bite but the food otherwise was able to remedy my sour experience as they serve goat

stew which was herby and gamey but very much delicious. As the day ends we walked back up

the hill back to our lodging but as almost everyone in my family is unfit we were gasping for air

not even halfway up the hill and by the time we reach the lodge, we crashed into our beds and

slept through the night.

Day 3: A Claustrophobic experience

As we wake up greeting the new morning we ate breakfast the same as the day before but with

a new goal in mind, cave diving, Sagada is known for its many caves and me and my family aim

to explore one of them but first no one would be able to go to these caves without a guide and

so we venture to the guides guild which was fortunately very close to the lodge. We avail for a

guide as they show us different caves to choose from with different levels of difficulty, with the

Sumaguing cave for example having 2 different routes, 1 being meant for beginners which can

be ventured through in about 30 minutes and the other almost taking 3 hours on average,

nowadays we are able to venture to the 2 nd route with ease but as it was our first time we ought

for the easier route, as we arrive to the entrance of the cave a sudden realization came over

me, I might be claustrophobic, we go down some stairs obviously recently made and made of

concrete till we reach those that are not, still man made but instead carved out of mud and dirt

and as we reach the bottom of said stairs we finally reach the mouth of the cave, it was a

harrowing experience as the walls were high and the ceiling filled with bats and as you gaze

down I felt a sensation of being sucked in, a terrifying first impression but the adventure hasn’t

started yet, we were guided by the guide who’s holding a fire lit lantern illuminating the path

somewhat just enough to see our footing in this dark cave, but we were not alone as previous

groups who just finished exploring the cave meet us halfway almost looking exhausted, a

preview of what would become of our own group, along the way the guide pointed out various

rock formations that make up the cave such as the pregnant woman, the dragon’s foot, and the

rows of teeth and finally we reach the bottom, before this point we can get away without getting

wet but at this point, to go further we must venture into waist high deep which is unavoidable,

me and the other youths of the group excitedly accept the challenge while some of the adults

stay behind content with just waiting for our return, as we go into the cold water we enter a

series of small entrances, having to manuever through various sections, twisting and bending

that we never had done before while trying to keep hold unto the rocks which are slick and wet,

taking over half an hour until eventually we reach the exit which beings us back where we came

with the adults that were left behind greeting us in tired tones as if they were the ones who were

exhausted from exploring the tight cave and as such was the trek back up the cave which was

more tiresome than the last section of the cave that we had explored. As we came out of the

cave we return to the lodge exhausted from the adventure we ought to rest for the rest of the

day and recuperate for tomorrow but not before eating at the nearby café, Yoghurt house, once

again.

Day 4: Trek to see a wonder

Once again we wake up and decide to venture forth to see a very important part of the locals’

culture, the hanging coffins, the trek to see it took over an hour but once reaching the

destination the guide taught us the history of these coffins and the unfortunate truth that many of

the coffins are still missing due to recent earthquakes and landslides shaking the foundation of

the cave resulting in many of the coffins hurtling down deeper into the cave, afterwards we

ventured forth to see another wonder, Bomod-ok falls, it is located at the basin of a valley taking

us the rest of the day exploring down the mountain and back up, the journey down was easy

and enjoyable, walking through the village that the guide lives in, learning about the culture that

the people live by, walking past rice patty fields seeing even kids working the fields, until

eventually we reach the falls, it was a sight to behold, with the water cold to the touch, as we

finalize taking pictures and ready ourselves for the trek back up, it was a hellish experience, as

we were very out of shape it took so much effort to climb back up but along the way we saw a

fork in the road that we never noticed going down, we asked the guide where it went and the

explained it was the old road that was used when going to and from the falls and supposedly

was faster to travel taking less time, estatic to hear that this road takes less time we opt to travel

that road which turned out worse, halfway through this path we realize why it is seldom used

now, although we did indeed take less time, it was steeper and has more winding turns taking

more energy to bring our bodies up these steps, needing multiple stops in-between, After what

felt like an eternity we reach the top and the journey back up was over but leaving us exhausted

and beaten and personally wanted to throw up but it was all worth it as nearby there is a

warehouse that serves local cuisines and we ate budol fight style. As we ride back to our lodge,

once again we crash into our beds and fell asleep immediately.

Day 4: Homecoming

And so our journey through Sagada comes to and end is time to go home, before returning

though we decided to do some last minute shopping, once again my mother going through

shops hoping to buy anything that she hasn’t, I wondered where she gets the energy after what

transpired the day before but I digressed, somehow stumbling upon a very antique shop, we

found snacks that we had not seen before with my favourite being some mushroom chicharon.

And with that we drive back home but as it was already close to evening it was colder than our

arrival, the mountainous road was so cold at night that we had to frequent stops at nearby gas

stations to warm up as it negatively impacted my uncle’s driving, after the arduous road we

arrived to more familiar sites of cities and streets full of people ending with our arrival to our

home.

Sagada was a very memorable adventure, though we frequent visiting it on holidays, my first

experience with this hidden gem has stuck with all through out my life thus far as it is one of the

few places still keeping its unique identity with such authenticity away from normal busy life and

will continue to visit it and will recommend anyone to try visiting it atleast once in their life.