Manila to Baguio
Ba
guio can't wait. We left Manila at 12:30AM via Victory Liner bus. A 7-hour trip was a pain in the butt. Watching movies and listening to music kept us company. We had a few stop-overs. We arrived past 6PM. Finally.
guio can't wait. We left Manila at 12:30AM via Victory Liner bus. A 7-hour trip was a pain in the butt. Watching movies and listening to music kept us company. We had a few stop-overs. We arrived past 6PM. Finally. Sagada here we come
Our elder brother drove us to town to accompany our sister to school for her law review class at the University of the Cordilleras. From there we rode an fx to Dangwa, Sagada's bus terminal to catch an early trip, unfortunately, it's almost full so we decided to wait for the next trip at 9:30 AM. Lizardo bus left on the dot. My sister brought the travel guide she printed out from the Int
ernet which helped us a lot find a place to stay in Sagada. We had a great view of Benguet mountains on our way to Sagada especially when we're going up the in the boonies. we also sawrice and vegatable terraces. It was a long and winding road it gets scary as we're getting close. There are rough and narrow roads and believe me, I'm not really afraid of heights but when I saw we're literally on top of the mountains, I got nervous I thought it's the end of me so I prayed really hard that we make it to Sagada safely. Thank God we got there safely and found a nice place to stay.
Sagada Guest House
We arrived in Sagada past 4 in the afternoon. We're kinda hesitant at first to stay at the Sagada Guest House because we originally wanted to stay at the Log Cabin but we got tired from the trip we didn't wanna go any further so we chose to stay at Sagada Guest House.Sagada Guest House is not so inviting from the outside. The building looks new but it needs some fixing. When the caretaker showed us the only vacant room available we had second thoughts. The rate was rather expensive for my sister and I along with our parents so we haggled. It was a big room with 1 king size bed and 3 singles. There's cable TV so you need not worry about getting bored during your stay however when it rains in the afternoon the cable signal gets interrupted. The kitchen is spacious it comes with kitchenware and a stove for cooking. By the way, I didn't realize that there are no ATM machines in Sagada and establishments don't accept credit cards good thing we have cash handy.
Yoghurt House
After an hour of rest, we had dinner at Yoghurt House which is known for their yummy yogurt. We ordered clubhouse sandwich, chop suey and yogurt of course. There are lots of yogurt toppings to choose from but I prefer yogurt with strawberry preserves. Other toppings available are banana, granola, strawberry, etc. Their yogurt is made of thick cream that tastes almost like cream cheese if not for its sweetness. Yogurt is a healthy alternative to ice cream and definitely good for digestion. My sister took pictures of the food and the place. It's really cozy and homey. I think it's a house converted into a little restaurant. I love the beautifully decorated ceiling, colorful lamps and old pictures of locals hanging on the wall. It was a really cool place.
After an hour of rest, we had dinner at Yoghurt House which is known for their yummy yogurt. We ordered clubhouse sandwich, chop suey and yogurt of course. There are lots of yogurt toppings to choose from but I prefer yogurt with strawberry preserves. Other toppings available are banana, granola, strawberry, etc. Their yogurt is made of thick cream that tastes almost like cream cheese if not for its sweetness. Yogurt is a healthy alternative to ice cream and definitely good for digestion. My sister took pictures of the food and the place. It's really cozy and homey. I think it's a house converted into a little restaurant. I love the beautifully decorated ceiling, colorful lamps and old pictures of locals hanging on the wall. It was a really cool place.
Thanksgiving at Church of SMV
It's our 28th birthday. We heard mass as at the church of St. Mary the Virgin. The place is very peaceful you can hear birds chirping. Some cows are just roaming freely outside the church. It also not crowded unlike in Baguio cathedral. We attended the mass spoken in Ilocano I thought we might have missed the English mass or we're just too early. Locals sing in A capella it makes the mass even more solemn. The locals are friendly, they smile while saying "peace be with you." We also took pictures outside while breathing some fresh air.
Birthay Breakfast at Masferre
It's our 28th birthday. We heard mass as at the church of St. Mary the Virgin. The place is very peaceful you can hear birds chirping. Some cows are just roaming freely outside the church. It also not crowded unlike in Baguio cathedral. We attended the mass spoken in Ilocano I thought we might have missed the English mass or we're just too early. Locals sing in A capella it makes the mass even more solemn. The locals are friendly, they smile while saying "peace be with you." We also took pictures outside while breathing some fresh air.
Birthay Breakfast at Masferre
I really love taking pictures and looking at old photographs. What I first noticed at Masferre are the framed pictures of Igorot people on hanging on the walls. Picture taking is not allowed as posted on the wall so we discreetly took pictures of ourselves and the place good things they're too busy preparing our food. We're given ripe mangoes as an appetizer and ordered "country farm meal" made of wheat bread, butter, bacon, egg, tomato, lettuce, and cucumber. The serving was huge and the food was yummy.Echo Valley's Hanging Coffins and Lumiang / Burial Cave
If you're a first timer in Sagada, you're required to register as a tourist at the municipal hall for a guided tour. We paid Php40.00 as initial payment and was later accompanied by a tourist guide to our first destination which is Echo Valley. We had a very little view of the hanging coffins. The reason behind why it was called Echo Valley as explained by our tour guide is because if you scream, yo
ur voice will echo in the air. I was like, uhm okay because I thought there's a more profound reason but hey no big deal. Our next stop is at the Burial Cave where we come face to face with century old coffins. The walkway down the hill was quite difficult. It's very steep and slippery so we're extremely cautious and a bit nervous. When we saw the entrance of the cave I realized that it was all worth it. We stayed for a few minutes and took pictures of the ancient wooden coffins. The tedious part was going up especially if you're short legged like me. Each step was agonizing, I nearly hyperventilated we forgot to bring water. We had to stop every few steps thank goodness we were able to reach the top. We couldn't manage to walk back to the municipal hall anymore, our knees were shaking so we asked for a ride home from our tour guide. We paid a total of Php650.00 for the guided tour. Whoa.
ur voice will echo in the air. I was like, uhm okay because I thought there's a more profound reason but hey no big deal. Our next stop is at the Burial Cave where we come face to face with century old coffins. The walkway down the hill was quite difficult. It's very steep and slippery so we're extremely cautious and a bit nervous. When we saw the entrance of the cave I realized that it was all worth it. We stayed for a few minutes and took pictures of the ancient wooden coffins. The tedious part was going up especially if you're short legged like me. Each step was agonizing, I nearly hyperventilated we forgot to bring water. We had to stop every few steps thank goodness we were able to reach the top. We couldn't manage to walk back to the municipal hall anymore, our knees were shaking so we asked for a ride home from our tour guide. We paid a total of Php650.00 for the guided tour. Whoa.
Birthday Surprise
Our birthday isn't over yet. My twin and I got really tired from the tour so we decided to stay at the guest house room while our parents went out to buy food. They brought us pancit and ice cream from Masferre for lunch. I love Masferre's pancit, it was very tasty. When it's time for dessert I was surprised when I opened the ice cream container and found out that it's nothing like Brazo de Mercedes at all but iced water. We laughed our hearts out but we can't have iced water for dessert so mom hurried back to Masferre to have the ice cream replaced with the real thing.
Farewell Sagada
Farewell Sagada
It's still dark when we left Sagada Guest House. I got a little scared being followed by a group of dogs I thought they want to bite me. I can't help but get paranoid sine I was bitten by our own dog once when I was a kid. I realized that these dogs aren't as bad as I thought them to be, maybe they just want to say goodbye and thank us for coming to their peaceful town. The bus left at 5 in the morning. When the sun is up I again saw the breathtaking view of the mountains. I'm not sure if I will come back again in Sagada but I hope so.
