Sagada Day 3 and the Moment

On our 3rd and last day in Sagada, we woke up as early as 4:00am. He fetched the motorbike that we rented a day before and picked me up in our rented guesthouse.

We leave our place around 4:30am. We didnt know the road going to Kiltepan. Luckily, we saw other tourists that were also going to where we were headed, so we just followed them.

On the way, we had to stop because a van ahead of us was caught up on a road pothole. The road was so small that its good as one way. Good thing, we were riding a motorbike and we just passed trough the vehicles which passengers had no choice but to get down and hike up.

We arrive at the viewpoint by 5:00am. There were already few people settled to their spot of choice while waiting for the sun and the sea of clouds. 

It was cold and foggy.

We found our own spot and waited there. This was one of the things that makes me excited to go Sagada. Came 5:30, no sunrise yet. But we waited patiently, taking pictures in between. It was already 6:30 but we can't see the sun. Others gave up and leave. 

We waited still, until it was already 7:00am and we know that its time to leave. Natatakpan ng clouds ang sun at punong puno pa rin ng fog ang paligid.

So we decided to just take pictures of what we have and head back to the guesthouse after. The place was breath taking specially when clouds tend to disappear for a minute and we would see the rice terraces.

There were so many expectators that wanted to take pictures of the rice terraces. So he led me to a spot where there's only two of us.

When we finished taking pictures, niyaya ko na sya na umalis. But suddenly he got something on his pocket and showed me a small red box. Medyo bumilis ang heartbeat ko and I asked him "ano yan?". Then he replied in a question too and on bended knee, "will you marry me?".

I felt so overjoyed and my tears wanted to fall but I held it back and answered, "of course, yes!"

I hugged him blissfully then told him to put the ring on my finger. Unfortunately the ring was a bit small that it wont push trough my ring finger. Kahit anong gawin ko ayaw talagang pumasok...ng singsing. It turned out that he got the wrong measurement of my finger. 

You can say that it was an epic fail. The non-apperance of the sun and sea of clouds and the ring that dont fit but still, for me, it was the happiest day of my life. My heart exploded of happiness to the fact that one of my dreams came true. To be engaged and soon be married to the man that I love, the man I prayed for to come into my life. And Im forever be thankful to God and Mama Mary for giving him to me.

He contacted again the person that he bought the ring from and asked if there's something they can do to the ring to fit. Im still lucky that it can be resized.

And it perfectly fit. I so love this ring. It is exactly how I want it to be, my engagement ring.

This is the end of our Sagada trip but definitely the start of our journey to forever. Yes, may forever!

Sagada Day 2

March 21, 07:00am
Happy 2nd anniversary to us.

The sun was up but it was still cold. Masarap pa sana matulog. Pero hindi naman kami nagpunta ng Sagada para matulog lang.

09:00am

After we ate our breakfast at the guesthouse, we went back to the tourist information center.

One of the things that I look forward in Sagada was the marvelous Bomod-ok Falls. But to my dismay, we saw a handwritten sign in the front of the information center saying that Bomod-ok Falls would be close for the next 3 days for a sacred ritual.

I asked them bakit hindi nila kami ininform yesterday eh di sana doon muna kami nagpunta. But they answered, ganun daw talaga yun, biglaan. So I thought kung kelan nila gusto mag-ritual gagawin nila ng walang pasabi? Hindi ako naniniwala. Pero ano pa nga bang magagawa namen?

Eventhough I was very very disappointed we have to respect their tradition and had a very reason to come back.

Moving on, we decided to tour Central Sagada instead.

09:30am

We started at St. Mary's church. There was an ongoing wedding that day. It's kinda cool that some members of he entourage was wearing the traditional Igorot costume. The groom had this head dress just like of the Igorot I saw in Baguio. I wonder what the bride's wearing.

We also passed by the Calvary Hill. I was in a cemetery but it didnt felt like I was. Kinda enlivening place for a cemetery. They had this tradition every November 1st that they light a fire near love one's grave instead of a candle. "It was like hell", as our tour guide described it.

Next stop was the Echo Valley Hanging Coffins. On our way down, some of the tourist were shouting. It was amazingly echoing. I'd like to try but I was pretty shy to shout so I just listened to the others.

It's surprisingly impressive how they put the coffins on the hills. Our tour guide told us that they used ladders. I still cant imagine, especially when I see coffins on a very high rock valley.

Another valley with hanging coffins.

We hiked to and trough Sagada Underground River. The water was very very little. According to our tour guide it's been six months since Sagada last tasted rain.

We reached Bokong falls. A very small falls with nature carved pool. The water was enticingly cold.

Bokong Falls

After adoring the little beauty, we headed back to our guesthouse.

We passed through rice fields on our way back.

01:00pm

We ate lunch in Pinikpikan House.

04:30pm

We rented a motorbike and went to Danum Lake to watch the sunset. It was a 30-minute travel.

There was an average amount of crowd when we arrived.

It was too little for a lake. I think it's more like a pond. Nevertheless, Im still stunned.

Sun was starting to set, so we started to find a good spot. Picture taking in between.

Danum Lake is the only place in Sagada that reaches my expectation. The place that I enjoyed most, with landian on the side.

The sun was gone, so we headed back to the guesthouse.

On our way back, we stopped at the Sagada Pottery to peek. They show us how to do the thing for P50. You can try it by yourself for P100, if you want.

We passed through rice fields again.

07:00pm

We rest a bit and ate dinner at Masferre Restaurant. The lights went out again.

09:00pm

The night was a little hot. Shuteye.


To be continued...

Sagada Day 1

Last last year ko pa niyaya pumunta sa Sagada si boyfriend. Ano daw bang gagawin namen dun, tanong nya. Nadismaya ako sa sagot nya or tanong or whatever,  sabi ko wag na nga lang hanap na lang ako ibang makakasama. Nakalimutan ko na yun, pati ang Sagada. Until nauso ang "That Thing Called Tadhana". Lahat na ata ng nakapanood ng movie na yun eh gusto pumunta sa Sagada, pati boyfriend ko. After nya mapanood yun bigla nya ako niyaya mag-Sagada. Syempre sino ba naman ako para tumanggi at bilang matagal ko na rin naman gusto pumunta sa Sagada.

So we went to Sagada last March.

March 19 at 10:00pm

We leave Manila going to Baguio and arrived at 04:00am. Masyado kaming maaga para sa first trip to Sagada kaya kape kape, tambay at konting landian muna sa isang 24-hours na restaurant just beside the GL Transit station.

March 20 at 06:00am

The bus leaves Baguio to Sagada. 5 hours na nakakahilong byahe dahil sa never ending na zigzag ng Halsema Highway.

11:00am

We arrived in Sagada. Nag-register sa Municipal Tourist Center then check-in sa Sagada Guesthouse.

12:00nn

Kumain kami ng lunch sa Youghurt House.

2:00pm

We started caving. Una kaming nagpunta sa Lumiang/Burial Cave. At the entrance of the cave are piles of coffins. Hindi na kami pumasok sa loob. Pilit kaming kino-convince ni kuyang tour guide na i-try ang cave connection which would start at Lumiang Cave. It would take 4-5 hours of rock climbing and crawling and would end in Sumaguing Cave. We felt were not yet ready for that so we headed to Sumaguing Cave via the simplest route.

Ang akala ko simpleng papasok lang kami sa cave. Well it's way different from the caves I've been to. It's one and a half to two hours crawling. It's kinda buwis buhay, oh it's really buwis buhay. May times na takot talaga ako baka bigla ako madulas. Medyo may kalalakagyan ako kung nagkataon. Pero yung tour guide namen at iba pang tour guides, wala silang takot sa katawan. Rocks are steep and slippery.

view mula sa baba

kunwari ginamit ko yung lubid pero nagpa-picture lang talaga ako dyan

For me, the kind of adventures that of Sumaguing cave is the kind that I want to experience once in my lifetime and would be enough.

May nakuha nga pala akong souvenir sa cave.

from Sumaguing Cave with love 

04:00pm

After a tiring cave adventure we headed back to the guesthouse to freshen up and rest a bit before dinner.

06:00pm

We ate dinner in Lemon Pie House. We had lemon pie for dessert and it was good. Before our food was served the lights went out but came back few minutes later.

08:00pm

We headed back to our guesthouse and fell asleep immediately. It was a tiring but a dauntless day.



To be continued...

halo halo

Hindi kayo namamalik-mata. Update ko talaga itong binabasa nyo. After almost a year, who would have thought na mag-uupdate pa ako. Akala ko noon hindi ako magsasawa mag-blog pero dumarating din pala yung time na tatamarin ka na mag-blog dahil sa dami ng pinagkakaabalahan mo sa buhay. 

I just thought, maybe it's time to go back, bilang masyadong marami na kong kwento na dapat i-blog kung hindi, makakalimutan ko na siguro. May mga bagay kasi na mahirap makalimutan na kahit detail by detail kaya mo ikwento kahit senior citizen ka na. Pero may mga bagay din na maalala mo lang na "ay oo nga pala ginawa ko ito" or "napuntahan ko pala yan" pero hindi mo na maalala "bakit ko ginawa yan?", "pano nga ba ako nakapunta dyan?". Well, ganyan ako. Masyado akong makakalimutin, di ko rin alam kung bakit. Kaya rin siguro naisipan ko na gumawa ng online diary.

So heto na magku-kwento nako. 

PBO's First Screening for A Cause featuring the movie "Lucy" starring Scarlett Johansson, happened last August, 2015.

Gusto ko lang magpasalamat sa lahat ng sumuporta, sa lahat ng tumulong na maging possible ang fund raising na ito. Maraming frustration, depression at kung anu-ano pang may "sion" ang naganap but despite all of that, it was still worthit dahil naging successful naman. Nakakatuwa lang. The outreach will happen mid of this year. Alam ko po na medyo sobrang delayed na, pasensya na po, may mga pangyayari po na hindi umaayon sa pagkakataon at bukod dun masyado rin pong naging busy ako at si Senyor sa kanyang kanyang trabaho at hanapbuhay. Please bear with us. But we'll make sure na mapasaya naten this coming school year ang ating beneficiary, SPED students of Pasig. Again, thank you sa support, alam nio na kung sino sino kayo. Please continue to support PBO at aasahan namen kayo sa darating pa na mga fundraising at outreach.

***

Nagtrenta na po ako this year. Wala lang bet ko lang sabihin. Wala na dapat celebration kasi hindi ako nakapagprepare pero sabi ni Mother kelangan daw may celebration kasi nga "trenta" na ko. May emphasis talaga yung trenta hmp! Kaya ayan biglang nagpa-book sa BSA Twin Towers sa Ortigas. Napa-luto din ng slight.

I invited my closest friends. Yung iba nakarating, yung iba hindi. Pero happy pa din.

***

Im thankful to meet another one of my favorite blogger na si Tripster Guy. We had lunch, watched a movie, had coffee and kwentuhan together with Senyor and Glentot. He's warm and kind in person. Im hoping to see him again. Wala kaming picture. Medyo private person sya sa totoong buhay kaya nahiya na rin ako magpa-picture with him. But still it's nice to finally meet him.

***

Meron na ulet akong pamangkin. He's a very adorable, fluffy baby boy named Vincent. I enjoyed playing with him so much. Nakaka-happy.

6 months na sya ngayon

Here with my eldest pamangkin, her cousin, Shanen na nasunog sa pag-swimming.

***

My niece, Shanen finished kindergarten with honors. Top 1, Best Pupil, Best in English, Best in Science, Most Articulate, Most Independent. Nakaka-proud lang.

***

Me and Jojie went to Sagada last month and something exciting and life changing (wow! life changing talaga ang term ko?) happened. Ang kwento ng trip ay sa susunod na post.

***

Maraming pang ganap pero eto na lang muna for now. Byers!

my first Parasailing experience

Matagal ko ng gustong i-try ang Parasailing but everytime na pupunta ako sa Boracay I dont have that much extra on my budget since its really kinda expensive. But recently, naexperience ko na sya! I went to Boracay last March 19 with my boyfriend and friends. Its my third time na in Bora so I told myself I shoud try something new. Yung di ko pa na-try na gawin sa last 2 visits ko and I've decided its gonna be Parasailing. Medyo ayaw pa ni jowa nung una kasi nga mahal daw pero sa totoo lang alam kong natatakot sya. Pero dahil malakas ang convincing powers ko, atleast for my bf, napapayag ko rin sya.

Early morning of our anniversary we went for a walk and look for an agent offering a Parasailing activity. Actually di mo na kailangan maghanap eh, kasi sila na mismo lalapit sayo. We saw this kuya na mabait. Nakipagusap kami. Nagkasundo sa presyo. Nagset ng time. Sabi nila iisa na lang daw ang presyo ng Parasailing which is 1500 pesos, pero naka-discount kami ng konte. Kaya 2800 pesos ang binayaran namen para sa dalawa. I know right! Kinda masakit sa bulsa but will it be worthit? Hmmmm, let's see!

Then we went to the departure area ng mga bangka. We registered, waited a couple of minutes for the speedboat that took us to the parasailing boat.

When we arrived on the boat the crew gave us some safety precautions. Mga dapat at hindi dapat gawin habang nasa ere kami. Then we geared up and wooot here we go!

I'm a little bit nervous habang papataas pero nawala rin naman. But when we're already up I suddenly felt nauseous. Sobrang nahihilo ako to the point na nasusuka na ko. Mas lumalala lalo na pag hinahangin kami. I asked my boyfriend kung nahihilo ba sya, hindi daw. So ang ending sya yung sobrang nag-enjoy and Im glad he did.

Hindi naman ako masyadong mahilohin at hindi ko talaga iniexpect na mahihilo ako sa parasailing. Siguro dahil puyat ako the night before.

feeling ko kaya ako sobrang nahilo dahil pinaglaruan kami ni kuyang taga-picture

He asked me kung gusto ko na daw bumaba. I told him na tapusin namen yung time which is 15 minutes lang naman kasi sayang yung binayad namen, sulitin na.

So I tried to enjoy the view para hindi ko maisip na nasusuka ako, nakakahiya naman kung susuka ako while we're 50 plus feet high.

Usually pag ganitong mga adventures I dont want it to end yet pero this time I cant wait na matapos na.

nasusuka na kooooo!

They started to pull us back. Buti na lang medyo mabilis ang pagbaba. The minute we're aboard, I didnt just vomited, I threw up hard! Sobrang nakakahiya haha!

The speedboat took us back again to the shore. But wait, there's more. The driver let my boyfriend drive the speedboat and he enjoyed it.

Mas na-enjoy ko pa ang pag-sakay sa speedboat kesa sa parasailing. But I can say that it was still worthit kasi naexperience ko sya, nakita ko ang view ng Boracay mula sa taas na breathtaking talaga, at kahit pano nag-enjoy din naman ako minus the hilo syempre and atleast my love enjoyed it more.

pampatanggal hilo hihihi

And that was my first Parasailing experience. Yes, first, because maybe I will give it another try someday. Sana hindi na ko mahilo para mas ma-enjoy ko sya.