Monday, May 18, 2009

The Ultimate Adventure - SAGADA

Sagada -- is a 5th class municipality in the province of Mountain Province, Philippines. Popular activities include trekking, exploring both caves and waterfalls, spelunking, bonfires, picnics, rapelling, visiting historical sites, nature hikes, and participating in tribal celebrations.(wikipedia.com)

The Adventurers - Xima, Mark, Peter, Harvey, Rykiel, Karol, Muy, Shelley, Riva, Nez




























The Roadtrip
Even the roadtrip was adventure enough. With our tire exploding in the middle of the highway, sleeping and numerous bumping for the people by the windows, the chips ambush, and of course the scenic views along the way.

Quotable Conversation--
Karol: (looking at PSP) "AAAHH INSEECT!!"
Peter: (excitedly) "San san??"
Peter: (disappointed) "Ahh insect, akala ko NSync.."
Riva: (laughing) "Naexcite ka sa NSync???"

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA


























The Inn
Stayed at the Residential Lodge, with Muy as my roomie. :) The place was pretty good, better than I expected. We had the whole floor to ourselves, so we had 2 bathrooms all to ourselves. There were also not much people staying actually, so we also got to use the extra 2 bathrooms at the 1st floor. There were a lot of sari sari stores and souveneir shops beside the inn, but there isn't really much of a view there.

















The Adventures

Caving
Intense caving experience. Rapelling, Rock Climbing, Bat poop, Water Sliding, Swimming on Ice cold water, Steaming as if like human ice cream, and of course the photographs. Very tiring indeed, but definitely worth the adventure. Let the pictures, bruises and muscle pains speak for themselves! We survived the ultimate caving experience! Tip to all going there in the future: Always bring your camera. If you think you won't be able to take pictures, let the guides take your pictures. They're good at it!!

Quotable Conversation/line:
Guide: Wag mauntog, sayang ung bato.
























Mini Trekking
Due to some ritual, we weren't able to do the actual trekking. Though we were able to go and swim at a small falls. I loved it! The water was very cold, and the scenery was just beautiful. This marked the end of Nez's Dior shades. :|


























Sunrise Viewing
Went on a hike early morning. Was supposed to watch the sunrise, that would have been such a sight! But the fog was too thick so we really just had a very tiring hike. And a photoshoot as the ultimate relaxation.

Quotable Conversation:
Muy: (to manong jeep driver) Kuya, malayo pa ba?
Kuya: Oo!
Muy: Pwede pasakay na!!

2nd Quotable Conversation:
Mark: Let's enjoy the tranquility of nature. Gusto ko marinig ung chirp ng birds! (Tumahimik kayo. --referring to Nez and I)
Nez and I: CHIRPCHIRPCHIRP!


























Scenery
Sagada overlooks their own Rice Terraces. It's really a place where the sky is bluer and the grasses are greener.









































Culture

Weaving and Pottery
Sources of income for the locals









Church

Wasn't able to enter, but the others were. :)










Museum
Showed their great culture. How different the men were from the women, showed their different weaponry, and how they greatly praised idols.









Food

To excite my great addiction to yoghurt, Sagada has a lot of yoghurt choices. From the very famous Yoghurt House, to the homey Rocky Inn. Sagada is also famous for their traditional chicken called "Pinikpikan". They basically torture the chicken to make it more delicious. To be fair, the chicken was, delicious! Maybe worth the torture? :( We even ate quite A LOT! But the best food we had there was the breakfast meals at Salt and Pepper. Too bad we weren't able to buy a meal for the road home. I miss their omelette!! :)

Yoghurt House
Serving was big, yoghurt was great, but not as good as I expected. Service was slow but food was delicious :)









Residential Inn
We stayed here, so we were bound to try their food. It wasn't that awesome, nothing special, just your local cuisine.









Salt and P
epper
Breakfast -- Best meal we had! Their food was the best!! Loved their omelette and their longganisa!








Dinner -- Tried the Sagada speciality, Pinikpikan. Delicious! Everyone just ate too much! :D









Rocked Inn

Best yoghurt I had in Sagada! Their yoghurt pancake is a must try! But even just their simple strawberry yoghurt was already good enough :D