the xaris survives sagada

On our second day, we woke up a bit late at 7am and prepared for sightseeing. A hearty breakfast at the Yoghurt House did the trick in gassing us up for a long day ahead.

Manong Allen was not available for that day so we had another guide, Manong Tuts. He seemed pretty quiet the whole time so I chatted him up and took pictures of him while he moved his face away.

First stop was Echo Valley. We passed through the church (very, very noice!), a graveyard and steep mountainsides to get to the place. The place was soo pretty and the echoes were so cool! I yelled ‘I love you Piolo (piolo-piolo-piolo)’ and took pictures. Manong Tuts then launched the story of how last year, a foreigner dropped from the main road, down the ravines and into the valley while the guy was walking and taking photos. He narrated how the poor tourist plunged seventy meters to his death. Gee, thanks, Manong, I feel very brave now.

Our next destination was the Underground River but I went alone on that one because Cindy bailed on me. The trek down was also tough since I haven’t been involved in much physical activities, oh I don’t know, since I was fifteen. My strained, almost-atrophied leg muscles screamed in protest as we went down, down the mountain. Manong Tuts pointed where we were headed and warned me about grasses and plants I must not hold onto. Elle Woods would have been proud of me as I mastered the bend and step. I bend my knees so it wouldn’t hurt going up and down and hear twigs snap on my weight. The bend and snap. Bow.

On the trail was another interesting burial spot. Going to the river, there was a cave that was closed to tourists in 1997. It used to be a sightseeing destination. He pointed where it was and told the story about how somebody fell into the cave and died.

I’m getting the sense he worked for the grim reaper.

The underground river was okay though nothing spectacular, at least from where I was standing. To appreciate the body of water better, Manong Tuts said it was best that we go further down and swim until we get to the Bok-od Falls, our final itinerary. I wasn’t ready to get wet so we went back to the main road and took another trail (gasp!) to get to the famed falls.

Speaking of famous falls, there was another one called the Big Falls but a sign at the Town Hall said the site was closed to tourists. Manong Tuts regretted that he couldn’t take me to see it because the spot was closed for a week. Apparently, somebody fell in the currents the morning we landed in Sagada. The person died of drowning.

Further probing led to another one of his narration on dying tourists. Yes, I got the picture clearly, thanksverymuch. ‘Manong, bat naman puro kamatayan ang tema ng kwento mo?’

The trail to the small falls wasn’t any easier than the one leading to the underground river. I wish I could’ve swum instead.

The water was cold and the water fell off beautifully. There were kids already there, some wading, some swimming through the river. Some braver ones even jumped off the fall and it was so much fun! It was such an exhilarating jump!

Yes, that's me. I'm a shape shifter.

How do you think I managed to get through narrow passages in the cave, huh? The jump is something like ten meters and the welcoming waters go as deep as twenty feet. Oh, the water felt so good though I couldn’t really be sure about the pool’s depth… errm, hmm.

We stayed awhile and watched more people come to spend their holidays swimming and jumping off mini-falls. Manong Tuts was kind enough not to get into any more creepy tales.

While we were making our way back to the main road, he asked me if I had seen the Piolo-Juday movie, Don’t Give Up On Us (but of course!). He pointed to the cabbage patch where they shot the ‘saving the repolyo from the rain’ scene and I almost squealed in delight. It took all my restraint not to run to it and collect soil from where Piolo stood. Wahahaha. Crazy fangirl.

It was time to go back to town to get our things so we can start our way back home. I didn’t want to leave just yet but I saw no point in staying if Cindy wouldn’t be there anyway. I just felt a bit bad that I did not have time to see the lake (it’s famous all on its own but I wanted to see it because Piolo Pascual had a ‘fixing the truck’s wheel’ scene there).

From city girl to cave girl (yeah baby!) to almost-bat girl (destined talaga kami ni Bruce Wayne) to fan girl (follow Piolo’s footsteps!) to survivor (I did not die, haha), Sagada brought me a deeper appreciation of what it meant to really live. Stand in awe of a mighty Creator, see beauty, smell fresh air, move limbs, be brave, be strong, endure hardships (what? It was hard most of the time), hurt, relate to people, laugh, love and all that jazz.

Isn’t life amazing?

PS. I shall post all the pichoors as soon as i get home and get my hands on IE and multiply toolbar because i'm a turd like that. bow.