Exploring the Hidden Beauty of Sagada

Sagada, Mountain Province

22-24 January 2016

The planning of our Sagada Adventure started in December 2015. According to our original travel plan, we were supposed to do it on a backpacking style however, it was early January 2016 when we finally decided to do it as a private tour.

Day 01: Travel to Sagada from  Manila

We had a late shopping at Pure Gold Paranaque to get some supplies that we will be needing for the trip. 

We left Manila at 2045H on a private van. We were eight including our van driver Jason. We were supposed to be nine however, two participants Icar and Joel begged off at the last minute for personal reasons.

We took the highway from our office in Paranaque to Manila and then NLEX. We didn't take TPLEX, however, and pressed north via NLEX. We passed through Clark, Nueva Ecija and Nueva Vizcaya towards the Mountain Province.

Jason said our travel time will be twelve hours approximately.

We had several rendezvous along the way to rest and refuel. Our first was at Petron NLEX. It was past eleven in the evening.

As usual, the team had fun inside the van while on travel. I took the front seat beside the driver.

We had our second stop over at Nueva Vizcaya and rested for thirty minutes. It was 0217H on the 23rd of January. We checked the nearby 7-11 store in search for a coffee. Unfortunately, the vendo machine ran dry and so the rest of the team decided to try the "Balot" and the hot chicken lugaw (congee).

It was a long drive from Nueva Vizcaya to the Mountain Province on a winding road. While the rest was asleep, I tried to stay awake and maintain a light conversation with the driver just to keep him awake and alert.

It was 0648H when we reached Banaue. We stopped at the welcome arc together with other travelers. It was a perfect moment to take photos because the sun was just shining at that time.

We continued our journey up north and at 0735H we were at the Rice Terraces viewing deck. We had our breakfast.

We were served with the traditional Mountain Province brown rice. I ordered longganisa (sausage) and an organic coffee.

 

There is a souvenir shop nearby full of wood carvings. Ms. Weng got a very nice pair of wooden chair carved like a palm.

From the viewing deck, we pressed north and reached Sagada at 1015H. We were booked at Canaway Inn but since the main building was full at that time, we took the annex building and we occupied the third floor.

Day 02: Spelunking at Sumaguing

Our activity on the first day was spelunking at the Sumaguing Cave. It was scheduled at 1400H. We went out of the inn for lunch and for early souvenir shopping.

We had lunch at the "Pinikpikan Restaurant" and we were served a chicken menu called "Pinikpikan". According to the restaurant manager, it's a best seller menu and a must-try.

After having lunch, we decided to check the nearby souvenir shop. I got two navy blue t-shirts and since I left my hiking hat at home, I got a new one.

At exactly 1400H, we were all ready for the spelunking. We walked all the way to the road crossing and waited there for our guide.

 

We met a young "FBI" (Full-Blooded-Igorot), "Theodore". According to our guide he has another name in the local dialect.

Aside from being so friendly, accommodating and respectful, one thing that I would always remember of Theodore was his "wit". Everyone of us agreed that he has the "talent" or "skill" of saying things that are clever and so funny.

For instance, these are few lines that I still remember. These conversations happened inside the cave.

Rhea: Theodore, saan ba ako tatapak? (Where will I step?)

Theodore: Ma'am sa bato po... (Ma'am please step on the stone)

Weng: Naku! malalim ba yung tubig na yan Theodore? (Theodore, is the water deep?)

Theodore: Hanggang dibdib po yan ma'am... ng pato! (It's chest-deep of a dock)

We stared the adventure at 1444H. At the entrance of the cave, we were all fully loaded - we had our trekking poles, small backpacks, water bottles, camera, etc. However, we were adviced by Theodore to leave everything behind because we will be getting through narrow passages and it's simply impossible to bring bags, poles, etc. so we left all our gears at the van.

 

Since I wanted to take photos inside the cave, I asked Theodore to carry my DSLR camera for me. He was carrying a "Hasag" (petroleum lamp) that served as our beacon inside the dark realm. I was also using my head lamp.

 

We had a short briefing at the entrance of the cave and then we proceeded.

 

According to Theodore, the cave has three levels - the first level is where the slippery rocks and the bat lairs are located. The second level is where the rock formations are and finally the third level is where we are going to do the tunneling.

Sumaguing cave is a deep vertical non-commercial cave as compared to the Underground River in Palawan which is generally long horizontal cave.

We started spelunking at 1457H. The place was dark and it was very slippery. I was planning to remove my slippers at that time just to have a better grip on the rocks however our guide said not to.

The steep trail and the slippery rocks reminded me of my experience when we climbed the slippery trail of Mt. Mayon on a rainy season. 

I believed there were more than a hundred thousand bats at the ceiling of the the cave at that time because of their sound.

At 1549H, we reached the end of the first level and as we moved deeper, we saw the magnificence and grandeur of the cave.

 

We were all in awe of the rock formations, stalactites and stalagmites all around us. The water inside the cave is cool and crystal clear.

 

Just like the stalactites and stalagmites in the Underground River of Palawan, those in Sumaguing are no less amazing. The beauty of the rock formations are beyond compare.

 

As we walked and climbed the rock formations, Theodore had to stop us many times over for photo and to marvel at the grandeur of the art of mother nature. These rock formations are the results of mother nature's work for thousands or even millions of years.

 

At 1617H we were at the end of the rock formations. At this point, we had another briefing with Theodore for the third level - tunneling.

At first, he was hesitant to bring us through the narrow watery passage but at the end, we all decided to proceed.

At the entrance of the narrow and watery passage we had to crawl beneath the rocks. There are passages that are too narrow that we had to enter feet or head first.

 

There is a portion inside the tunnel where we had to hang ourselves on a rope and slowly descend on a ice-cold chest deep water and walk slowly to the other end of the pool.

 

We had much adventures inside the narrow tunnels of the cave and we managed to get back to the rock formations at 1707H.

 

From there we continued our ascend back to the cave entrance. 

 

We were back at the cave entrance at 1801H.

From Sumaguing Cave, the team decided to drive straight to a nearby restaurant for dinner.

We had our dinner at a restaurant near the Yogurt House. After dinner, we visited the plaza for late souvenir shopping. We were all back at the inn at 2109H.

Day 03: Sunrise Viewing at Kiltepan Point, Explore St. Mary's Church and Trek to Echo Valley

On our last day at Sagada, we were scheduled to see the sunrise at the Kiltepan Point, explore St. Mary's Church and trek to the Echo Valley to see the hanging coffins.

We woke up early at 0300H and prepared for the sunrise viewing at Kiltepan Point.

We left the inn at 0408H. We took a jeep together with other tourists. Sunrise was at 0624H. We were at the Kiltepan Point at 0510H. It was very cold, fuggy and drizzling.

We waited at Hinode Cafe for the sunrise. At 0630H, we decided leave the place as it started to rain. From Kiltepan Point, we alighted in front of the St. Mary's Church.

At the site, Theodore was waiting for us. We started exploring St. Mary's Church at 0702H.

The old bell of the church is displayed at the entrance gate. Embossed on the bell was the date when it was probably cast - 1921. I was assuming then that the church was also built on the same date or maybe a little earlier.

The church is famous for its rose petal stained glass in front of the building.

I was trying to look for the historical marker to learn more of the church history but there was none.

St. Mary's Church is an Anglican Church. Theodore said, the Anglican faith was brought by the Americans to Sagada.

 

From the church, we started trekking to the Echo Valley. We passed by the Anglican cemetery where one of the SAF44 heroes was laid to rest. 

 

According to our guide, the echo valley is also called "Baw-eng" in the Ilocano vernacular which means "echo".

We reached the hanging coffins at 0742H. 

At 0810H we had our breakfast at Sagada before leaving for Baguio City.

At 0915H we proceeded to Baguio City via Kennon Road and through the Baguio-Bontoc (Halsema Highway). It was a five hour winding road trip.

We had a stop over along Halsema Highway to refuel and buy some vegetables.

At 1350H we reached La Trinidad and had our lunch. We proceeded to the Straw Berry farm at 1440H. It was raining at that time.

 

From the Straw Berry farm we passed by Baguio souvenir shop before heading back to Manila.

From Baguio we passed by La Union, Pangasinan and took TPLEX from there.

We were back home 2115H.

DIOS TI CUMUYOG, SAGADA!!

--o0o--

Road Trips: Shrine of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary of Manaoag, Pangasinan, Monasterio de Tarlac and Shrine of St. Padre Pio, Sto. Tomas, Batangas

Shrine of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary

Manaoag, Pangasinan

18 November 2015

It was a long holiday because of the APEC in Manila. We took this opportunity to unwind, escaped the city and traveled  north.

Our destination was the "pilgrim center of the north" in Manaoag, Pangasinan province (The Shrine of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary of Manaoag). It was my second time to visit the church after almost ten years.

We left Manila at 0700H on the 18th of November 2015. We were five - Dr. NRV, Ms. Weng, Jeannie, Rhea and myself. We were aiming to attend the 1000H mass.

We took the Mindanao Avenue, NLEX and then TPLEX. We were so confident that we can attend the said mass since travel time to Manaoag from Manila via TPLEX would normally take two and a half hours only, according to Ms. Rhea who frequently visits the site.

We never thought and underestimated the volume of vehicles going out of Manila and travelling north at that time. Not to mention, there were several vehicular accidents along TPLEX and so instead of two and a half hours normal travel time to Manaog, it took us more than five hours to reach the pilgrim site.

While on a heavy traffic along the express way, we had fun inside the car. We had a game called "Around the World" inside the care. I could not believe that there was such a heavy traffic on an express way like TPLEX.

At 1215H, we were queuing at the church parking lot. Though the 1000H mass celebration was over, the church was still full at that time including the parking area.

I started exploring the church at 1246H. Except for the image of the Blessed Virgin Mary, I could no longer recall the structural feature of the church when I first visited the site.

 

I had an expectation to see an old colonial church similar to those in the Ilocos provinces, however, the present architecture of the church, for me, looked completely new.

 

It could be due to the several restorations done on the structure that made it looked a modern infrastructure.

Nevertheless, I had a good time exploring the site.

The center of the pilgrim site is the image of the Blessed Virgin Mary with the Child Jesus enshrined at the high altar of the Basilica.

According to Wikipedia, The statue of Our Lady of Manaoag is a 17th-century ivory image of the Virgin Mary with the Child Jesus enshrined at the high altar of the Basilica. It was brought to the Philippines from Spain via the Manila galleon from Acapulco, Viceroyalty of New Mexico, in the early 17th century by the priest Juan de San Jacinto.

Documents dating back to 1610 attest that a middle-aged farmer walking home heard a mysterious female voice. He looked around and saw on a cloud-veiled treetop an apparition of the Virgin Mary, holding a rosary in her right hand and the Child Jesus in her left arm, all amidst a heavenly glow. Mary told the farmer where she wanted her church to be built, and a chapel was built on the hilltop site of the apparition, forming the nucleus of the present town.

Our Lady of the Rosary is depicted in other countries with similar attributes, with the accouterments and style of the vestments varying across cultures. The Manaoag image is distinct from other statues in its sculpture and regalia, particularly its crown.

A pilgrim replica of the image also exists and is toured around parishes in the Philippines for veneration.

The image of Our Lady of Manaoag and her bejeweled crown are considered priceless. There have been several attempts to burglaries the Manaoag Shrine of the jewels sewn into the icon's dress and set into its regalia which include crowns, halos, rosary, scepters, and marshal's baton.

Several of her golden crowns and halos are deposited at the shrine's museum, donated by both local and foreign devotees. An expensive collection of liturgical vestments that have been used by the image and the Dominican priests are also on display, as are an array of perfumes used to anoint the image. These are ex-votos given by devotees and pilgrims from around the world.

The image of Our Lady of Manaoag is fully secured within a bulletproof glass enclosure above the new high altar, which has additional wood carvings, an elevated pedestal, and four golden candelabras. The coat-of-arms of the Dominicans is embedded above the image's window as a demonstration of the Order's devotion to her. The bas-relief, made of narra carvings beneath her throne that beautifully depicts the historic events in the devotion to Our Lady, has been refurbished.

The archdiocese, in line with the Filipino custom of venerated an image by touching its body or clothing, constructed a staircase that rises to Veneration Room on the second floor behind the apse. The room has pews in front of the alcove behind the image's shrine. Supplicants kneel before the glass small window behind the image's base to pray and touch the hem of the image's mantle, often dropping written prayers into a nearby box. After venerating the image, devotees pass through the religious goods shop on their way out.

--o0o--

Monasterio de Tarlac

San Jose, Tarlac

8 December 2015

We had a Town Hall meeting at our Subic Branch office on the 7th of December 2015.

The following day while driving along SCTEX, we decided to visit the Monasterio de Tarlac on our way back to Manila.

According to WikiPedia, Monasterio de Tarlac is a popular tourist destination in the province of Tarlac in the Philippines. It is a monastery on top of Mount Resurrection, part of the Zambales Mountain Range in San Jose, one of the municipalites in Tarlac.

In the monastery can be found a relic of the True Cross. Monasterio de Tarlac is located at the Mount Resurrection Eco Park in barangay Lubigan.

There is no entrance fee to the monastery and it is open to the public daily from 7:00AM to 6:00PM.

The Monasterio de Tarlac covers 278-hectare Ecotourism Park which was developed by the former congressman Jose "APING" Yap. It is surrounded by nature with natural and fresh air coming from the mountain. A 30-foot colossal statue of Jesus Christ overseeing the city stands tall at the side of the mountain.

We left Subic office after having a sumptuous breakfast at the hotel at 0730H and took SCTEX. Five of us were on board Jeannie's car. From SCTEX, we took Mabalacat Exit and then drove along Manila North Road (McArthur Highway) and then exit at Capas then straight ahead to the site.

We had few minutes stop over at Mabalacat Shell station for a quick break and to refuel.

The road leading to the site is a long winding road. I felt like traveling along the zigzag road at Dalton Pass.

We reached the site atop the hill at San Jose Tarlac 1045H. There was a mass at 1100H which we all attended.

One of the many highlights of our visit to the Monasterio was our experience to touch the case containing the relic of the True Cross. The golden case is inside the church altar.

 

Aside from the relic of the True Cross, we were so happy to see the 30-foot statue of Jesus Christ overlooking the city similar to the the statue of Christ the Redeemer in Brazil.

 

After taking photos, we left the Monasterio de Tarlac with a happy and fulfilled hearts at 1300H

--o0o--

Shrine of St. Padre Pio

Sto. Tomas, Batangas

20 December 2015

For several times, I had seen the Shrine of St. Padre Pio featured on numerous blog sites and tourist leaflets.

I had been planning to see the Shrine several months ago.

Early on the 28th of December 2015, Jeannie and I met at the Cash and Carry Mall and then proceeded to Dr. NRV's place in Paranaque.

From Paranaque, on board NRV's vehicle, we traveled south and fetched Ms. Weng and Rhea at Robinson's Pala Pala. From there we went straight to Sto. Tomas in Batangas. Melanie was waiting for us somewhere along the Star Express Way. 

We were hoping to attend the 1000H mass celebration at the Shrine. Luckily, we reached the site at 0945H few minutes before the mass started.

It was my first time at the Shrine. Upon entering the site, I was immediately impressed looking at the circular church structure with a dome.

 

Jesus Christ statue hangs at the middle of the dome while the Blessed Virgin Mary stands tall at the top of the dome.

  

Nearby the church is an hexagonal structure that serves as the bell tower.

Under the bell tower is a holy water fountain.

I had the chance to climb up the bell tower and took a photo of the church from above.

The church is surrounded with different status of saints.

At the rear of the church is another cross of Jesus Christ with St. Padre Pio.

The candelaria can also be found at the rear of the church.

I felt blessed and happy to be able to see the Shrine finally and for the first time.

We left the Shrine at 1300H.

--o0o--