the one with remembering... sagada

***Sa pagpapatuloy ng aking travel journal, naisama (kunwari total experience ang bawat journal entry ko) ko na kayo sa Ilocos Norte (Paoay at Batac, Laoag, Burgos, Bangui at Pagudpud) Ilocos Sur (Sta Maria). I may have a entry about Baguio but it was more of how I miss the place and not highlighting the city's bonggang spots.


Date: May 15 - 18, 2008 (or so I think)
Place: Sagada, Mt Province
With co-Elmos (shocks ang corny..) Jerry and Melannie

May 15 ng umaga kami umalis ng Baguio at nakarating ng hapon or pagabi ng Sagada at umalis ng May 18 late morning nakaalis ng Sagada at late afternoon na nakarating ng Baguio. In short, dalawang araw lang talaga ako sa Sagada.J

Jerry was our tour guide. Kahit sa Baguio na lumaki si Jerry, tubong Sagada talaga ang pamilya niya. Naalala ko, Jerry stayed at their old house while me and Mel stayed at her Tita's house in Sagada Homestay. Nakakasalubong pa nga namin sa aming paggagala ang Lola nya. J

Dahil nung 2008 pa ito (at hindi pa uso sa akin ang mag-document ng mga kung anu-ano sa buhay ko), hindi ko na maalala ang mga pagkakasunud-sunod ng mga ganap. Pati mga lugar na pinuntahan namin, hindi ko na maalala! Calling Jerry.. Mel.. Help on these please..

Kaya naman, let the pictures do the talking.

THE PLACES

Clockwise:

• I remember calling it the small falls. haha. Pero di ko makakalimutan ito dahil hindi naman ako madalas makapunta sa mga talon (naks talon talaga). Ang lakas ng tubig! Lamig!
• Mukhang hindi importante ang kuhang ito pero ito kasi ung unang pagkakataon na maka-experience ako ng umuulan ng yelo! as in yelo na pwedeng ilagay sa halu-halo! Kung mapapansin nyo ung isang puti, yelo yun! J
• Sabi ni Jerry, Lake Danum. Danum in Ilocano is "Water". (Like in Baguio, people in Sagada speak Ilocano and English, not everybody speaks Tagalog). So Lake Water? Redundant? Walang pakialaman. Anyway, something eerie about this place. Mystical ang effect. But I love it. Biased ako. I love everything in Sagada.. OA lang J
• Coffins at the entrance of the caves(?) Grabe nakalimutan ko na kung saan to! Pero swear, meron talagang mga buto-buto pa ilan sa mga kabaong. Meron din kasing Hanging coffins in Sagada, hindi ko lang makita yung photo ko nun.

• At Sagada Pottery. Meron talagang ako soft spot for local (indigenous at hindi mga imitation) products. Kaya naman nakakatuwa ang Sagada pottery. Kung kaya ko lang na mag-uwi ng sangkatutak ng mga ito ay ginawa ko na. Isang baso lang ang naiuwi ko. Oh well...

FOODAMS!

Syempre hindi ko makakalimutan kung saan kami kumain. *wink wink* ..

I was able to retrieve photos from two food places - Yogurt House and Masferre's. First photo is Yogurt House ceiling, veggie sandwiches the three of us ordered, that's me sumo-solitary moment in Yogurt House and the beautiful natural state of our food at Masferre's. Forgot to take pictures of the Lemon Pie, the sole reason why I became a Lemon fan, and other foodams we "lafuse-d" in Sagada.

Kahit saan ata ako kumain sa Sagada mai-inlove, feeling ko masarap. The blueberry jams, the fresh veggies, brown rice.. It's like eating healthy pero hindi ka naman on a diet! Yun ang masarap na feeling J

FRIENDS

I love travelling with friends.I love going to foreign places while walking with local feet. Friends who can walk and talk local? Bongga lang! My Ilocos Norte trip last May I had Chie and Chona as my local feet. During my Ilocos Sur trip, it was Myleen, For this Sagada trip, local feet ko dito si Jerry. I want to live by the saying, I am not a tourist, I am a traveler J

I love the randomness. Nung mga panahon na ito, hindi pa namin naiisip na magpose para sa facebook, twitter or instagram. Thank you Jerry for taking our pic in Lake Danum where Mel and I were like kids excited to take that little dip.That tree hugging shot, and the one with crossing the river to get to the small falls! The experience!

Gustong gusto kong bumabalik sa Northern Luzon, be it in Ilocandia or in the Cordillera, kasama ang mga college friends ko. Parang we share the same feelings about the place.

ME IN SAGADA

Lahat naman siguro ng "traveler" merong side of them na gustong magkaroon ng remembrance ng lugar ng mga napuntahan nila. I know, I know. More people now opt to take good even brilliant photos of the scenery and all to capture the place, to capture the feeling. Ako naman, meron mang balik alaala, ako balik damdamin ang tawag ko dun. Nakakatulong sa aking "pagbabalik tanaw" kapag nakikita ko ung sarili ko sa mga lugar na napuntahan ko sa mga nakuhang photos. Parang total experience lang!

Clockwise..

• Me taking the dip in the small falls, malamig ang tubig pero mainit ang araw!
• Enjoying the green landscapes
• Pinag-iisipan kung ano nga ba ang mapapala ko sa kakatingin sa mga kabaong na yun
• Walking in the fields, on our way to the small falls.

Hindi ko na maalala kung alin sa apat ang "scripted" at alin an candid. Pero lagi na lang akong merong ganitong kuha - ung nakatingin. Siguro nahuhuli nila ako na nag-iisip.. Hmmm... Naaaah. I don't think so.. J 

I have lots of raw photos - un-glamorous I think is a better term - in my files that I can always go back whenever I want to visit that feeling. But sorry, I can not share them to you as they are nakakalokang nakakahiya than nakakalokang funny. Hindi pa ganun kagaling ang aking "eye" sa moment capturing, kung meron man ako ngayon J

And that is my Sagada experience. Actually this was my 2nd time in Sagada. My first time was back in college when Jerry asked me and Mel if we want to accompany him in a weekend trip. May gagawin ata syang school related stuff. Since it was a weekend trip lang, I only got a glimpse of the province, I was only able to visit Church of St Mary the Virgin and the Hanging  Coffins and the Sagada Weaving. However, even on my 2nd trip there, hindi pa rin ganun kabongga ang aking tour. Maybe on my third trip there, I can brave the Sumaging Cave and eat a buffett dinner in Log Cabin. Maybe on my third trip, kasama ko na si Moks.

I will always be in love with all that is up north...

merci merci