Extreme Northern Luzon Mountain Adventure

[earthdome]

I would like to remind our good members that posts like this with all kinds of photos of typical daily expat life, is what the Boss loves to see.  This case, a daily blog of Earthdome's travel adventure was extremely interesting with lessons learned.  For example, the use of GPS has it's limitations due to lost of cellphone signal but I would hope that signals directly from GPS satellites would be more reliable using a separate handheld or vehicle navigation device.     Perhaps a follow on discussion about what to bring on your next road trip.  I would suspect that GPS images will show to turn right at a certain road.  Unless you have a local guide, most mountain roads are not labelled to side roads or very hard to see.  Besides medical kit and tools, what would be included in your emergency road kit?  I think right off the bat, I would bring a rechargeable spot light, spare batteries, compass and a tow harness.  Here's another item if you want to play in the mud:    

 

One thing I would have liked to have was a USB charger that plugs into the cigarette lighter. One issue I had was getting a low battery on the cellphone I was using as a GPS. Fortunately I had my laptop with me and could recharge the cellphone from that.

 

I still have to make posts and upload pictures for the last 3 days of the adventure at Banaue, Sagada and the drive back to Baguio.

[JJReyes]

One thing I would have liked to have was a USB charger that plugs into the cigarette lighter. One issue I had was getting a low battery on the cellphone I was using as a GPS.

 

I carry with me a small solar charger about the size of a larger cellular phone. It charges a built-in battery and you transfer to your cellular phone the stored energy. The problem is anyone who sees me with the solar device wants it. I usually leave it behind as a gift before exiting the Philippines.

[OnMyWay]

One thing I would have liked to have was a USB charger that plugs into the cigarette lighter.

 

They have these in some of the auto stores.  I think I saw them in Concorde, which I believe is a chain.  I like the store in Harbor Point mall, SBFZ.  The prices are good and they are helpful.  I bought some wiper blades there last night.  The guy offered to go out to the mall parking lot to install them for me, but there was no need because these Raintech wipers are really simple to install.

[earthdome]

Extreme Northern Luzon Mountain Adventure - Day 5

 

Day 5 started with the complimentary breakfast at the Banaue Hotel which was very good.

 

Then we walked down to an area close to the hotel where you can view some ancestor bones and visited a weaving and carving shop. At the shop I found a small coffee table. Made of solid native hardwood with natural color (no stain) with a chess board embedded in the top. It was just what I was looking for and 3000 pesos seemed reasonable although the table is kind of heavy.

 

Then we got a guide (arranged through the hotel) and went on a hike down to a village in the rice terraces.

 

Note that both in Banaue and Sagada as a tourist you were required to register and pay a small fee.

 

Then we decided to drive to the Hapao rice terraces, a 16km drive. I got 8km down the road and ran into construction areas that were very muddy. Since we wanted to get to Sagada later that day I decided to turn around and head back to Banaue where we had a late lunch.

 

Then we made the drive from Banaue to Bontoc, a bit less than 2 hours. On the way just outside of Banaue are some of the best views of the rice terraces. On the mountain drive to Bontoc we hit an area with very low visibility as we drove through a cloud.

 

From Bontoc it took a bit less than an hour to drive to Sagada. There were a few short areas where there was no concrete on the road to Sagada.

 

In the mountains of northern Luzon I have frequently seen signs that say "No Spitting Moma". I had no idea what they meant. I finally asked and found out that in the Luzon mountain areas some men chew and then spit something they call "moma". It is based on the betel nut and makes a red juice that they spit. http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/regions/view/20090617-210870/Chewing-moma-swallowing-culture

 

Here are some pictures from the day in Banaue and the trip to Sagada.

 

[earthdome]

Ok, I swear, this wasn't me on my recent visit to Banaue

 

[JJReyes]

Day 5 started with the complimentary breakfast at the Banaue Hotel which was very good.

 

Banaue Hotel use to serve the best European bread in the Philippines. We use to visit the area about four time a year, staying at the Banaue Hotel,  and my sons would always order Hoagie sandwiches. We learned Belgian nuns from a nearby mission school taught the villagers how to bake bread.

[i am bob]

You know, folks? If, as Jake mentioned earlier, we had more posts like this, well, our little forum would be the top requested forum not just for the Philippines but all of South Asia! Maybe even more! Great job on this series and I can't wait for the report on the rest of the trip but on the follow-up info that will be shared as well!

Sent by Gaseous Monkeys using tin cans, a very long string and Tapatalk...

[JJReyes]

I agree that it is an excellent, very informative post. The descriptions of places to visit by the Department of Tourism is absolutely useless in comparison. 

[OnMyWay]

 

One thing I would have liked to have was a USB charger that plugs into the cigarette lighter. One issue I had was getting a low battery on the cellphone I was using as a GPS.

 

I carry with me a small solar charger about the size of a larger cellular phone. It charges a built-in battery and you transfer to your cellular phone the stored energy. The problem is anyone who sees me with the solar device wants it. I usually leave it behind as a gift before exiting the Philippines.

 

 

 

I'm doing a bit of typhoon preparedness shopping today.  I have seen the cig lighter one at an auto part shop and I will get one.  Has anyone seen the solar chargers at a shop in Phils?  Maybe CDR King?

[earthdome]

Extreme Northern Luzon Mountain Adventure - Day 6

 

Stayed 2 nights in Sagada at the Sagada Guest House. It is a bit older and the room had the basics. We had to ask for towels there was no soap. The restaurant was fine for breakfast. Overall I wouldn't recommend it except that it is centrally located.

 

We ate several times at the St. Joseph Rest House close to the Sagada Guest House. Breakfast there was fine but for one dinner I ordered fried chicken and it wasn't cooked thoroughly. I returned it and ended up skipping dinner. From the internet the best restaurant in Sagada wasn't open.

 

In the morning we took a guided tour of the hanging coffins and the Sumaguing and Lumiang Caves. We took the cave connector between the 2 caves. Just the two of us and our guide with a coleman lantern. Our spelunking took almost 3 hours. This was not some US cave tourist spot with walkways and lights. This was spelunking crawling through tight spots between rocks, doing half a dozen rope rappel's and wading through knee deep water. While we were in the cave I recalled a story from earlier this year about some Japanese tourists who got trapped in a cave by a flash flood and had to be rescued. I asked our guide and sure enough, we were in that cave. Then I recalled all the earthquakes in the Philippines and all of a sudden the rocks seemed much closer! The entrance to Sumaguing cave is filled with very old stone coffins. Another area of the cave is filled with bats. There were four formations in the cave named the King, Queen, Prince and Princess based on how they resembled certain body parts. Jake won't have to use his imagination much to appreciate them:

 

https://www.google.com/search?q=sagada+cave+King,+Queen,+Prince+and+Princess&espv=210&es_sm=119&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=4u6oUtyIG6jriAe3voGIDQ&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ&biw=1276&bih=683

 

Overall we really enjoyed the morning spelunking through the caves.

 

Went back to central Sagada for lunch. Then in the afternoon drove out 15-20km to the Bomod-ok falls. We had to hike down over 4 km to the original first village in Sagada to get to the falls which our guide claimed were over 200m tall. The village isn't just a show piece, people live there who work the rice terraces. Saw many school children who have to make the long walk up/down from the village to school every school day. On the way back we had to climb hundreds of meters and perhaps 1000's of steps to get back to the road where we were parked.

 

I found out that less than 2 months before our visit there had been heavy fighting between the NPA and Philippine army in the immediate area of the Bomod-ok falls and the local villagers had stayed out of the fields and mines during the fighting so they wouldn't be mistaken as NPA. This included army helicopters bombing NPA positions. Sagada is supposed to be a peace zone.

 

FYI, you have to pay an environmental fee for the tours and have a tour guide.

 

Overall we really enjoyed the day though I have to admit I was a bit sore and very tired at the end of the day.

 

Here are some pictures from Sagada.