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St. Mary Episcopal Church
A very old church bell near St. Mary
Episcopal Church
Photo by Aimee Obusan/1995
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My
Sagada was a perfectly planned trip. I resigned from a
small design studio and got a better job in a big advertising
agency. I gave myself two weeks of vacation. Four
days spent packing for the trip, 7 days spent in Sagada, 2 days
of unpacking and the remaining day preparing for my new
job. Can there be a better way of starting a new job?
Sagada
is one of the nine towns comprising the Mountain Province.
It is popular for limestone structures, numerous subterranean
caves, hanging coffins and waterfalls.
We went to St. Joseph's Inn as soon as
we arrive, but unfortunately, there were no vacancies. A
couple sitting by the road near the entrance of St. Joseph's
offered us their house when they noticed us leaving disappointed.
Joy's house has three rooms, two
bathrooms and a fireplace. She told us she will not be
staying in the house while we are there. The room (or
should I say 'the house') costs Php 60 per person per night. They
even offered to guide us to the small waterfalls 30 minutes
away. We gladly accepted and experienced the coldest swim
in my life.
We went to St. Joseph's Inn again for
dinner and was disappointed again to know that meals are ordered
a meal earlier. We can't eat dinner if we didn't order by
lunchtime. We went to a small Inn farther down the main
road and had our dinner there. But we ordered our breakfast
at St. Joseph's Inn first.
Sleeping in Sagada in mid-October was
very unforgettable. We had to wear the week-long clothes
that we brought and still felt cold. Bathing was another
story.
We went to the town center to find a
guide to take us to the caves and found a group we could share
the guide fee. We spent the whole day exploring different
caves in Sagada. We also went to the famous Hanging
Coffins, wooden coffins nailed directly to the cave
walls.
There are lots of souvenirs for sale in
Sagada, native woven materials like bags, wallets, skirts and
more. In St. Joseph alone, you will find a good souvenir
shop. They also sell a guidebook for Php 50 (1995) and a
map os Sagada for Php 5 (1995).
We went home via Bontoc where we saw
several topless natives selling dust covered suman (rice
cake wrapped in leaves). Eating that dust covered suman
inside a junkyard quality, ordinary mini-bus travelling the
dusty, bouncy, steep road by the cliff is the best farewell
memory Sagada offered us.
You can reach Sagada either via Baguio
direct or via Banaue Rice Terraces. I recommend the Banaue
route.
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