Part 88: the sea of clouds...
We had a bit of time to kill after resting for the early part of the evening, so once more Cy and Viv went shopping for supplies, and came back with fresh local ingredients to make delicious chicken adobo. I felt kind of guilty as they prepared a small feast in the guest house kitchen whilst I lazed around doing nothing, but at least I was assigned to washing up duty afterwards which made me feel better.
It was also a good opportunity to share travel experiences, and speak to fellow backpackers from the Philippines who had also prepared food that then ended up turning into a big share fest around the small table. We all happily conversed about food, and exchanged travel tips.
I always make a mental note of travel recommendations, and by chatting to people like this, is exactly the way I discovered most of my places of interest to visit particularly since I'm not a fan of lonely planet.
Outside, the drop in temperature from the daytime was really quite dramatic, especially with it being over 1500 meters above seal level! Consequently it was way to cold to just wear a regular T-shirt. I even wore a beanie hat to keep warm, plus what ever else I could find in my back pack after Cy had decided on raiding it for all my warm clothes. She wasn't really used to the cold unlike me.
There was a cool Reggae bar at the top of the hill which we decide to check out for a couple of beers, with one of the travellers we'd met the day before called Ducky who was a marine biologist from the UK.
My legs were still aching from the daytime trek, and I certainly felt it as we walked up. The bar itself was a small quirky eccentric looking place called the 'Green house' and covered in old wooden electric circuit boards, dream catchers, gas masks and wind chimes all over the walls. Inside, the dred locked Filipino/Rasta owner was playing a choice selection of reggae tunes which I really enjoyed too.
Me and the girls were discussing the possibility of heading deeper into the unknown and further north to visit the famous Wang Od of Kalinga.
It was yet another 7 hours north on a an even more treacherous road and then a further trek by foot deep into the Cordillera mountains and Kalinga village of Buscalan.
Wang Od was a graceful woman who despite her age still works on the rice terraces. She is 94 and learned the ancient art of batok tribal tattoo from her father and is is the last surviving member of the tribe.
We hoped to find a way there and be privileged enough to get tattooed by her using the old tribal method although this would certainly not be an easy quest.
After a couple of red horse beers we went back to the guest house and decided to call it a night to get more rest. Our next plan was to get up at 3 am and trek to Kitpelpan to witness the sunrise at the sea of clouds.
Despite only a few hours rest and with stiff limbs still aching from the previous day's excursions, we were excited at the prospect of seeing this natural phenomenon. Earlier the day before, we'd arranged to meet a group of Filipino travellers who invited us to join them on this trek, and to meet them at the Rock Inn which was approximately 30 mins walk just out side Sagada.
Unbeknown to us, and rather confusingly, there happened to be two Rock Inn's, at two different locations!?! and typically we walked to the wrong one! It was still pitch black and other than a barking dog there wasn't a sound. The night was crystal clear and the stars, with no light pollution shone as bright as I'd seen.
Firstly walking more than two Km in the wrong direction, then doubling back to see if we could find them with no luck, and with there being no one around at this early hour to ask, It now became a race against time to see the sunrise. We were well and truly lost!
'It's this way' Cy said!
'No let's wait here if they come past' Viv replied!
In truth none of us had a clue - we were in the middle of nowhere!
Then by chance we saw a silhouette of a random girl in the distance carrying a camera tripod. We caught up with her to ask directions, and on discovering the view point was still some distance away, we picked up the pace and headed there as quickly as we could. It was a tiring walk down a dark track but at least we were heading the right way at long last.
I was a bit concerned that we were too late, especially as there were steep rocks either side of us still, plus it was getting slighter lighter, yet the viewpoint was no where to be seen. The track seemed to go on forever but eventually we reached a curve in the road to our left, which then opened up the breathtaking view that I can only describe as heavenly. All of us were rewarded with this quite stunning spectacle and the moment was priceless! Sagada was now developing a habit of blowing me away with its scenic sights.
As the sun continued to rise from the horizon, the perfectly named sea of clouds began to form just in time when the light gets trapped creating an almost bizarre show of natural splendour! The outline of the surrounding mountains became more evident as the sun continued to kiss the slopes.
The down side was despite all our combined best efforts, it was almost impossible to capture the full view with our cameras, although this would be the one instance where I'd ask you to take my word for it that this was amazing!!
We got talking to a bunch of young kids here on a team building exercise and between us, took several 'jump shots' with the brilliant glowing sun behind us.
Up to now the many sunsets and sunrises I witnessed since beginning my travels in Asia all lived long in my memory. Capturing not only spectacular views but memorable moments with great people I had met along the way. However this one was truly unique in every sense. I'd never seen anything like this before and I was privileged to have shared this with Cy and Viv.
We all savoured the moment for as long as we could before waving goodbye to the clouds and hitching a lift back to town with the friendly group.
Our initial itinerary was to stay in Sagada for no more than two days, however such was the natural beauty of this place, myself, Cy and Viv agreed to stay even longer. We'd met so many nice people and totally fell in love with it here.
Once we got back to town the girls couldn't resist yet another visit to the Lemon pie house for breakfast and who was I to come between two girls and their desserts.
Having been on the go non stop since arriving, it was time for an easy day to ready for our next adventure - the caving experience, which I must confess had me in equal amounts of excitement and apprehension. But what is a trip to Sagada with out the 'spelunking' that it was so famous for.
The following day we met our guide, Duval at the Sagada town hall. He was a jovial chap from one of the nearby villages called Balogan.
Me and the girls opted for the full day of caving and were instructed to travel light, carrying no bags. Then after a quick introduction he led us to the opening of Sumaging caves which was around an hours trek from Sagada.
At the opening there were further hanging coffins and an ancient burial site called Lumyang, and it was at this point that the nerves kicked in a little, especially when I saw what we were up against at the mouth of the Sumaguing cave, there were questions in my mind. But stepping into the unknown was surely becoming the norm now right? Well time would soon tell.
How bad could this be? Well for a start Duval was wearing flip flops and carried a lantern, plus there was no protective head gear or clothing.
He led the way by stepping down wards into the abyss between giant rocks that got narrower and narrower, followed closely by Viv, then Cy, whilst I was at the back, and it wasn't long before we we were engulfed in complete darkness! One by one, using our bodies to twist and contort our way through ever decreasing passages, delving deeper into the caves. The rocks were cold and slippery and not before long we ditched our shoes to gain more grip.
It was challenge after challenge descending as each passage required us to squeeze into tight rock formations, or sliding through them till we reached a small downward gap which required somewhat of a leap of faith to get to the bottom - all our wills were being put to the absolute test. Naturally Duval went first, expertly clinging to a slippery rope, effortlessly making his way down to the bottom which was out of view. Cracking jokes as he did so.
Viv's face looked worried but there's literally no turning back. You have to move forward in order to reach the exit found at the other end the caves.
After a few moments of composing herself she slowly but surely inched her way down, whilst me and Cy were doing our utmost to support and encourage her.
'Take your time...you can do it Viv'
we said. Then after what seemed like ages, she finally made it to the bottom; me and Cy breathed a huge sigh of relief. Next it was Cy's turn, who despite her smaller frame took her time to climb down also.
In the meantime I was left alone perched in utter darkness in a very claustrophobic space with nowhere to go until she reached the bottom. It was an extremely unnerving moment and one where I myself had to dig deep. All sorts of things where going through my mind.
Luckily Cy safely reached the bottom too - finally it was my turn. I could hear the rest but not see them. The rocks were jagged and slippery and my shoulders were too wide to fit in the gap, so I had to twist and wriggle, leaning backwards holding on to the rope with one hand, whilst my other hand clung onto a narrow ledge barely big enough to grip! slowly lowering myself till I reached half way. Then I got stuck, and had to squeez around till I found a few extra inches space in order to proceed. But thankfully, and with great effort I too made it down to what ended up being a small dark opening where the girls and Duval were waiting.
Next up we encountered a water fall that you had to swim across shoulder high cold waters to reach the other end, followed by a portion where you have to climb a storey-high rock formation through the assistance of some ropes.
This was definitely proving one of the toughest activities I had done. testing your agility, balance, stamina and determination, but what an experience this was.
We had to pull our selves up another high section by rope which was made all the more difficult as a cold water fountain ran down the rock face we were scaling. The girls climbed up first and shortly after I followed them. When I was about half way up I heard them giggling. Nature called and they did the deed in a small pool that ended up over flowing and dripping down the very rock face I was scaling. Thanks a bunch girls!!
Whilst I was coming to terms with the fact I was covered in urine! Duval asked us if we wanted to delve deeper and see even more interesting formations to which we of course agreed. There were huge caverns with mushroom shaped rocks and stalactites to feast our eyes over.
A full 5 hours passed in the blink of an eye before we began the ascent out which was even more gruelling.
The last part of the adventure was an arduous climb towards the opening of the cave where we had to support ourselves with huge boulders in a place that starkly resembled Mordor from the Lord of the Rings, then finally daylight.
I was exhausted, bruised and aching from the spelunking adventure but grateful to have come out the other side relatively unscathed, well apart from the urine!!
This was our final night in Sagada and we were too tired to do anything other than rest our weary bodies. It had been a fantastic visit and we left with heavy hearts but onwards and upwards we continued.
Next stop the ancient rice terraces of Batad....