Journal 2085: Game Face On
Edited by: Gelai Alera
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| Instead of Sea of Clouds, It is the Bluer than Blue that I saw that time. So beautiful! |
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| The small barangay of Ambasing, sitting below the mountain, behind me. |
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| Tall pine trees evverywhere. |
I woke up at 4:00 a.m. on my second day for the sight-seeing
of the astonishing Sea of clouds at
Kiltepan Peak. I incidentally joined two couples who were also going to the
same place and luckily, we shared the transportation cost totaling P500.00. It turned
out to be an unfortunate moment of waiting since we were not able to see the
well-known sea of clouds, so we just decided
to go back to the town center. I tried my luck to check whether the destinations
were available for tour and the favor was on me since the suspension of tours
were lifted on exactly the same time I inquired. So the whole day was really exhausting
but unforgettable for all the places I went to (with my tour guide Kuya Duvan).
Our first stop was the most visited site—the Sumaguing Cave. It was actually my
first time to try on a multi-activities adventure. I did spelunking, rock
climbing, walking, swimming and sliding, all at one place! I was on my “let’s
do this” mode and the challenge was 100% accepted. My favorite part of this
first site was when I had to climb a tall rock with strong stream of water
rushing against me! And there was this one epic moment when I had to go down
from a slippery rock taller than me and after trying to be as careful as
possible, I slipped on it, descending like a child in a slide! Thanks to the
water that smoothened my drop without my bones getting broken. Since I was
alone in this journey, I shouldered the whole cost of the tour that would normally
be shared by a group of four persons. But then, one good thing about being
alone is my tour guide became my personal second-hand of capturing those
beautiful, instagrammable, and epic moments of the experience.
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| Pause for a while |
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| The Walls inside the Sumaguing Cave |
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| Our only light inside. |
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| -_- |
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| Me: I'm-afraid-to-die-inside-this-cave-because-I-just-carried-away smile |
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| It is where the Queen and King are hiding behind, according to Kuya Duvan |
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| And if you can't find the light around you, then let yourself be the light. |
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| When all the stress and problems temporarily fade away. |
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| I felt like I came from the deepest part of Sagada and got back to era of civilization! |
The next sites were totally breathtaking and challenging! So
let’s recall it from the beginning. Still with Kuya Duvan, I went, for my
second time, to the Church of Saint Mary the Virgin and took some photos inside
and out. This was followed by a long trek where we crossed the town’s cemetery,
with few SAF 44 members buried on it. Kuya Duvan shared to me that instead of
using candle as part of their offering to their loved ones, they use Saling, a piece of red wood with
different aroma compared to a normal wood. After a series of ups-and-downs of
uneven stairs, we reached the Echo Valley!
And yes, it really reverberates back when you say something out loud! Since I
was already there, I took the chance to shout all those things I wanted to say.
My heart was exploding with mixed emotions—both emptiness and serenity. It somehow
took a piece of thorn nailed on my chest after saying everything I wanted to
say.
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| This is the original bell used by the church to call the attention of the people, way back in 1950. |
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| Outside the Church of Saint Mary the Virgin. |
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| How to start your adventure trail? |
Then we continued the trek where my unprepared feet were greeted by a
cycle of sticky muds, gushing water, prickly grasses, and spiky rocks. We reached
the hanging coffins and it was creepy and at the same time bizarre to see
coffins dangling at the side of the gigantic rock formations. It’s kinda
awkward when Kuya Duvan took a photo of me and I couldn’t prevent myself from
smiling (since it was not exactly the perfect spot for a “say cheese” pose with
coffins hanging behind me).
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| Close your eyes, make a wish. |
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| The old way of burying the dead of our ancestors. |
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| When you are both tired and excited. |
After a couple of minutes, we continued the bloody
trekking which I thought would be easy since I already defied a series of
challenges until I realized that the real game started only after we passed the
hanging coffins. So just to mention a few of it: we crossed a muddy narrow
trail of the forest with hanging vines and tall grasses around, followed by a
river with water current that can take you away from your position! It was
quite exciting and frightening for me because I had to walk with my bare feet
against the freezing water.
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| Thinking if I can do it. |
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| Crossing this killer river was the best! Challenging, thrilling and amazing! |
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| Too dark inside |
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| Black and white |
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| Photo taken before I slipped (for the second and third time) |
My legs were shaking, which added to the challenge
since I was also having a hard time looking out for my feet’s next landing.
Thanks to God I safely traversed the river! But it didn’t end there (there’s
more)! There’s another river with much stronger current than the former—the
river is connected to the underground river where we headed next. It was where
we needed to climb on the muddy steps where I accidentally slipped (again). Happily,
I managed to reach the top with my hands covered entirely by sticky mud. After we
reached the main road with my breath almost running out, we had to sit for a
short break at the roadside. I had my Sky Flakes crackers and Kuya Duvan
enjoyed his three-piece-chocolate-cookie biscuit.
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| With Kuya Duvan! |
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| If I can, you can do it too ! |
Finally, as we continued our walk, we took the main road and
we reached the entrance to the Bokong Waterfalls after 20 minutes. The trek
going to the falls was pretty easy, with cemented tramps connected to a small
forest where we entered into. Getting a glimpse of the cascading waterfalls and
hearing the sound of its splashes from afar got me excited to go as near as
possible. It was truly a beautiful, chilly, and wonderful creation of God! But
then, since I don’t know how to swim, I just sat a few meters near it and enjoyed
the water flowing against my submerged legs. The trek going back up was quite
long—we walked past a red bridge where I took a few instagrammable photos. And
then we crossed wide rice terraces fields, stepping higher and higher until we
reached the end, and finally climbed atop going back to the main road.
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| Photo from the top! |
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| The smile caused by this beautiful falls! |
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| Wala eh. Mag isa lang ako eh. |
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| Another challenge accepted! |
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| Thank you Kuya Duvan for making this experience extra amazing! <3 |
