KNOWING AND LOVING SAGADA-MENSAPIT (TRAVEL STORY)

KNOWING AND LOVING SAGADA-MENSAPIT (TRAVEL STORY)

"Beyond those traveled hills of the north Lies my home, all laden with pines... "
Sagada mornings make you high. Little did we expect that we would be greeted immensely by skies on our first day. Heavens' gates are open with a fine spray, falling in fog, flakes on skin. With its wintry breeze, cool and temperate climate, one is stimulated to kneel down, gets thick but fresh air - right to the faces - a treat, free of charge.

Sagada, a municipality of the Mountain Province, is a well-kept paradise of the Kankana-ey language group. Lavishly productive are the lands blessed with growing pine trees, plentiful fruits, and leafy vegetables. Stone paths, waterfalls, etc. -based decors of the terraces - mountains surrounding and cliffs walling villages are breathtakingly awesome.

While served with mountain tea and cinnamon, terraced ricefields are seen by the window, a main feature of the town.

"My thanks to thee, my love dressed in green; My paradise unforseen..."
Sagada allows you to feel "welcome among the friendly people here," a visiting Australian professor once commented. It is a small town offering an exceptional experience. Here, people are sociable. Ancient traditions and religious obligations have metamorphosed them into active and fascinating community to discover about.

Sagada, "a must stop" designation for tourists is home to more than 10,000 competently industrious, convincingly peace loving and confidently intelligent Sagadans.

"In you, I will give; my life, I will live; With you, I will share; all my life, without care."
Its natives speak so well of the place. This little but pleasant town is vehemently endeared in the heart of every born Sagadian. One may dwell far from it but soon he realizes an umbilical cord pulling him back to lay his "face before thy shrine." He will desire and love to embrace it back inevitably.

Numerous houses including private ones await guests with affordable meals. Electricity exists! St. Joseph's Resthouse does not only have rooms for P100, but it does have also an area for conferences, a restaurant, a souvenir store, and a big garden. Other important places to stay and eat are: Masferre Inn and Restaurant (Julia's Guest House), Alfredo's Cabin (Hotel and Restaurant), Ganduyan Inn and Coffee Shoppe, Sagada Guest House, Olahbinan (Bar and Restaurant), Greenhouse, Mapiyaaw Pension, Rocky Valley Inn, Igorot Inn (Moonhouse Cafe), Ruby's Place, A-Seven House, Yoghurt House, Shamrock Cafe, Log Cabin, Bilig Cafe, Right Turn Crafts and Cafe, Sudimay Canteen, and Cuisina Igorota (CI).

One excellent barriotic cuisine one shouldn't miss is called pinikpikan. All households prepare this with etag, a salted meat, producing a distinct aroma, soothing to your nasal and tastes differently.

Spread in the outskirts are novelty shops. The very popular Sagada Weaving & Souvenir Shop introduces a variety of wooden products from coin purses, wallets, shoulders and belt bags, caps, backpacks, and blankets. Bringing additional cash for these items is necessary to avoid personal dismay.

Northern roads are crooked, narrow, and windy. Trekking in six hours from the City of Pines to Sagada for caves is exhilaratingly a sojourn. Caves are a wonder and very enchanting. It begins when one feels being pushed by air and smells some strange odor inhaled and exhaled by underground spaces. Sounds of water dripping from nowhere in the dark tickle up imaginations. Calm creatures, black winged birds fly around, undistrubed.

A spelunker, one who makes a hobby of exploring and studying caves, or a guide is indispensable for any group aiming to unleash specific inexplicable chambers beneath surfaces of Sagada, known for being on top of a huge cave the Sumaging "Latipan" Big Cave. Spelunker Egbert Dailay, a BS Tourism undergraduate, orients adventurers on what distinguishes vertical to horizontal caves; safety rules on caving from hole passing to water plunging; and, surprises all with the naming of identifiable rock formations. Other caves including burial caves are: Sugong Cave, Crystal Cave, Balangagan Cave, Madrigal and Natividad Caves, Mataug Cave, Romeo's Cave, Matangkib and Lumiang Caves. Lamps and well-trained guides can be asked from the Tourist Information Center of the Municipality Hall.

Enormously enthralling are majestic appearances of several waterfalls. Bokong and the biggest named Bomod-ok Falls are two of the most visited. The former requires only a 15-minute walk from Poblacion, while the latter, a jeepney or a 45-minute walk to Bangaan, northern barangay of Sagada. Still, a long walk follows. Thirty minutes more down to the rice paddies offering spectacular views like amazing rice terraces as you walk by mountain trails.Thunderously from a far, the water splashes, is crystal-clear and ice-cold.

Found hanging amidst great big rocks are coffins piled one after the other. Vauntedly displayedare made of chiseled woods. Though, very indigenous, many set their dead on the cliffs as a ritual being practiced up to now.

"See them! They are sacred to us," a school grader points out. "Bringing yourself up there is an act not pleasing to us. Much more to old folks in the neighborhood."

The mysterious coffins of Sagada; whether hanging or in burial caves; accessible, like those seen inside Latang caves near the Underground River, or not, like those situated in the Echo Valley; one must learn to pay respects to remains of indigenous people who believe in the so-called afterlife.The said valley can be reached through walking over the Calvary - a cemetery for the Anglicans - in the Episcopal Mission Compound where St. Mary The VirginChurch and its high school, and Trinity College are located. Few steps away from the Calvary's big cross, paving the way as entrance, are astounding age of huge rocks.

During ceremonies, the dead is serenaded, both in the native tongue, Filipino, and English as well. Literally, an aging man talks to the spirit and recalls stories involving him and the speaker. On their seats, many do chanting, well-wishers to the spirit. Voices blend so well magically enthusing and leaving non-Kanaka-ey listeners charmed by a spell. Butchered pigs and chickens are trayed for the dead and for those who arrive and express condolences. It's a communal affair not only for distant relatives but also for everyone in the community to honorably solemnize the passing out of a fellow Igorot. This holds true also when a family attends to occasions such as gobbaw (Child dedication), dekat (wedding invitation), mangmang (housewarming), etc.

By jeepney or aone-hour walk from the town proper is the beautiful mystifying Lake Danom. It is a small lake concealing like a woman in the forest of lush greens. Hidden from view. Formidable trunks of trees cover it; but surely, outside of her world, a stranger is destined to come, to conquer her.

From her, perhaps the best sight of the sun rising and setting can be acquired. On hilltops overlooking a magnificent basin of water, a goddess sits enticing! Behold! A fertile, real, lovely lake is unravelled!

Baguio is the jumping-off place to the very rare, exquisite appeal of Sagada, Cordillera's pride and gateway to the heavens. Take a bus from Dangwa terminal available only for morning trips. Do some sightseeing while on board - and be delighted with Luzon's most precious natural wonders in the Philippines.

Why Sagada? Lifted from a 2000 souvenir program: Sagada remains a unique combination of mountains and native culture. The altitude gives that coolness and feeling of well-being, not found in the lowlands; while the abundance of sturdy pine trees enhances the beauty of the environment - an in inheritance to be proud of. There also exists an intriguing blend of Christian and traditional culture and customs that add to the appeal and friendliness of the local people. They are proud of their identity and their traditions. There remains an enviable balance between man and nature, a sense of harmony and peace, difficult to find elsewhere. (8/3/01)