Philippines 2013: 3 - Banaue to Laoag

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

This morning we continued to twist and turn our way up and down steep hills, crossing two high ranges of mountains. The roads, usually two lane, are made of cement. In many areas where they were not yet paved new cement was being laid by hand. The driver says that the flurry of road work is a normal pre-election event, and that it will likely stop after the May 13 election.

We picked up beer, water and ice tea but even in a city the size of Bontoc we were unable to find ice for the cooler. Marilynn is having diet Coke withdrawal symptoms - it is not available either. There is an interesting museum in Bontoc, with a model village and walls of photos taken by the US governor in 1909.

Our destination today was the town of Sagada, where we hiked up hill through an old graveyard to a point where we could look across a steep gorge to see hanging coffins on the cliff on the other side. Arnold says they are over a thousand years old. The people who hung them must have been incredibly capable cliff climbers! We also stopped at another site to see smaller numbers of coffins hung from cliffs. The rock in the area is limestone, which has been shaped by the elements into fantastic forms.

There are a number of caves in the area. We walked down a rough trail to one. Arnold said it was about 30 steps down, but 100 would have been closer. In the cave were stacks of ancient coffins. In the main caves it is possible to rent gas lanterns to explore the depths, but we chose not to do that - my knees are complaining already! There are no trails or development - the caves are completely natural,

After a not bad lunch we made our way to the guest house where we would spend the night. It was a pleasant place with friendly staff. There was free internet in the lobby, so I managed to get out a story. The room was very basic, small and clean.

Later in the afternoon we drove miles up a road, more suited for a 4 X 4 than the van, to a muddy lake that is a local favourite for picnics. From there we hiked further up to a grassy knoll with a view of the next range of mountains where the sun would set in about half an hour. It was cloudy, so I opted for cold beer rather than a chancy sunset. On the return hike to the van we talked to a group of young travelers who had met each other at a local hostel and climbed to the lake on foot. They were from half a dozen different countries, but were all exhausted. When we offered them a ride back down the mountain they leapt at the chance, so we left the sun to set on its own. They were a lively group, and the conversation on the drive down was fun.

The local restaurant a short walked through gardens from the hotel was very nice, but a bit short on food and drink. There were two cold beer, no liquor and they were out of most food. I managed a bowl of soup and Marilynn some noodles - not an inspiring meal. The cold temperature at this altitude eliminated any need for air conditioning.

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Our early departure was delayed by a fiesta. People in costume were parading down the main road, stopping every now and then to dance to the drums and gongs upon which the musical section was beating. Fiestas like this are frequent, and the participants enthusiastic. This one was only for the neighbourhood.

The drive included the highest mountain pass yet, at 7,600 feet (2,317 meters). Many of the villages we drove through were perched on a narrow strip of land between two valleys, with a drop of thousands of feet on either side of town. Needless to say, the highway was the only street in town. The mountainsides are terraced throughout this area, but not for rice. Here the terraces grow various types of vegetables.

Today's destination is the city of Baguio, said to have a permanent population of about 350,000 which roughly doubles with university students, government workers and other transient residents. After picking up a local guide she took us to the wonderfully clean, huge central market where stalls sell a wide variety of items. One thing Marilynn pointed out here, but noticed in other places, was people picking lice out of each other's hair.

After a decent lunch at a Chinese restaurant a stop was made at a modern shopping mall. To enter there were men's and women's security checks with scanners similar to airports. There were only a couple of people in the female line, but a huge line for the men, so I waited outside as Marilynn was only going to buy a memory card for her camera. Half an hour later she appeared with the memory card and a state of the art new lens for her camera - apparently the cost was less than half of what she would have paid elsewhere. It was a very special lens she had been looking at for over a year, so she was delighted.

We were taken to see silversmiths making jewelry, but there were none as today is Labour Day. We visited a plant nursery, drove through a couple of parks and then went to the John Hayes Camp Manor where we would spend the night. This deluxe hotel is located in the area where the US administration had their upscale country club. It was a bit of a letdown when reception informed our local guide that her agency had not paid for our stay. We were finally given our room key while phone calls were being exchanged to try to sort it out, which was made more difficult as no offices were open today. We assume it came out OK, as we heard no more about it.

The hotel has a world class kitchen - our dinner was superb. We both had a rack of ribs, and I had the best oysters Florentine I've ever enjoyed, accompanied by the very good house wine. It is a culinary oasis!

Thursday, May 2, 2013

The breakfast buffet lived up to the high expectations from last night. Checkout was tedious - nothing happens fast here. A businessman was hopping up and down as he was late for a meeting and they wanted to charge him for a towel that he claimed was never in his room in the first place. He wasn't going anywhere in a hurry!

There will be only about 5 hours driving today, but with stops it will be another 10 hour run. Last night was our last in the cool of the mountains, today we returned to the heat of sea level. A stop was made at the UNESCO world heritage St. Maria Church, built in 1769. It was built in fortress style, and served as a fortress during the 1896 revolution. Albert said it was about 20 steps to walk up to it, but that turned out to be about 84 - he is now getting a very bad time about his estimate of steps. We walked around the outside but couldn't get in as they were closed for lunch.

Signs everywhere, including official traffic or government signs, billboards and other advertising are almost all in English. Toilets are referred to as "comfort rooms".

Our lunch was in the old city of Vigan, another UNESCO site where most construction was from the 1800s, and where modern buildings are not permitted. A walk down the old main street was interesting. Our "local guide" who didn't talk, and knew nothing, just trailed along behind. She didn't even know the town was founded in 1572 in spite of the fact that many T-shirt vendors displayed shirts with that date printed across them! This was the third city established by the Spaniards in the Philippines and one of the most important.

Traffic was impossible, as there was a big fiesta underway with huge drum sections beating out rhythm for the colourfully dressed groups of dancers. A walk through the museum was skillfully narrated by young a museum guide who was proud to display his command of English. When Marilynn asked him the difference between a water buffalo and a caravao he responded, "I'm sorry, ma'am, that is beyond by mental capacity." Marilynn replied that she was certain he had the mental capacity, but that in this instance he possibly just didn't know, and explained the difference to him.

We visited a traditional pottery maker, using the old hand turned wheel and wood fired ovens, but decided to skip other less interesting sights to join the barely moving lines of traffic fighting for position on the only street out of town still open for traffic. The rest of the drive was through a lot of tobacco farms in open country.

We were dropped off at the Fort Ilocandia Resort on the beach, which claims 5 star but falls short. The residential brick buildings resemble a prison from outside, reception employees are officious, there are no elevators, we had to have the room changed as it was not as ordered and the limited restaurant menu provided a less than mediocre meal at a more than mediocre price. The one saving grace was the bellman who went out of his way to help sort things out.