Mabuhay, Steemit! Today marks my 37th day on the platform and...it's nothing special actually. I was supposed to be at a pop rock concert tonight and perhaps by now I should have been blogging about the experience but unfortunately, said concert got moved to a later date due to the band frontman's health restriction (*shouts to nowhere* Don't worry, Hayley! We'll wait. We love you! *ehem*). So today, I'm just gonna share with you guys a wonderful getaway in the not-too-ancient 2015, a year full of uncertainties (e.g. Gagraduate ba ko? Pakshet.), melodrama (e.g. Huhu Mamser, graduate na me please!), and a shit ton of adventure (e.g. Woooh! GGWP, thesis! YOLO!).
Just a short flashback, I was a BS in Fisheries student, now having 2 years of Fisheries research experience behind me and currently taking up my MS in Genetics. During our time, my undergraduate course was not a popular choice among college goers. When I was a senior in high school, I get a lot of 'Mag-unsa ka ana inig kahuman, mamaligya ug isda? Mangingisda?' and all those nasty comments, which for me, were not one bit of nasty at all. I have always believed that there was, and there is, a greater cause to this one. So I pursued Fisheries and had my share of its perks. Did you know that our course was once coined BS in Fieldtrips? I think I have been to more places in my four years in college than all my sixteen years before that combined. And this trip is just one of them.
Our first stop was the marked highest point to Sagada, along Halsema Highway in Atok, Benguet. That is 7,400 ft. above sea level. My friends dared themselves to brave the cold - topless. Fog is heavy in the background.
We stayed at Saint Joseph Resthouse and Restaurant which gave us the most homey feels in Sagada. Their location is very near the town too, which is just convenient cause roads were too small for vehicles to maneuver so we had to walk our way through places (except for really far ones).
Sagada is home to a lot of natural caves. We got a view of the 500-year-old coffins in Lumiang Cave and actually went inside Sumaguing Cave which is popular to spelunkers because of its towering stalagmites and stalactites and other unusual limestone formations. The trail towards the inner depth of Sumaguing Cave was really a hard climb. We had to wear our tsinelas on our elbows since they're too slippery on our feet. At some point, I had to give up my camera to Manong Tour Guide so I can hold on to whatever I can hold on to properly. We only had gas lamps as as source of light.
And then on our last day, we trekked our way for 1-2 hours to get to the majestic Bomod-ok Falls. We passed by rice fields, a village (yes! that's how far it is), more rice fields, and local people who are very friendly. The falls is hidden deep in a valley where the only possible route for tourists is the way we followed. The trek was easy at first but it got exhausting since the terrain is not always flat and there were really long flights of stairs. There were no roads for vehicles and the locals only walk their way everyday to buy and sell their produce in the market or get to school. Can you just imagine? But seeing the the water fall from the beautiful Bomod-ok is just worth all that fat burned from all the walking.
And as usual, I took a lot of photos. I will put them in a sort of gallery here. I edited these for my tumblr blog before and I just want to share it with you guys. So here:
And in case any of you are wondering, yes, we did graduate. ☺
S A G A D A :
Where broken brain cells go to recuperate
Just a short flashback, I was a BS in Fisheries student, now having 2 years of Fisheries research experience behind me and currently taking up my MS in Genetics. During our time, my undergraduate course was not a popular choice among college goers. When I was a senior in high school, I get a lot of 'Mag-unsa ka ana inig kahuman, mamaligya ug isda? Mangingisda?' and all those nasty comments, which for me, were not one bit of nasty at all. I have always believed that there was, and there is, a greater cause to this one. So I pursued Fisheries and had my share of its perks. Did you know that our course was once coined BS in Fieldtrips? I think I have been to more places in my four years in college than all my sixteen years before that combined. And this trip is just one of them.
Now, you might think how'd we, Fisheries students, get so high up in the Mountain Province. Well, actually, prior to this, we went to visit Laguna de Bay and Lake Caliraya in Laguna and then BFAR-NIFTDC in Pangasinan (which I might or might not blog about hehe). Let's just say we went on a little sidetrip to rest our brain cells, give them a little cooldown, so as not to let them totally rest in peace.