Thursday, December 30, 2010 Sagada

All night rain was pitter-pattering away at the roof.  I must say, being from Seattle I learned to appreciate being in the cozy warmth of my bed during a rainstorm.  Of course by the time I got out of bed and everything, it had completely cleared, and the sun was shining through the clouds.  I seriously contemplated doing a repeat of the horrors of yesterday's hike, because this time was probably perfect conditions.  Hell no.  Instead, I hired a tricycle which took me to the viewpoint (much better than the hike miles in the mud), which was pretty spectacular, overlooking the impressive Banaue rice terraces.  They were really green and filled with water because it is rainy season and the rice has recently been planted.  I packed my stuff and then caught a Jeepney to the nearby town of Bontoc, where a bunch of Igorot hill tribes all go to sell their wares.  The town was just kind of dusty and quiet, it seemed that everything was closed for the Christmas-New Years break.  However, the ride made up for it.  It was stunning (and equally nauseating) mountain roads winding through lush green cloud forests, tiny villages, and verdant rice terraces.  I can't even imagine trying to build these rice terraces.  Yesterday, just hiking through the paths to get to them all I could think was, "The Spanish wanted this land?  And the Americans?  And the Japanese?  People died over this land?  I don't get it."  I caught a really crowded Jeepney to the isolated hill station of Sagada.  Sagada is supposed to be a hippie mecca, especially this week, but it was pretty dead to be honest.  Not really complaining, since there is no such thing as nightlife here (the town has a 9pm curfew).  It was nice weather (which made me so happy after yesterday), so I took a hike through a place called Echo Valley and saw these weird hanging coffins.  There was a Episcopal church (I didn't know Episcopalians even existed in the Philippines), some convenience shops, some little quiet villages, and some good views of the rice terraces.  I was starving for dinner, and I had some Filipino foods, such as pork/chicken adobo, rice, pork with beans, and this disgusting thing called Panikpikan (a specialty of Sagada) which was basically a soup with pig tripe, intestines, and a melange of other organs... basically everything that's found in hot dogs.  I had an amazing hot shower and another great night of sound sleeping after hiking all day.