Rural Philippines

Highlands of North Luzon

Somehow I always connected the Philippines with Manila, beaches, resorts, shopping malls and fast food. –But the last weekend proofed me wrong: the beauty of the highlands in North Luzon, the preserved rural culture and the amazing landscapes are the real treasure of the Philippines.   

That weekend was definitely one of the highlights of my time in the Philippines, thank you Nelson for spending so much time with me!

 

 

 

The city of Sagada

Sagada is a little city, almost a village way up in the north. Going there from Manila took us by bus around 12 hours, mainly because most of the road is serpentine and uphill. We passed amazing mountains, little villages, crossed rivers and valleys. Everything green and flowers and plants everywhere- such an extraordinary picture after being in Manila for so long. 

The town itself is described as a backpacker’s paradise and I can see why: neat houses, little cafes and restaurants, only one main road which is barely used. Many hikes and other activities plus a beautiful landscape and warm weather without any humidity! Besides- the place is pretty inexpensive, has a restaurant which is called ”The Yoghurt House” which serves a chicken curry you could die for and local pot is easily available. In order to avoid massive hordes of party people all the bars, eateries and convenient stores close down between 9 and 10 pm.

Next to waterfalls, mountain hikes and a massive cave system the city of Sagado is pretty famous for the local way of funerals: the “Hanging Coffins”. It is believed that the spirits of the beloved ones, once passed away, do enjoy being close to the nature, in particular seeing the sunrises. As a matter of fact has it become tradition to hang the coffins from cliffs or to put them into the entrances of the many caves nearby where the spirits can be close to the elements. When seeing those coffins someone might wonder why they are so tiny (yes- many Filipinos are pretty small compared to Westerns- but not this small), well, that has something to do with the posture of the dead: people believe that the dead ones should leave earth as they entered: in a fetal position.

On the very first day Nelson and I ran into this group of travelers: a Canadian with his girlfriend and an Aussie with his Filipino boyfriend. They were a lot of fun and invited us to join there bun fire right away. Sitting around a fire, drinking cheap gin, chitchatting and looking up into the stars – for me that was heaven. I felt immediately how all the stress felt off of me, how I was able to breathe again and just enjoyed the moment. Later on we were even capable of seeing the Milky Way and shooting stars.

The next day was the big adventure: the “Connection Cave Hike”. As mentioned above, Sagada has a huge system on caves, some are open for tourism, and others are still not explored. However, the biggest challenge is to hike through the two biggest cave systems in the region, that route has a length of 1.9  km and is 200 meters deep- all together the hike takes around 4  hours.

Even though I must admit that I was a little scared we totally did it! The entrance was right by one of those cave graveyards- unfortunately sometimes do those coffins fall down and therefore you can see several bones and complete skeletons while entering via a small little whole the system. Being in total darkness, relying completely on the guide and not hearing anything except the little breeze which goes through the caves is fantastic and scary at the same time. We had to climb, slide and walk. We saw gigantic stalagmites, caves as big as buildings, hundreds of bats, limestone structures so beautiful and precious and we swam through an underground river (called Spelunking). The water was crystal clear, pretty cold, and just incredibly: imagine a dark cave, the only source of light is the lantern from the guide, you can hear the rustling of the river and see the massive stone formations from the ceiling touching slightly the water surface and you swimming through it. No one else is there it is only you, the darkness and the water. I never thought I would be interested in hiking through caves- but that experience has changed my mind! It is challenging, adventurous, rewarding and breathtaking- all at the same time. 

The city of Banaue

By taking a jeepney and a little bus for a bit more than 2 hours we reached the city of Banaue, part of the Ifugao province, famous for its ancient rice terraces and rural tradition. The city has its own charm; it is bigger and busier than Sagada, several hostels, restaurants and bars with a river rushing through town. The houses are built right and left hand side of the river, along the valley and the river bed.  Although the city and surrounding nature offer also uncountable possibilities for hikes to waterfalls, hot springs and other sites, we could only spent one day in the city and agreed on therefore to focus on the rice terraces.

We went up to the viewpoint with a tricycle and decided from there to take the 3 hour hike back to Banaue, through the terraces! Those ancient terraces are 2.000 years old and gigantic. It is believed that a single migrating person have carried the terrace culture from South-China or Indo-China across to Luzon and southern Japan as well as Java. Looking at them from a distance makes you already to hold your breath for a moment, but walking on the edge of one of the water canals makes you feel being part of that dramatic scenery. We didn’t know the pathway but decided not to take a guide in order to increase the adventurous feature of that hike. We had to climb steep muddy cliffs, crossed some waterfalls, saw dead snakes and could just not get enough from looking at the terraces, the water running down slowly level by level, birds flying above our heads and the silence of the majestic landscape.

We also had to cross an Indigenous village. In particular the houses are interesting: They have a huge roof, a relatively small habitat and are on steels in order to make them portable. The older man we talked to explained that the house he is living in is the house from his grandparents, himself being already 70 or 80 years old. 

Interestingly some features about rural communities in the highlands are similar by comparison between Guatemala and the Philippines: highlands seem in general to preserve ancient culture and display the richness of the indigenous people, however- rural poverty and overpopulation is in both places a threat to the vital uniqueness of the cultural heritage.

To sum up I must say that I am a little bit sad not having more time exploring in depth the highlands, understanding more of the historical background and culture. The climate and weather, the way how the clouds crawling over the tip of the mountains while a fresh and cold breeze goes in the morning...That is for me just a perfect spot to be… However- thinking positively it means that I have that way a destination for my next visit in the Philippines.

 

 

 

 

 

Upcoming challenge: complete the data collection

Upcoming week indicates a crucial point during my time in Manila. I will (hopefully) complete the data collection phase of my thesis. Scheduled are again interviews, survey distributions and a focus group. If everything works out according to the planning I will be done this Saturday.

 

 Keep your fingers crossed.