Sagad Saya Sa Sagada

Almost a decade ago, Sagada became one of the most visited places in the Philippines. There were a lot of tours being offered by travel agencies, and even a number of friends and colleagues have organized a tour of their own. I've always wanted to join, but I have a lot of hesitations, one of which is the road you have to traverse to get there. Then a few years ago, the movie That Thing Called Tadhana became popular, and Sagada became really famous. But that still did not convince me enough. Yet this year, 2018, armed with courage and anti-byahilo meds, I went on to conquer my fear and see for myself the place known for its cool weather and famous Hanging Coffins, which actually did offer so much more than just that...

So here's me sharing our itinerary, expenses, and some tips...

Transportation: Bus - Coda Lines

One way ticket costs Php 720 with admin fee of Php 35 so the whole rountrip fare cost Php 1,510 per person

Accomodation: Masferre Country Inn & Restaurant which we got for Php 6,406.36

The room is good for 4 and comes with daily breakfast

Cost per person is Php 1,601.59

The Itinerary:

Day 0

The travel starts at Day 0, because the travel time is around 10 hours. Riding the bus from the station in Cubao, we left at around 8:30PM in the evening of a Saturday. There is a stop over after every 2 hours, prolonging the travel time, but that's just fine as we get to have a restroom break, have some snacks and do some stretching.

Day 1 

We arrived at Sagada around 7 AM the next day.

Without planned itineraries, we just went to the tourist center and checked out the packages being offered. For Day 1, we got the package for Php 1,000 for the whole group (costing each of us Php 250) and these are the places we went to:

Echo Valley

Hanging Coffins

Underground River

Bokong Falls

Sagada Weaving

Passing by the church on the way to Echo Valley,

Church of Saint Mary the Virgin

Hanging Coffins

Rock Balancing Art on the way to the underground cave

Flower fields on the way to the Falls

Bokong Falls

Sagada Weaving

Day 2

On our second day, we opted to do more trekking at Marlboro Hill and Blue Soil. The price is a little higher since we opted to ride a van going to the starting point of the trek, to lessen the hours of walking. We got it for Php 3,500 for the group, or Php 875 per person. We started the day really early, agreeing to be picked up by 4AM but actually leaving the inn at 5AM. It was very dark, we couldn't see much of where we're going saved by the glow of two flashlights.

Unfortunately too, it was so foggy, that the place wasn't as picturesque as expected

A very peaceful place, making me want to lie down and read a book

Sample of Blue Soil =D

Wild berries?!

Pitcher Plant

Remember this plant - it may be helpful when you get dehydrated in the woods!

A pine cone!

And finally.... Blue Soil

A place I thought only existed in fairy tales...but here I am!

On the way back to our inn, we asked to stop by a place where rice terraces can be viewed.

It's not as majestic as the Banawe Rice Terraces, but given our limited time, this will do for now.

Day 3

I wanted to visit Sumaguing Cave, but our bodies may not be fit enough to get through it by this time, so we just opted for a more relaxed tour today, as we go to Sagada Pottery and Lake Danum. We got it for Php 600 for the group or Php 150 person.

A quick lesson on pottery at Sagada Pottery

Lake Danum

Places to try Eat:

Can't say much about this because I wasn't really in the mood to eat maybe due to the big change in weather for me haha

But these are the places we tried ~ Salt & Pepper, Yoghurt House and Sagada Brew

Prices range around Php 200 - Php300 per meal per person

Time for pasalubong:

There are a lot of stores around the area where you can buy treats that you can bring home. Here are some of those I brought back home:

Mountain Tea Leaves for Php 20

Kape di Mutit (Philippine Civet coffee)

Php 150 per sachet equivalent to 5 cups

matry lang =p

Sagada Blend

Blueberry Jam for Php 260

There are also caramel bars, lemon cream cheese cookies, blueberry cookies and lots of other goodies to choose from.

All in all, my total expenses is around Php 6,000 for a 3D/2N sagad sa saya trip in Sagada!

Tips:

There is Limited ATM machines in the area. I've only seen one in the tourist center. So remember to bring Cash.

If you get dizzy easily on bus rides, prepare to have some Bonamine. Take it an hour before you reach the zigzag road. It also pays to manage your sleeping hours, if you can manage to withhold sleep until past midnight, and just sleep through the zigzag road.

All places close at 9 PM, so don't miss having dinner on time or stash on snacks, or you just might starve

We visited in the month of February, and the place is freezing. Be sure to bring jackets, thick pants, and a bonnet will surely help, or you can just enjoy the really cold weather like me in the picture just wearing shorts haha

Blue Guitar Strings

Book Title: The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto by Mitch Albom

Summary:

The book tells the life story of Frankie Presto, a legend in the music industry. The book begins with his death. And from this first chapter of the book, the last chapter of his life, unfolds his story from the perspective of people he has worked with, people he inspired, people whose lives he touched. From a tragic birth, followed by numerous challenges throughout his life, there's only one thing that has kept him company ~ the one that his tiny hands clenched the moment he opened his eyes and saw the brilliant colors of talents ~ music.

It's music that narrates his life story the best. It's only music that knows what all the others who thought they knew him were not aware of. It's music that makes the revelations of his distant past, and the nearby past just before his death, all the twists in the story of the greatest guitar player's life.

From the moment his mother died in the church just minutes after he was born, to the time when he made his last performance on the stage, during all the in betweens ~ a nun trying to raise him as her own, a dog and its owner seeing him through his formative years, all the lessons in music and life with his blind music teacher, the hellos, the goodbyes, the reunions with the love of his life, reaching the peak of fame and then losing it all, all the other bands that he impacted, and that impacted his life, and the strings that turn blue when it's time to save someone's life, music has always been there.

But what nobody else knows and again, only music does, is that there's also someone who's been there through it all, just a shadow in the background that sees him through.

Reflections:

Everyone joins a band in this life. There are some bands that we don't get to choose, like the family that we are born with, or the next couple of people who takes care of us during our formative years. There are those we choose, like the friends we make at school, the colleagues we share free time with at work, and the partner we promise to love for life.

Just as a musical band creates music, so do all the other bands in our life ~ each creating a rhythm, a melody, notes, lyrics ~ something common that connects the band, a pace that we go through in life, a guide that we sometimes we follow and sometimes we miss, life stories that we tell.

And just like musical bands that disband sometime in the future, all bands do break. Sometimes, it would be a choice, like making a shift in career ~ like moving through another chapter in our lives and seeing less of our friends. Sometimes a partial choice, having different perspectives and standing by it, like a disagreement among band mates ~ a misunderstanding between partners. Sometimes though, it's not a choice we make, like death that eventually visits us all, but the timing is not the same.

The novel, like many other Mitch Albom's stories, would definitely touch your soul. The story seemed simple, like an ordinary story of an orphaned boy who became a famous music genius. But what sets the story apart are the life lessons that you'll bring with you even after reading the book. Though the twist at the end seemed to go beyond what's normally acceptable for a story to still be believable, this fictions still brings with it the stories that will break your heart, bring a tear or two, and forever change how you view the people around you.

Quotes:

"Everyone joins a band in this life. You are born into your first one. Your mother plays the lead. She shares the stage with your father and siblings...

As life goes on, you will join other bands, some through friendship, some through romance, some through neighborhoods, school, an army. Maybe you will all dress the same, or laugh at your own private vocabulary. Maybe you will flop on couches backstage, or share a boardroom table, or crowd around a galley inside a ship. But in each band you join, you will play a distinct part, and it will affect you as much as you affect it.

And, as is usually the fate with bands, most of them will break up-through distance, differences, divorce, or death."

"Do not cry over losing blood. Not for something you love."

"Talent is a piece of God's shadow. And under that shadow, human stories intersect."

""You cannot write if you do not read", the blind man said. "You cannot eat if you do not chew. And you cannot play if you do not listen.""

"Truth is light. Lies are shadows. Music is both."

"Being both means being neither."

"You humans are always locking each other away. Cells. Dungeons....No other creature has this arrogance---to confine its own."

"A song inside a cage is never a song. It is a plea."

"Everyone joins a band in this life. One way or another, the band breaks up."

"But being silent is not forgetting."

"Man suffers for his art. That is what you must remember."

"Every loss leaves a hole in your heart."

"The secret is not to make your music louder, but to make the world quieter."

"Man searches for courage in drink, but it is not courage that he finds, it is fear that he loses."

"When you listen, you learn. Remember that. In music and in life."

"You don't need much to remember someone. Even one thing will do."

"But all love stories are symphonies. And, like symphonies, they have four movements:
Allegro, a quick and spirited opening
Adagio, a slow turn
Minuet/Scherzo short steps in 3/4 time
Rondo, a repeating theme, interrupted by various passages."

"Everyone joins a band in this life. Sometimes, they are the wrong ones."

"This is life. Things get taken away. You will learn to start over many times - or you will be useless."

"Everyone joins a band in this life. Sometimes they reunite."

"Had many of you left places even one day earlier, the landscape of your lives would be rearranged. You cannot play your notes. Time, like music, is indelible that way."

"There are few things emptier than applause when you feel you don't deserve it."

"You cannot ask things to do what they are not meant to do. Eventually they will break."

"What you're thinking about can be what you become. Good and evil."