Surviving Sagada. Wiw!

When I got married, one of my top places to visit in the Philippines is Sagada (together with El Nido, Bicol, Hundred Islands, Cagayan Valley and Coron)

Way back 2009, our church had a Mission Camp at Mt. Praise Assemblies of God in Sagada, which is also affiliated in our church in Manila. We had our bible study, prayer meeting, visitations and others. Oh I must admit I missed those sometimes. Although we had our rest and recreation time, we never had the chance to try the cave connection. When we went in the mouth of the cave, it rained. They make me believe that even in the littlest rain, it is unsafe to enter in the cave. (but later I found out that this is not true) Haha. So from there on I long to try the cave connection. My longing was revived when we saw the movie “That Thing called Tadhana” when the main setting was in Baguio and in Sagada. But I never had a chance to go back to Sagada until I had my official travel buddy! Haha. Back then, my parents won’t allow me to travel with him not until we got the license to travel (which was the marriage license) hehehe.

Our initial plan is during holy week (2^nd week of April) but when I inquired, all the lodges were fully booked until 3^rd week of May. So we decided to celebrate our 5^th monthsary there. Yehey!

I was assigned to make our DIY itinerary which is so palpak. Haha.

We went to Victory Liner in Cubao at 11pm but lo and behold, the next trip would be 4am! I was so disappointed with myself because I found out that Victory liner had an online reservation that’s why trips are booked faster than before. Outside the terminal, there were PUV/FX to Baguio. I was so tempted to ride on those but my husband stopped me because (1) it’s so unsafe and (2) unease to ride on van like that especially when it’s a long drive.

I was so frustrated (my husband don’t like my frustrated face). We tried Genesis bus since genesis do not cater reservations. Unfortunately, they had long lines. It’s already 12mn and I was so tired to the point that I asked my husband to just go back in our unit and celebrate the weekend in our home. Haha. Good thing he was positive and had our last chance *drum roll* the so called “chance passenger” of Joy bus. It was the deluxe version of Genesis. On the first trip, we failed. Our names were not called the conductor said to try on the next trip which will arrive at 1:30 am. We had no choice but to stay. Haha.

At last! Our names were called. Haha Good thing Joy bus did not have a stopover so we still on time with our itinerary!  

Pictorial Muna sa Session Road

When we arrived in Baguio (in fairness madilim pa nun) we immediately went to Joybus to purchase ticket to Cubao and we proceed at the Dangwa terminal to buy our ticket to Sagada but the window were closed so we assumed it was still closed. So we had our breakfast first at Jollibee. When we returned around 6:30 the cashier said that the first trip already left at 5:30. And I thought “okay lang, I read on blogs that the bus leaves every hour”. But NO! That was not the reality. Haha. Our bus leaves at 9:30 am! Huhuh. I was so inip. 

At Dangwa Terminal while waiting

After endless cliff and mountains we arrived at Sagada around 2:30 pm! Wiw...

A friend asked me in our itinerary and expenses. I want to share it with you it might help you as you prepare your DIY IT.

Description ETD ETA Budget Remarks Day 0 Bus Cubao to Baguio 12:30 AM 5:00 AM 720/pax * You can also book your transpo at CODA LINES (750/pax) Cubao to Sagada Bus to Sagada 8:30 AM 2:30 PM 220/pax *Naiwan kasi kami ng first trip kasi petiks petiks kami. First come first serve basis pala to. *Better to buy ticket first at Dangwa Station then just buy food for bfast. Day 1 Check in at Agape Lodge  2:30 PM 3:30 PM 1000/Pax for 2 days Meryenda at Youghart House 3:30 PM 4:00 PM 330/Pax Tour at Lake Danum 4:00 PM 7:00 PM *Maganda daw kasi ang Sunset dito, pero di namin to na PUSH Dinner at Pinikpikan 7:00 PM 8:00 PM 360 /2Pax Dessert at Sagada Brew 8:00 PM 9:00 PM 200 /2Pax *gusto lang namin Day 2 Breakfast at Strawberry Café 7:00 AM 8:00 AM 360 /2Pax Cave Connection 8:00 AM 12:00 PM 400 /Pax *pero kami natapos namin ng before 11 am. Hehehe. Lunch at Lemon Café 12:00 PM 1:00 PM 340 / 2Pax *I suggest mag lunch sa GUIA kasi mas malapit siya sa area. Dessert at Strawberry Café 1:00 PM 2:00 PM 300 / 2Pax City tour Via Walk or Motor 2:00 PM 5:00 PM *echo valley, hanging coffin, cemetery chorva Meryenda at GUIA 5:00 PM 6:00 PM 340 / 2Pax Dinner at Sagada Brew 7:00 PM 8:00 PM 300 / 2pax *may Saturday market sale sila, sayang di namin alam. Magandang isiksik un Day 3  Malboro Tour 4:30 AM 8:00 AM 260 / 2Pax *Nag joiner kasi kami kaya mura Sagada to Baguio 9:00 AM 3:00 PM 220 / Pax Side trip to Baguio 3:00 PM 7:00 PM *kung ano ano lang Baguio to Manila 7:00 PM 11:00 PM 720/ Pax

Anyways, we tried different cafes in Sagada. We really enjoyed café hoping and food tripping.

My husband's Instagram account. Documenting our Food Trips. 

One of the highlights of our trip was of course the cave connection. I was so excited. The 8 years of waiting is finally over. haha. I really love adventures. But when I am in the middle of the cave I got frightened because I realize that this adventure I tried was so so so dangerous. I was not exaggerating things. You need to climb cliff without harness, cross a mini swamp or go through a small hole. So when you tried the cave connection, expect being dirty and wet and make sure to follow what your tour guide will tell you!

The only lamp inside the cave

See how deep is it?

Finally, I am so happy when I saw the light

We did not have the chance to try the echo valley tour, since we were too tired. What we plan is to try the lake danum tour. They said that the best time to went there is around 4 pm because of the sunset but unfortunately the heavy rain in Sagada is scheduled every 3pm and ends around 7pm. Haha. So yeah, we did not pursue the lake danum.

But at least we had a chance to visit the Malboro Sea of Clouds. My first plan really is to go to Kiltepan which was featured in the movie “the Thing called Tadhana” good thing we had a chitchat with the owner of the lodge and discourage us try Kiltepan since what you will see there is not “sea of clouds” but rather “sea of heads”. Actually I am having second though since the malboro tour is a little bit pricey. The night before our last day, she said that we can join the other group. It end up that our Malboro tour is cheaper than Kiltepan.

on our way from Malboro Peak

Our call time is 4 am so that we can catch the sunrise.  We had a 45 minute trek. When we arrived, the view was so amazing. It really looked like sea. I want to take my shirt off and jump. The place was so quiet. So solemn. So nice. It looks like that the whole mountain was owned by our group. 

But that’s not the end of our adventure. On our last day, we got a news that the bridge connecting Sagada from other provinces collapse. We had no choice but to cross two hanging bridge and trek for 15 mins. Haha!

Even though there are series of unfortunate events, I can say that over all our Sagada tour is a wonderful experience. My husband and I had a chance to know each other more. In this tour, I realized that there are new things I learned and discover with my husband.

Looking forward with new town to discover. New places to travel.

*ehem* Cagayan Valley *ehem

I'll end this blog post by sharing pics from my Instagram. Which are really really my favorites! Ciao!