Road Trippin....

So before I embark on another journey through the mountains, I wanted to at least give a little snippet of these past two weeks.

It started as a trip to Sagada with my cousin, and continued on to one adventure after another. A festival in Bontoc, then three nights in Sagada--hiking to a waterfall, finding hanging coffins in Echo Valley, and a 3-hour journey through an underground river with squeaking bats along connection caves.




Followed by an bumpy 6 hour bus ride back to Baguio. Bummed around here and there to surprisingly meet with my uncle and aunt who are visiting from Alaska---who so happened to be going to Sagada. I had to join them again! So after three nights in Baguio, spent another six hours in a van back to beautiful Sagada--which led me to a bus and jeepeney ride to the WONDERFUL Banaue Rice Terraces. So wonderful, its referred as the "eighth" wonder of the world.




I know the pace I am describing these two weeks is quite fast, but let me tell you, time stops when I'm here along the Cordillera Mountains. Breathing in her fresh air, meeting the warm people here, absorbing the simplicity of life, walking through forests, climbing mountains, exploring dirt paths, and my most favorite of all dipping my feet in the rice terraces--learning how to harvest, taking photos, and talking to the farmers who spend 10-12 hours a day with their backs bent only to be paid three dollars a day. My trip through the terraces would not have been complete without feeling the muddy earth in between my toes.

I'm supposed to be somewhere in India right now... But as everyday passes, I'm glad I stuck to my gut.



(These two photos taken by talented photographer John Javellana)

The crazy photogs I was forced to cook for...haha...joke lang, but not really. Chicken manok!