My most unforgettable ride ever!

This is another long-overdue post. I'm so sareeeee! Sometimes, I think I'm losing the desire to write. But most of the times, I'm just too pre-occupied with work. Anyhoo, here it is - Choco Banana's recent long ride. You might ask me what's with the title. It's a long storyyyy. So let's start now?

DAY 1

Ok. So remember that long weekend last August? That National Heroes Day which  fell on a Monday? We decided to make the most out of that long weekend by putting Choco Banana to a walk (err I mean ride). As usual, D took a vacation that Saturday (may work kasi sya pag Saturdays, loser! :P). By 1 am of August 24, we were already at some Caltex station in Greenhills (sorry forgot the street) to meet Royden and Tina. Yup, we rode as foursome - 2 motorcycles, 2 riders and 2 backriders. Nice eh?

This was what I wore. Super protected huh? Actually I have a sturdier riding jacket but it's super bulky so I prefer riding in elbow guards.

Here's us before take-off -

So ok, ride ride ride. Our first stop was this Gapan City arc. Can't remember what time but obviously it's still dark.

Our next stop was in some eatery in Ifugao. But bilang I'm super gutom, we forgot to take pictures. What I have was for this next stop -

Ride again! By around lunchtime, we reached the very iconic Banaue Rice Terraces. We stopped for some photo-ops only because we decided to take our lunch in Sagada which, according to the riders, are JUST 63kms away.

It could have been more beautiful if not for the houses that blocked the view. Anyhoo, we found a more beautiful spot here -

But it was also when it started to rain. We changed into our raingears but it wasn't helpful for the challenging roads of Sagada. The ride up was intense! Baler level ang pagkapangit ng kalsada. We were just so relieved to reach the town. We just dropped our things in the inn (sorry forgot the name also) then we searched for a place to eat. On our walk, we found this -

I read a lot about this small resto in TripAdvisor so gorabels! The food was great! There's a lot of fresh veggies on the side. And I'm so sorry again for not taking picture. Dapat talaga hindi ako nagpapagutom para may picture muna. Anyhoo, this house's specialty naman is yoghurt. So tikman! I'm a great fan of frozen yoghurt so I enjoyed it. But this one was not frozen. I just wished it was.

By 5pm, we were back in the inn. We were too tired to walk around so we decided to call it a night and just continue with the activities the next day. Here's Choco Banana's ride report for Day 1-

DAY 2
Good morning Sunday! It's really chilly in Sagada! Sarap! We started our day with an early morning mass. Which I do not understand because it's in their local dialect. Oh well, at least we did not forget the Lord even on vacation diba?

The view was spectacular!

After that, we went back to the inn to take our breakfast. Look even the eggs were fresh!

After a bit of rest, we went to the City Hall to arrange our tours. Take this from us ha? Do not ever attempt to go on tours with someone not accredited by the City Hall. Why? Well it just so happened that on the day that we were there, we were not allowed to go to the Underground caves because they are still doing a Search and Retrieval Operation to find the body of a girl who got stranded during the recent storm. Note that it's Search and Retrieval already, not Search and Rescue. They said, after days in the cave, no one will surely survive. Anyhoo, the girl together with some companions, apparently, went to the cave without checking in at the City Hall first. They just got some guide near the cave already. Have they passed by the City Hall, for sure they will not be allowed because of the strong storm. They could have been alive now. We could have been allowed to go to the caves! Hayy them talaga! Pasaway!

Anyhoo, so instead of the Short Course Caving, we got the Sagada Eco Tour Package instead. Let's start!

Echo Valley
I'm about to see the famous hanging coffins up close! This was where we started. There's D with our guide -

We passed by this cemetery. So obviously, not everyone want to be hung in the mountains. Maybe they have different religions.

The way down is very dangerous. You really should watch your steps. Take this picture for example. It's a little better pa, other pathe were more narrow than this.

This is the viewpoint. See that stone formation behind D? If your eyesight is sharp, you can see the coffins already. And since we were there already, we decided to still go up close.

The path were more steep after that. But for some reasons, I like going down that going up. I easily get tired from climbing. Anyhoo, here's us with the hanging coffins -

With the whole gang -

Do you see that chair hanging in one of the coffins? According to our guide, the deceased sat there before or after he died or during dying. Eehh basta when he died. And according to their traditions, all of his things will go with him to heaven so naturally they also have to put the chair in his coffin. Weird huh? Even more weird is that all of the coffins are small, sort of like they're all kids. But no they're not. They apparently break the body so it will be smaller. Ouch!

Sagada Underground River/Tunnel
Unfortunately for us, the nearer way to this tunnel from the hanging coffin was closed due to the recent storm. The water from the river has big current so no people can pass. We have to go up again then go to the other route. Too bad for me! As I mentioned before, I hate climbing. This was me after a bunch of going up route -

Yup! I'm pumutla! I got dizzy and I almost collapsed. Kulang kasi sa exercise :P Anyhoo, we passed by the main road again. We wanted to go to the Sagada Weaving but it's closed on Sundays.

We went down again to the undergound tunnel which was, for some reasons, disappointing for me. Well, nothing special for this one. Just some tunnel with water. But hey I get to wash my slippers. Hehe

Bokong Waterfalls (aka Small Falls)
After that, we walked again. Royden and Tina almost backed-out sa sobrang pagod but they thought otherwise. Minsan ka lang magsa Sagada. Sulitin mo na diba? Again, it's going down. And here's what we saw -

With the whole gang again -

I would have loved to dip but the water was too cold! I mean ice-cold cold. Grabe!! We just watched these boys jump from the top of the falls. Tibay!

That ended our tour. It costed us 600 pesos each. Here's my D taking a rest with our guide. Local-style!

On our way back to the inn, we saw a sign. Why would I spit momma? Kawawa naman! Haha. I guess it's the nganga.

Sagada trip will not be complete without tasting their famous dish, Pinikpikan. It resembles our tinola but the chicken used here were slowly slaughtered. As in pinikpik nga nila. They hit the chicken with sticks until it dies. Grabe lang! The skin of the chicken will be blackened because of the blood, parang bruises na hindi nagsugat. Ganun! According to our research, the best pinikpikan is that of Pinikpikan Haus. So gora!

Our original plan was to stay in Sagada for one more night then go home (via Baguio) on Monday morning. But Ate Tina suggested we go down that Sunday afternoon, so that we can reach Baguio by night. Then we can take a rest at Baguio na. Then stroll Baguio in the morning, then go down to Manila after lunch. Nice plan! That way, our bodies will not go through the long stretch of Sagada to Manila.

Here's D having his pic taken at the Highest Point for the second time - 

Shempre kasali ako -

The boys saw someone special. Not sure who this is -

Nice view from top -

We reached Baguio na dark na. I think around 8 or 9pm. We stayed in that transient house that the club always get when they have a Baguio ride. We just bought some food to go -

Too tired na by this time. Here's Choco Banana's Day 2 stats -

DAY 3
This was where the plot thickens. We woke up early so we can get pasalubong before going down to Manila. Our first stop was Good Shepherd Convent to buy Ube Jam. We decided to use the motorcycles so we can save money on taxi fares. We were confident because D has GPS on his phone. After few minutes of riding, I noticed that the route was not the same as to where the public transpo passes. Anyway, we just have to trust the technology. The last thing I remembered was the uphill road. It was almost (if not greater than) 45 degrees slope. I remembered telling D to stop because we cannot take it but he just continued. I just closed my eyes. When I opened my eyes again, I saw us slipping down. Then I think I pass out already because I cannot remember anything about the fall. I remembered riding an fx taxi going to the hospital but I cannot remember the fall.

They took me to Baguio General Hospital. Ate Tina said maybe na-trauma ako. Because during that moment I cannot remember anything. I know who I am and who I'm with but I cannot remember why I'm in Baguio. While waiting to be serviced, I browsed the pictures on my camera hoping that my memory will refresh. Oohh we went to Sagada. Shocks! The nurses gave me two anti-Tetanus shot which was super painful. Then they cleaned my wounds. They asked if I felt my bones broke, I said no so they said I just have to observe it before having xrays.

I will not post pictures na of my wounds. I don't want you to freak out or anything. To give you an idea, here's my bandaged body -

D also has wounds in his arms and legs but they were a lot better than mine. E kasi sabi nadaganan daw nya ako so ako talaga ang napuruhan. Tsktsk. Ate Tina survived with no scratches. Royden, however, has burn wounds on his legs because he purposedly make his bike fall on the sides na lang kesa umatras din daw sila. Ang problema tumama si legs nya kay tambutso. Awwts din!

Good thing we wore helmet. Buti na lang talaga D never let us ride without helmets. Pero kawawa naman ang LS2 ko -

What we regret is that we did not wear gears (or even jacket). Ang naisip kasi namin sandali lang naman. Hassle pa if we have to carry our gears while shopping pa. Aww regrets! 

Choco Banana was ok naman. Except for his broken side mirror. Buti pa sya! 

But after that, I felt better na so we just continued with the plans. We went to Good Shepherd pa rin. But surprise - OUT OF STOCK ANG UBE JAM!! All-caps talaga yan kasi inis na inis ako! Naaksidente ako para sa ube jam then wala pala. Aww. Buti na lang we saw some friends from RCP. So parang nagkapurpose na rin ang punta namin kahit papano.

We had lunch sa bayan then we geared up na. Long way home pa. Pero shempre we have to stop for this -

Hindi maganda yung smile ko noh? Nakashoes kasi ako nyan. Required e. E diba may sugat ako sa heels ko. Imagine the pain! Aww. I don't want naman to take the bus going home, I was afraid to sleep kasi. Baka di na ako magising. Anyhoo, we managed to go home safely naman. Here's Choco Banana's Day 3 stats -

That was Monday. I wasn't able to report to work on Tuesday and Wednesday because of my wounds. Too bad! Now, it's a little over a month after the incident. My wounds have healed already but I have ugly scars na. So I guess I'm not ok. Besides, bad memories are still fresh pa. Parang na-trauma na ako sa mga anything inclined. That's why I did not join D on his last ride to Mt.Samat. When will I get over this? Only time can tell. Hayy

But I still want to come back to Sagada. Di pa ako nakapag-caving eh! :)

Hoping for fast emotional recovery,
Yosh