Conquering Bomod-ok and Sumaguing

January 26, 2012

Conquering Bomod-ok and Sumaguing

Sunday was spent acquiring muscle and body pains.

Our first activity was trekking to Bomod-ok or the Big Falls. We woke up super early, but our efforts were in vain because there was still no guide available at that time.

At Saggas, waiting for our guide. (Photo: Emman Dilanco)

We hired a van for P450 to take us to the jump-off before trekking to Bomod-ok, and to take us back to Poblacion after. My friends who’ve been to the Big Falls were right--the hike to the falls is no joke. None of us saw it coming, thus nobody thought of doing some stretching before the long hike.

Lampas pa ng village ang Big Falls

Most of the terraces were not yet planted

There were parts of the terraces/fields that are planted with camote and other crops instead of rice

Thank goodness I was with a bunch of fun people. Despite the difficulty we had to endure, they still had time to think of funny quips:

Falls ka ba? Kasi, I’m falling for you.

Talon ka ba? Sige nga, tumalon ka sa bangin.

Either natuwa or na-stress siguro sa'min ang aming guide na si Bert.

I forgot how many minutes or hours it took us, but tadan! We made it!

JOKE! False alarm! Hindi pa yan!

Heto na talaga.

Every time I went to Sagada in the past, I planned to go here, pero di natutuloy. Pero heto na ang ebidensya na napuntahan ko na siya.

When we were hiking down, I was all excited to dive into the water but then once there, I find the water too cold. Everyone found the water too cold, thus nobody of us dared to take a dip in the pool. It would've been nice to be able to swim into the water, pero di kaya. We just spent our time there admiring the view, and taking tons of photos before starting the long and more painful trek back.

Shortly after lunch, we went caving. We wanted to go for the connecting caves but we found the rates expensive so we just settled for Sumaguing. Like last time, I didn't want to go inside but I didn't want to be left alone either. So I had to join.

Teaser of our travel show (Photo: Emman Dilanco)

Can you spot the hanging coffins?

Our guide took us to a burial cave, too.

Sagada's skyscapers

Walking ahead of us is a foreigner and at one point we noticed that she stopped to take photos of the rice fields and seemed to be writing something. We thought she must be writing a poem and syempre di kami nagpatalo. We came up with our own. Right at that moment.

The Fields

Some fields are green
Some fields are brown
Some have water
Some have none

Geniuses.

Light up.

What, can I say, going to Sumaguing is still the same for me. Eerie feeling envelopes you as you step into the dark cave. You'll either have time to still think how gross it is that you're holding rocks with bat excretions, or maybe you're already too scared to care.

Di bale, once inside the cave, you'll be amazed with the magnificent rock formations. The water is still icy cold, and I was still afraid to cross that chest-deep part.

From Sumaguing, we walked back to the inn. I was freezing to death because I did not care to bring any piece of cloth to dry myself up after spelunking. Anyhow, it was a satisfying spelunking experience. I didn't regret going inside the cave again at all. Although I would want to go for the cave connections next time.

This delicioso dinner was prepared by the guys. One of the perks of staying at a homestay is that you can use the amenities inside the house, for a minimal fee.

We did plan to drink that night, but we decided to forego because we had to wake up super early the next day to see the sunrise. We just settled for this DIY entertainment. Presenting the Homestay band!