We decided to get the heck out of Manila, maybe a little premature... Boarded a bus at noon and we were off - 6 hour trip. I love traveling by bus sometimes. The scenery whizzing past. People with their shops selling everything: fax hoses, vulcanizing (?), fruits, carved wooden doors, wash tubs in every colour imaginable, baskets and brooms, bicycles, and many sari sari shops (small general convenience). The terrain went from urban sprawl to rice fields to mountains.
We were dropped in Bagabag after 8 long hours. Then we were informed that there is no way to Banaue from here except aT 3 am. If you stand by the road. And if the bus has room. Huh. And there are no hotels. Huh. We sat down for a.coffee to take this in and.think. 10 minutes later a mini van pulls up. It's going go Banaue - in a few hours, but were welcome to sleep in the van and we do. We arrive after midnight and our driver is able to wake up one of the hostel owners to let us in as they are all locked up. Oh sleep!
The stunning views from our restaurant balcony are of rice terraces, colourful huts perched here and there on the steep mountainside amidst the trees. Mist rises from the river crashing along below. Hanging Footbridge allows children quicker access to school across the gorge. Wow.
We hired our saviour and driver Jody to guide us to Batad. The road there is barely passable and is gouged out of rock along the face of the mountain. It is straight up or straight down. Breathtaking. The hike into the village of Batad is nice. From there we traverse the terraces to the long, steep drop to the waterfall. Swim is worth it! But now, legs are shaking jelly. We are soaked, sweaty tired and we have 2-3 hour hike All The Way Back Up. Groan. I'm sure Jody thought we would die. He was all ready teasing us about being too fat. Too fat to ride the tricycle, too fat to sit on the hanging bench... Funny from him, the pip squeek. We made it! Got back in 1 piece, showered, ate and enjoyed A beer with other travelers. :)
No comments:
Post a Comment