Stories of Places, People and Photography in the Philippines and Beyond
It was cold even with the windows closed. I woke up with the cool morning air at one of the three bedroom lodge at Stairway Lodge. It was a spartan room with en suite bathroom. Much of the accommodations here in Banaue Town proper are like this – basic, functional and homey. I have never tried staying in town before as I have always used Banaue Town as a gateway to either Sagada or Batad. But my last visit gave me a chance to get to know this little town more.
Pardon the lack of updates for the past few days as I was too busy to do advance post. I just got home from sweep tour of 4 regions, 8 key province stops and 1798Km road trip up North Luzon Philippines with 26 travel-hungry people aboard a Victory Liner Bus. It was packed, tiring but also fun. It was the Lakbay Norte NPVB (North Luzon Visitors Bureau) Media Tour with the aim to rediscover the north. I’ve always wanted to do this up-north horseshoe route and now here it is. Here’s a quick look of our 7-day sojourn up-north from January 24-31, 2010.
Baguio has always been known as the summer capital. People flock here to enjoy the cool weather, great food and shopping. Aside from that, it’s the gateway to the northern mountains like climbing Mt. Pulag or when heading to Sagada. But Baguio is gearing up to make people stay within city vicinity by introducing eco-adventures around Baguio.
I’ve always thought that Batanes is rich in underwater life but it has never been really exploited. It’s remoteness (and pricey flights) really prevented a lot of people for coming here to gamefish. It’s really fortunate that on one of my assignments on Seair Inflight, I was able to observe what it’s like to fish here. Here are some excerpts from writer Chip Childers.
My 2nd visit to Imugan, Santa Fe gave me an opportunity to visit one of the historical sights in Nueva Vizcaya popularly known as the Dalton Pass Shrine and Monument, now called the Balete Pass Shrine and Marker. Much like how they renamed the Dalton Pass highway to Maharlika highway. This Zigzagging road is also known as the gateway to the Ifugao Rice Terraces, Central Luzon and the Cagayan Valley.
“It looks like La Trinidad many years ago” I remember my writer companion tell me while we look at the cloud draped expanse of Malico ridges and troughs. Barangay Malico is 10km away from Imugan. It was our jump off point to our climb to Salacsac Pine Forest at Sta Rosa. But there is more to this developing land.
It’s only been at least a month since I went to Imugan Nueva Vizcaya to do a documentation on Forest Carbon Measurement for Trading, I found myself back in Imugan with a few friends. We stayed this time on a dorm near a river frequented by foresters and also closer to the impressive cascades and falls of Imugan can be found. On our second day in Santa Fe, we venture 10km further to Salacsac, where a pine forest can be found.
