PROVINCES: HOME SWEET HOME
Mt. Province
Bontoc, Bauko Mt. Province is where my father was raised. During school vacations, we find time to visit the place where papa grew up. We spend the night at their house and it's really good because we learned many things that they do in the provinces that is different from the city like, waking up as early as the sun rises, which is really beautiful, preparing breakfast, boiling water for our bath using wood and fire, walking from mountain to mountain because the weather is really good in the morning and the villages are just near and many more amazing stuffs. Staying there makes my mind at ease, it makes me redeem myself and makes me relieved becasue of the cool, fresh breeze, the sun, the sky, the mountains, and specially because my family is there.
Sagada
In June 3 2013, we visited one of the tourist spots in our province which is Sagada Cave, that is quite far from our village.
It was really exciting to finally experienced this famous cave but also a little scary because you'll imagine creepy things inside. At first, we gathered at the entrance together with manong, our tour guide, and our parents, because we're only the ones who entered, and prayed together for our safety, which made it scarier.
We experienced climbing, hiking, swimming, and more risky things once we were inside, we entered little holes that brought us to different parts of the cave, tunnels that makes you hold your breathe, and even cross a very deep holed-water where a tight rope is only the one you're holding into, which is by the way the scariest part and I got bruises, but at the end of it, it'll take your breath away because it's really beautiful inside. And i can't elaborate how really beautiful and breath taking it is.
At the end, it was a-mazing ! all the struggles and the bruises are worth it. It was a one of a kind experienced for me. I got to conquer my fear, fear of narrow spaces, i got to see hibernating bats and specially, i got to see and experience one of the ancestral places of our ancestors. So to end our journey, we got out in one of the holes of the cave that is covered by leaves and trees. We took our showers and thank the people there for our wonderful experienced.
Lagawe, Ifugao
Ifugao on the other hand, is where my mother's mother, my lola, came from. It is also where we visit during our vacations. We visit there with our cousins, uncles, aunties and grandparents which made our trip big and fun.
Banaue Rice Terraces
We never visited Ifugao without going to the former one of the seven wonders of the world, rice terraces of Banaue.
When we go visit Ifugao, we stop by the viewing site of the terraces, it is on top of a mountain on the other side of the terraces. The terraces was built 2,000 years ago by our ancestors which makes me proud of it. But now, little by little, there were houses already built below it which kind of ruined the view of the terraces but still it was a beautiful horizon.
My favorite part when we visited there was when we got to see the farm of our lolo, it was beautiful with animals and crops. We got to go fishing on the pond which was really fun and exciting, waiting for the fish to eat your bait.