[The Sagada Chronicles] See You Later, S

First Published on November 23rd, 2006

DAY THREE
November 5, 2006
Sunday

Just as we were getting acclimatized, we had to leave.

Although, for the life of me, I could not imagine how we were able to go down the inn stairs and uphill to the town center with all our aching muscles and sore feet. For all that, it was still a glorious morning.

For our last hurrah, we had breakfast at the Saint Joseph Inn before shopping our hearts out and haggling for souvenirs and stuff.

Upon leaving the inn, we were so thankful that the George Guest house had a shuttle service up to the Bus station! Hallelujah!

We took a jeep down to Bontoc. We found that all the seats on the 9am trip to Baguio were taken. Lesson: get a reservation next time! Never think "yeah, yeah, this is a small town, we'll get seats alright." And - lightbulb! - it was Sunday, as well.

Upon reaching Bontoc, we decided to wait out for the Cable Tour, which would bring us directly to Manila. We had three hours to kill.

After a light meal, Jaja, Candice and Ivee went to the market. Candice bought some veggies for home. Ramil and I were left in the Cable Café to mind our stuff.

It was a fast three hours. We were boarding the bus (from which, an additional blooper arises). And then we were going down to Ifugao. It became a panicky ride when it started raining. And then somewhere along the way, it started to get really foggy. As in I-could-not-see-the-roadside-anymore fog. It was a good thing that the driver apparently knows where he was going. Upon realizing we were safe, I started to doze off.

The trip took 14 hours instead of the estimated 12, what with the fog and the rain. We even had a minor hitch in Nueva Vizcaya. It was a blessing that we had engine trouble there and not up the mountains.

At past four am on Monday, November 6, we arrived in Manila laden with pics, pasalubong, some scratches, bruises and a whole lot of Sagada experience!