Terraces and Tarsiers

Greetings Everyone,

We're traveling in the Philippines with KE Adventure Travel.  We're on the second half of our tour heading north from Sagada toward Banaue on the island of Luzon.  The main draw here is to see the rice terraces and we stopped at several viewpoints.  The Banaue Rice Terraces have been dubbed "The Eighth Wonder of the World".  The terraces were once thought to be 2000 years old but recent data suggests that they are less than 1000 years old.  They are very impressive nonetheless having been carved largely by hand into the mountainsides by the ancestors of the Ifugao people.  Today rice is still planted in these terraces but at this elevation we were in between growing seasons and the paddies contained only water which reflected the sun hence the name the "Mirror Season". 

Banaue Rice Terraces

Some old Ifuago woman wearing traditional dress were hanging out at one viewpoint to collect money from tourists who take their photo.

Ifuago Women

The following morning we visited the Banaue city market before heading out by Jeepney to the start of our 2-day trek.  Jeepneys are the most popular mode of transportation in the Philippines and are often heavily decorated and loaded.  We had ample room to spread out in our Jeepney and Marc and sat in "Business Class" behind the driver.

Inside a Jeepney

The weather looked ominous at the start of our hike but at least it wasn't raining.  The trail to Cambulo Village was now being built into a road so the going was easy until we reached the construction zone.  We had to dodge heavy equipment while picking our way through thick mud!

Muddy Road

It started to rain and we sought shelter in a road construction camp where lunch was being prepared.  Since chicken feet were being served we didn't stick around.  We reached the end of the road overlooking Cambulo and took a slick trail down to our guesthouse.

Trail's End

We peeled out of our wet rain jackets and muddy boots and settled into our dry, cozy room.

Our Room at Cambulo Guest House

Bryan, our trip leader, and Johnson, our local guide, decided that we would return the way we had come and not attempt to hike to Batad tomorrow.  With all the recent rain they were concerned that the trail would be impassable.  Bummer!  Once the rain let up we set off to explore Cambulo.  People pretty much live the same way they have for hundreds of years.  They grow rice and other vegetables and raise chickens.

Cambulo Village Life

A family had just returned from a shopping trip to Banaue and crossed a suspension bridge over the river carrying supplies on their heads.  The new road will definitely make this trip much easier.

Villagers on the Bridge

When it was our turn to cross the bridge we were much more tenuous.

Trekkers on the Bridge

The following morning we awoke to clearing skies.  Brian and Johnson agreed that it would be Ok to trek to Batad, yippee!  The trail was in pretty good shape as we left Cambulo and unlike yesterday we had good views of the village.

Last View of Cambulo

We stopped to wait for a local man to fix a washout on the trail above.  It was only a very short section but one slip would mean a fall of hundreds of feet to the river below.  We crossed this section very carefully.

Washout!

It took us about 2 hours to reach a viewpoint overlooking Batad.  The rice terraces formed an amphitheater surrounding the village far below.

Batad Rice Terraces

It was a very steep climb down on cement steps reminiscent of climbing down Mayan pyramids in Mexico and Central America but much longer.

Steep Descent

We finally reached the bottom where we sat in the churchyard listening to the sermon while some in our group visited a waterfall.  We then had to climb back up to the Pension Restaurant where we had lunch and a great view of the village.

Restaurant View of Batad

After lunch we climbed back to the road where our Jeepney was waiting to take us to Bangaan, a village with many traditional houses.  The rice terraces here and the ones we visited in Batad are part of "The Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordillera", inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1995, the first-ever property to be included in the cultural landscape category of the World Heritage List.

Descent into Bangaan

We returned to Banaue for the night before our long drive back to Manila.  The following morning we wound our way down from the mountains to the lowlands where rice was being planted.  This is back-breaking work as you have to bend over to plant each rice seedlings by hand!  We were a welcome diversion when to stopped to photograph the rice planters and asked them many questions.

Planting Rice Seedlings

We arrived back in Manila in time for the sunset from the rooftop restaurant of our hotel.

Manila Skyline at Sunset

The next morning we flew to Tagbilaran City on the island of Bohol, the final stop on our Philippine tour.  We stayed at the Alona Beach Resort right on the beach and were treated to a glorious sunset over the South China Sea.

Bohol Sunset

The next day we set off to visit Bohol's many attractions starting with the Baclayon Church.  Built in 1727 it is the oldest coral stone church in Bohol.

Inside Baclayon Church

The highlight for me and one of the main reasons for visiting the Philippines was a visit to the Philippine Tarsier and Wildlife Sanctuary.  These tiny primates, quite possibly the inspiration for the Star Wars character Yoda, have enormous eyes, each as large as its brain!  They have the largest eye-to-body size ratio of all mammals.  The eyes are fixed to the skull so they can't rotate but a special adaption in the neck allows the tarsier to turn its head 180 degrees.  At the sanctuary the tarsiers are housed in a semi-wild enclosure where they are easily seen.  Being nocturnal, they were sleeping during our visit or at least they were trying to.

Philippine Tarsier

We were told that it is almost impossible to keep tarsiers in captivity as they commit suicide by holding their breath.  Sadly people still try to keep them as pets.  Besides seeing the tarsiers we got to meet the man responsible for founding the sanctuary,  Carlito Pizaras, also known as the "Tarsier Man".  In fact, the Philippine Tarsier has been broken out into its own genus, Carlito, named after him.  How cool is that to have an entire genus named after you!  It was a privilege to meet him and thank him for all his hard work over the past 30 years to protect the Philippine Tarsier.

Carlito and Peggy

To read more about The Philippine Tarsier and Wildlife Sanctuary and how you can help, go to:

The Tarsier Sanctuary

The next stop was the Chocolate Hills, a famous landmark in Bohol.   In the dry season they resemble Hershey's Kisses hence the name.  However at this time of year they are not brown but green.  They are part of an unusual geological formation called conical karst topography.  These conical limestone hills were formed by erosion and have been uplifted from sea level and fractured by tectonic forces.  The Chocolate Hills are covered with grasses because the soil is too thin to support the growth of trees.

Chocolate Hills

We visited the Bohol Habitat Conservation Center where we got to see many of the Philippines' beautiful butterflies including this Birdwing.

Birdwing Butterfly

While at the Center I noticed that they offered a night safari.  We discussed with Bryan about returning tomorrow night to do the tour.  We stopped at Loboc where we boarded a floating restaurant for lunch.  We cruised down the Loboc River enjoying a Philippine buffet and stopped to watch some local women perform the tinikling dance.  The dancers required a lot of coordination to blindly hop over moving poles.

Tinikling Dance

Marc checked the weather and discovered that it was going to rain tomorrow so Bryan arranged for us to do the night safari tonight.  We broke from the group and were driven back to the Habitat Conservation Center where we waited until 5:30.  Our local guide showed up to take us to Magsaysay Park on his motorcycle.  He couldn't speak good English but we indicated that all 3 of us would not fit on his motorcycle so we asked our car driver to take us.  He was dubious but agreed.  We headed out on a dark, narrow side road into the forest.  Our guide said it was only 4 km away but it was more like 10 km.  Our driver was hesitant to wait for us on the edge of the dark forest but we convinced him to do so.  We were joined by 2 other local guides from the park.  They seemed excited to be taking foreign tourists into the forest at night.  Right off the bat our guides spotted a Flying Lemur in a tree.  I had never heard of a Flying Lemur which by the way doesn't fly and isn't a Lemur.  There are only 2 species of Flying Lemur in the world.  

Philippine Flying Lemur

We saw only one other animal, a Common Palm Civet, on our walk but plenty of creepy-crawlies like spiders, millipedes and insects.  It was a long, dark drive back to our resort but we made it in time for a late dinner.  The next day was free for more exploration of Bohol.  We were thinking about snorkeling but an approaching cyclone kept all the dive boats from going out.  We'll have to return to explore the Philippines' underwater realm.  It turned out that the cyclone brought some rain but no high winds.  We flew back to Manila for our last night in the Philippines.  Thank you Bryan for sharing your wonderfully diverse country with us!  Having visited only 2 of the Philippines' 7000+ islands we know there are many more to explore.  Thanks to our fellow KE Adventure travelers for a fun trip.  May our paths will cross again.

We hope all is well with everyone.

Peggy and Marc

       Mammal List

No.	Species	Scientific Name	Notes
1	Philippine Tarsier	Carlito syrichta	Bohol
2	Philippine Flying Lemur	Cynocephalus volans	Bohol
3	Common Palm Civet	Paradoxurus hermaphroditus	Bohol

Our route map on Luzon:

Our route map on Bohol:

Philippines by Bike, Boat and Boot

Greetings All,

We flew from Delhi, India to Manila, Philippines by way of Bangkok on Nov. 13 and checked into our hotel in Intramuros, the old walled quarter of Manila.  The following morning we met our KE Adventure Travel tour group and our local guide Bryan.  We set out to explore the old city in a most unusual way, by bamboo bike!  Yes, that's correct - we hired bikes with frames constructed of bamboo.

Peggy's Bambike

Besides being a novelty, there is a human interest story behind the bikes.  Bambike is a socio-ecological enterprise based in the Philippines that hand-makes bamboo bicycles with fair-trade labor and sustainable building practises. Their bamboo bike builders (aka Bambuilders) come from Gawad Kalinga, a Philippine based community development organization for the poor, working to bring an end to poverty.  To learn more about Bambike go to:

Bambike

Our first stop was San Agustin Church first constructed in 1571 by the Spainards.  Made of bamboo and palm it only lasted 3 years before being destroyed by fire.  The church was rebuilt with wood but burned in 1583 when a candle set drapes ablaze during the funeral of a Spanish Governor.  The present church and attached monastery (now a museum) was built with Adobe stones and completed in 1607.  On August 18, 1898, the church was the site where Spanish Governor-General Fermin Jaudenes prepared the terms for the surrender of Manila to the United States following the Spanish-American War.

San Agustin Church

From the church we cycled to an outside gallery of former Philippine presidents.  We parked our bikes and climbed to the top of the stone wall surrounding Intramuros.  The moat on the other side of the wall was filled in by the Americans and now there is a 18-hole golf course in its place.  I almost got beaned on the head by a rogue golf ball!

Cannon on the Intramuros Wall

We stopped at a memorial to mariners that sailed in galleons from Acapulco, Mexico to Manila.  For 250 years from 1565 to 1815, this route was traveled by 108 Spanish galleons and took 3 months.  The return trip was more dangerous and took 6 months.  Today there is still a tight connection between Mexico and the Philippines, however the "Galleon Route" is no longer used.

Route Map

Our last stop was the Manila Cathedral originally built in 1581.  The cathedral was damaged and destroyed several times with the present-day structure being completed in 1958.  

Manila Cathedral

We returned our bikes and took a break for lunch before resuming our tour.  Next stop was the Chinese cemetery.  The Chinese built elaborate mausoleums to house their deceased.  Some even have bathrooms  (called comfort rooms or CR here), kitchens and air conditioning!

Chinese Cemetery

We visited Fort Santiago built by a Spanish conquistador to protect the newly established city of Manila.  Not much remains except for the reconstructed main gate.

Fort Santiago Gate

Most people come here to visit the Rizal Shrine Museum.  José Rizal, the Philippine national hero, was imprisoned here before his execution in 1896.  Rizal was a man of many talents: an ophthalmologist, a sculptor, painter and writer.   Some of his writings inspired an anti-colonial revolution.   Though Rizal did not take part in the revolution, he approved of its goals and was executed for rebellion by the Spanish colonial government.  The museum contains memorabilia of the hero but we weren't allowed to take photos inside. 

That evening we were able to see the "Super Moon" over Manila under somewhat clear skies from our hotel's rooftop restaurant.   The full moon was at its closest point to earth since 1948.   It won't be this close again until 2034.

"Super Moon" Over Manila

The following morning we drove south to Taal Volcano.  The weather didn't look promising but Bryan supplied thin rain jackets and we boarded a boat for the 45-minute trip to Taal Island.  

Wet Boat Trip on Lake Taal

The rain continued once we arrived and we decided to climb the volcano anyway.  It was a short but slick climb up a well-used track.  When we arrived on the crater rim we could see the lake below.  It was cool to be on a small volcano inside the caldera of a larger one.

Taal Crater View from Rim

On the way down we had to dodge the many Korean tourists coming up on horseback.  I'm not sure why they needed to ride up such a short climb.  Most looked like they were in better shape that the poor horses they were riding.  I guess it was the novelty of horseback riding.

Riding Horses Up to the Rim

We had lunch at a restaurant which under sunny conditions would have a great view over Taal Volcano and Lake.  We had to settle for a glimpse here and there when the sun broke through the clouds.

Taal Volcano and Lake

We left Manila at 3:30 the following morning and headed north toward Pinatubo Volcano, our next climbing objective.  I fell asleep in the van and when I awoke it was raining.  Bummer, it would be another wet hike.  When we arrived at Santa Juliana, the entrance to the area, we had to get our blood pressure checked.  Yes, you read correctly, since we were over 40 we had to get our blood pressure checked by an EMT.  We all passed and split into three 4x4's for the drive to the start of the hike.  We drove up a riverbed in Crow Valley, splashing through many crossings and passing through a military training zone.  There were a few soldiers and tanks about but they didn't appear to be firing weapons so we were able to pass.  Ahomar, our driver said that on the way back we could be held up as long as an hour if there were training exercises going on.

Jeep Crossing the River

We arrived at the start of the hike and piled out of the jeeps.  We put on our rain gear but keeping our feet dry was next to impossible.  We had to cross the river many times so we just waded with our boots.

Edgar helping Peggy Across the River

It took 2 hours to hike the 4 miles to the crater rim of Pinatubo.   It was a very gradual accent so we didn't feel we had climbed about 1100 feet.  The rain had stopped and we were able to enjoy views over the lake.  On June 15, 1991 the 2nd largest terrestrial eruption in the 20th century occurred here. The summit collapsed almost 1000 feet creating this caldera.  A typhoon hit on the same day causing massive lahars or mudslides.

Peggy at Mt Pinatubo Summit

A succession of earthquakes felt in March and smaller eruptions in April convinced tens of thousands of people to evacuate before the main eruption saving many lives.  On our hike back, the sun came out and we got better views of the ash cliffs lining the river.

Ash Cliffs Along the Trail

Today the indigenous Aetas people still live in the area.  Their forest home had been destroyed but they still raise livestock and sell drinks to tourists hiking to the volcano rim.

Aetas Children

After the hike we drove to Capas to clean up and have lunch before continuing to Baguio for the night.  The next morning we took in the city market before resuming our journey north.  

Baguio Public Market

Our destination was the charming hill station of Sagada.  This town is most famous for its extraordinary hanging coffins and burial caves.  We first visited Lumiang Cave where wooden coffins around 300 years old were piled near the entrance.

Lumiang Cave Coffins

We were surprised at how short the coffins were.  We asked our local guide, Mel, if only children were buried here and she explained that adults are buried in the fetal position in the belief that one should leave this world in the same position as they entered it.  One of the coffins had gecko carvings on top.  I've read that the person buried inside died at a very old age and that the gecko is a sign of long life.

Gecko Coffin

Our last stop for the day were the hanging coffins in Echo Valley.  It was ironic that we had to walk past a Catholic Church and cemetery to reach the edge of the valley.  We could see the coffins far below but wanted a closer look.  We carefully wound our way to the valley floor where about 20 coffins were hanging on the limestone wall of the valley.

Hanging Coffins in Echo Valley

Why go to the trouble of hoisting a coffin and hanging it high on a limestone wall?  Some believe that it gets the soul of the departed that much closer to heaven.  Others believe that it more for practical reasons like keeping the dead body away from wild animals or protecting them from natural disasters.  

One more thing Sagada is known for is Philippine Civet Coffee, also called coffee alamid.  It is touted as "the world's most expensive coffee due to exotic if not gross origins."  Making coffee alamid starts with a nocturnal animal called a Common Palm Civet.  These free-ranging wild animals feast on the red fleshy coffee cherries and once partially digested the coffee beans leave the civets as pooh.  The beans are gathered from the forest floor, picked from the pooh, washed and processed into the "caviar of coffee".  You got it, from gross to gourmet!  We purchased a half a pound so friends can try it when we get home.   

Excreted Civet Coffee Beans

Stay tuned to see what surprises are in store for us in the second half of our trip to the Philippines. 

We hope all is well with everyone.
Peggy and Marc

Our route map: