Since the end of March, we have been happy to call Sagada our home. Nestled up in the mountains at about 1200 meters above sea level, Sagada is home to stunning scenery, wonderful eating ,and fascinating indigenous culture.
The Igorot are the indigenous people, although the name is a general term used for any of the native people who inhabit the mountain area. One of the attractions here is to see the hanging coffins. The tradition was to attach the wooden coffins to the side of a mountain or caves in accordance with their animist beliefs.
We have been taking advantage of the amaing scenery here and hiking every day. It is so different from the tropical beaches of the Visayas and all the rest of the Philippines. The weather is much cooler and the nature has been left mostly in tact. The rice terraces that shape the mountain side through out the mountain provinces were created approximately 2,000 years ago.
This is probably also the favorite vacation spot of all the volunteers, I know we came here several times throughout our 2 years. We have had no end of visitors to our house and dinner parties. As of now, we will stay in our little mountain get-away until June 14th and will then move on to the much bigger mountain of Mt. Kinabalu in Malaysia.
But until then, we will continue enjoying our surroundings. We eat food till we're full, hike until we're tired and then rest our weary bones at the nearby waterfall. I must say, life is tough.
