t was back in mid-college when I first read about Sagada in a free urban-lifestyle magazine. Described as a refuge for "lost souls, forlorn poets and adventurers", I was immediately intrigued. But my college allowance wasn't enough to get me there at that time. Almost 7 years later, I found myself riding a bus to Cagayan Valley, on my way to Sagada. I almost didn't make it to this so called mini-Shangri-la of the cordilleras. There was a long weekend ahead but I was too late to reserve a ticket at Autobus, and Dangwa won't be having any trips for the coming days. Having found another way with help from Manny of explore-philippines, I took a Cagayan bound Bus in which I will alight at Bagabag, from there it's all the way to Banaue.
It was my first time to do a lonely planet Travel, as I was always in the company of my outdoor club. Somehow I wanted to travel alone this time, not only to find solace in the hectic urban life and relax, but also to prove to myself that I can travel independently and enjoy as much as I can. As the bus started to move out of Manila, there was that fear of being far away from home and venturing into an unknown destination. But the adventurous spirit in me was so strong that I felt more excited on what I can expect from this trip.
Going to Sagada is not that easy a feat. Regularly, you can go straight from Manila to Baguio, then passing by the highest highway in the Philippines, Halsema to Sagada which takes more than 14 hours of travel time. The other way was via Manila to Banaue, then head to Bontoc towards Sagada, which is much shorter in travel time by 2hours. Though almost like the latter, my route was kind of unconventional as I have to stop by Bagabag as early as 4am, waited for a jeepny headed to Lagawe, and from there another ride to Banaue. From Bagabag, I heard there are actually jeeps that ply towards Bontoc and the route is also quite scenic. But since it will still be around 10am that morning, I have to head straight first to Banaue to reserve myself seats heading back to Manila.
If there's one thing that I noticed in this lonely Planet Adventure, is that you will never be truly alone in your journey. From the time I stepped down in Bagabag until my exploration in Sagada, I had many unexpected company with interesting stories to tell.
