familiar face greeted me inside the jeep. It was the same couple I had met earlier. They told me that if by chance the jeep had many passengers headed to Banaue, the driver would continue on from Lagawe. After a little conversation, I learned that the couple travel quite a lot. They have even reached the feared "Basilan" of Mindanao just for the heck of it. It was their first time to go to Banaue, they had planned before but ended up in Baguio instead. I made suggestions of places to go, like either Batad or go the same way as me to Sagada because the only attraction they would be seeing in Banaue is the rice terraces.
We reached Banaue town proper by 8am. Thinking that they needed the privacy, I left the couple to decide on where they should go, I headed to the Autobus station to reserve seats for Sunday on my way back home. When I came back for breakfast at People's Inn, I saw them again, still undecided. They asked for more info on both places and weighing the cost of both. There was also this guy who seems to be looking for a costumer for his transportation. His offer was quite good, for 200 bucks a person, he would give us a ride straight to Sagada, passing by the Banaue Viewpoint Summit, Ba-yo Terraces, the Bontoc Museum then finally Sagada. We decided to take his offer. It was there that I learned that the two, Raza and Jaza, were already married and were working as lawyers somewhere in Manila. From that time on I call them the "Valdez" couple.
When we got on the jeep, there were already a group of girls waiting there. I soon learned that they were all officemates looking for some adventure in Sagada, but had an unfortunate experience of getting lost. They went to as far as Tuguegarao since the driver had mistaken that they were going to "Solana" which is further up north instead of "Solano". They had to go back after that. Shortly, a group of four arrived, a little chubby lady with two lady companion and a guy, all who seem to be pass their 30s and 40s. They called the chubby lady, Cho. She had been to Sagada before and was treating her other companions who were from Mindoro Occidental. She's a very lively company which made the ride more enjoyable. She narrated her first explorations of Sumaging Cave while on the road which made the group more excited.
