THE LONG AND WINDING TRIP TO TINGLAYAN MOUNTAINS
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| CHICO RIVER AND THE TINGLAYAN MOUNTAINS |
Being late for a trip is not new to me. But for most of the time, there are controllable factors to lessen the self-imposed tardiness. In this yet another long weekend trip, everything is beyond my control – meetings, traffic and elusive (choosy) cab drivers.
Traversing
a national highway of random smoke belchers that abound, I was seated on a
roofless chartered pedicab while
wearing my corporate attire en route to my house to get my things for the long
weekend getaway. Passengers on board the
buses and jeepneys glanced at me as
if something is wrong with the scenario.
I cared less as I might not make it on time for the last trip to
discover another province – Kalinga.
There
are no more trips that ply the direct route from Manila to Tabuk, the capital
of Kalinga. We decided to ride the
Genesis Bus bound for Baguio at around 11 in the evening and arrived at around
6 in the morning at Baguio on a cold misty weather. We went direct to the terminal to queue for
our bus tickets to Bontoc via the GL Lizardo Bus (PhP220.00) with first
departure at 8:00AM (next is 10:00AM and 1:00PM). Travel time is approximately 6 hours, thus,
we need to have our breakfast at a nearby eatery that serves the best chicken.
Of
the 6-hour travel from Baguio to Bontoc, almost 2/3 of it I was asleep. At times, I could see the scenic view of lush
mountains along a winding road and we even passed by the Highest Point of the
Philippine Highway System located at Atok, Benguet. How did I know? The signage says so. There were even tourists doing photoshoots on
the marker.
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| ROUTE CHOICES |
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| BREAKFAST SERVED |
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| WHERE ARE YOU GOING TO? |
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| THE STRAWBERRY FARM |
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| WAITING TIME |
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| HOME IN THE MOUNTAINS |
Along the Bontoc-Tabuk national road where cliffs and interesting features of the Chico River and the Cordillera mountain ranges came in view, the jeepney tires broke down. It took an hour of waiting, until another came to the rescue.
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| BUS BOUND FOR BONTOC |
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| FIND THE SLEEPING BEAUTY |
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| BUGNAY VILLAGE |
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| THE PEACEFUL COMMUNITY OF TINGLAYAN - MAR-O VILLAGE |
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| ONE AFTERNOON AT BUGNAY JUNCTION |
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| THE RICE TERRACES OF BUGNAY |
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| THE BRIDGE CONNECTING BUGNAY VILLAGE TO CIVILIZATION |
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| NATIVE PIGS OF TINGLAYAN |
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| THE LAZY PIG |
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| THE HUNGRY PIG |
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| WHEN THEY ALL CO-EXIST HARMONIOUSLY |
The supposedly one-hour of waiting continued. It was getting dark and we were hungry. On a nearby sari-sari store, we ordered canned goods for a meal. Then came a local resident in a motorcycle. He informed us that the jeepney tires broke down once again. And so another jeepney will fetch us and drop us off at Luplupa.
It
took almost four hours of waiting. The
whole day was spent traveling as an initial discovery of Tinglayan. Around 7PM, we were now at our base in
Kalinga - the Riverside Inn at Luplupa Village.
4 comments
nakaka-miss naman sa Kalinga!
ReplyDeleteWhat an amazing place! I think we passed by here on our way back to Baguio from Sagada. The scenery is just stunning. We would love to stay here for a week and immerse in the culture.
ReplyDeletepupunta kme dyan soon! thank you sa iyong article! i miss you julius! hahaha!
ReplyDeletepupunta kme dyan soon! thank you sa iyong article! i miss you julius! hahaha!
ReplyDelete