CHRISTMAS GREETINGS

Hello everyone! It's the time of the year once again when people are extra friendly, sweet, and loving. So I'd like to greet you all a merry and wonderful Christmas. Let's not forget the true reason of our celebration this day - the birth of Jesus Christ! Let's all be happy and enjoy the day. :) 

Please don't forget to follow me at: Facebook & Twitter. Thanks!

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The Hanging Coffins at Sagada Echo Valley

My boyfriend thought it was "Eco-Valley", an ecological park of some sort. So imagine his surprise when all he saw was limestones and coffins. lol Well, it was called the Echo Valley because of the echo that you create when you shout. Our guide said that it was because of the limestone in the area. I'm not really sure about this because I thought we can also create echoes in mountains with no limestone. heheh

The not-so-ordinary practice of hanging coffins is part of the Igorots' tradition. Here are some information  that we've learned from our tour guide, Ezra:

• Only Igorots who died a natural death are allowed to be put inside the hanging coffins.
• Babies and those who died due to ailments are not allowed to be put in hanging coffins because it is believed by the Igorots that by doing so will bring them bad luck.
• The hanging coffins are rather small and an average person wouldn't fit inside. Well, as part of the tradition, the deceased body should go back to the fetus-like position just like how they came into this world. 
• Before putting the body inside the coffin, they wrap it with a blanket and pass it overhead like a ball. Whoever gets blood drops while the corpse is being passed is said to have good luck in life.
• The coffin is hung first before placing the corpse inside it.
• One of the mysteries that really bogged me about these hanging coffins is how the natives hang them so high up in the sides of the mountains. What makes it even more impossible to imagine is there are no mechanical tools used in the process. According to Ezra, our guide, the coffins are hanged first - empty. After the coffin is secured and positioned, the natives will then place the body inside. The explanation is acceptable if you look at the photo above but what about the other one we saw that's  hanging like 50 meters above the ground on another cliff? Perhaps they used a really tall ladder or they've found a trail on how to get there at the top.

That's all I can remember for now. I'll ask our tour guide for more information when I get to catch him online.

Anyway, the Echo Valley is not far from the Sagada town proper. You just need to walk a bit and trek to the place where you can see the coffins up close. It was kind of weird to see those wooden coffins hanged at the mountain sides. Not really creepy, just weird.

It rained in the morning so the trek was slippery when we got there. After the tour, we were all muddy, sweaty and wet already. lol But it was all worth the adventure and the experience. No need to wear hiking or trekking gears actually. Slippers will do. :D

Meeting another group along the way made our Echo Valley tour more fun. Actually, they made our whole Sagada trip more fun and memorable. ;)

That's all for now about our Sagada trip. Merry Christmas everyone! :)

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The Sagada Trip: An Overview

My post about our Sagada Trip is long overdue. Lol I've been very busy this past month and I have so many back logs at work and here in my blog as well. Anyway, since I don't know how to start talking about the Sagada trip, let me just summarize it first in this post.

As usual, I booked our airline tickets during a seat sale event months before our trip. I came up with our Sagada itinerary based on online research. We weren't able to follow everything on our itinerary though due to unavailability of some destinations. This was our itinerary, instead:

Friday

Arrived at Sagada (12:00 PM )

Checked-in at George Guest House

Had lunch at Lemon Pie House

Echo-Valley Tour

Saturday

Bomod-ok Falls (Cancelled - Falls was closed because it was a holiday for the Igorots)

Lumiang and Sumaging Cave Connection (took us 5 hrs!)

Lake Danum ( No sunset because it was foggy)

Sunday

Kiltepan Peak (Sunrise Watching)

Orange Picking

Sagada Tour 

Banaue Rice Terraces

Back to Manila

On our Echo Valley Tour, we were lucky to join a group who were also staying at George Guest House. Little did we know that it would be the start of our friendship with them. Our tour guide, Ezra, told us that it would be a better idea if we join them on our tour the next day. So we did and the caving adventure was so much fun that it took us 5 long hours to finish it. Normally, the cave connection tour can be finished in 3-4 hours. 

We were very thankful that they welcomed us in their group because we were able to ride in their vehicle going to Kiltepan Peak and Rock Inn Cafe. To add to our luck, they also allowed us to hitch going to Nueva Ecija where they're headed so that we can just ride a bus from there going to Manila. Lesser expenses and hassle for both of us. We even had the chance to stop by a number of Rice Terraces view points in Banaue.

I'll be publishing detailed posts about our specific tours, experience, etc. about this trip so stay tuned! :)

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