The (absence of the) road to Kaparkan
It’s the monsoon season and the country’s absolutely closed for tourism. Wrong. There was a typhoon 2 days before I traveled to Bangued, so I expected lots of rain when I arrived. It’s the perfect time to go rugged in the northern part of Luzon called Tineg, Abra. Read on and you’ll find out what’s out there.
What’s out there are rain-doused mountains which in the summer are brown-ish because the place becomes arid fast after the monsoon weather blows over. But the first leg of the journey is a nine-hour bus journey from Manila to Bangued, the capital.
Bangued is a small town which has been recently “equipped” with city amenities: The fastfood stores, the grocer, the cinema, and the mall. You’ll need to be able to kick back and rest after the long road trip here. And rest up for the body-shaking trip to Tineg which is at the border for the “Abramazing tour”.
It’s gonna make you exhausted and hungry so from Bangued take a rest, food, water, insect repellant, waterproof gear, toiletries and all the courage you can muster. The Abramazing tour operator has partnered with the government environmental department which facilitates the entire briefing, and they make you sign a waiver. If you ask them, the trip to takes six hours and the trip back more or less or… more in case of road delays.
By the way, my family hails from Bangued. I’ve spent many vacations there, but this “outing” was not to happen for me until this year. I feel it’s because of the fact that I lost two dearly loved people who lived there a few years back, yes, maybe it was that. I couldn’t equate the place with anything but overwhelming grief til recently. And I went with my aunt and her friend and my cousin for this adventure.
The rugged terrain began when the paved road ended two hours into our 6 x 6 truck ride. All in all, they sent off three trucks with each truck loaded with 45 or so of us. The truck we were on had no tarpaulin above our head unlike the first two. So the sun beat down on us. And the trees and branches of the jungle.
The jungle had deep pools of slippery mud, jagged rocks and boulders. It had ravines which make you scream as you realize there are only tree branches and no cemented nor heavy metal barriers anywhere. You can just imagine how rough this jungle ride is. You can’t? Check these out.
You can’t take a selfie cos you need to hold on tight depending on where you’re seated. My back and arms were colliding with the wood and metal slim backrest but I dared not let go of it , or nod off. We had to move away from possible allergens and whacks from plants whipping our backs and heads.
Mud slicks and jutting stones could break the 6 x 6 truck, what more the bones of the passengers? Sometimes, we were welded downwards or upwards with our co-passengers. Several times, I had to speak to the person seated across me to ease off on stepping on my feet.
After two hours on the moon, or the rocky mountain, we saw the two trucks and parked alongside these. There was a 30-40 minute trek from there. At the end of the trek is a clearing with wooden tables for eating your meals and there’s a comfort room area (very basic).
Beyond this area you can’t eat or bring drinks and food because it is annexed to the special destination which Abramazing has opened to tourists who aren’t faint of heart. If you are willing and open-minded to the idea of splashing in a rare terrace-formation falls, you are rewarded with an encounter with Kaparkan Falls.
Considering there was a very recent typhoon, the water was not muddy at all. The surroundings were pristine. It was an eternally-cascading bath which momentarily took away the exhaustion. After the exploration, I changed into dry clothes in preparation for the upward trek and another “interesting” ride into the jungle.
Heading back was a rainy affair, during which I could not take coffee out of my head. Then we passed one of the trucks that they said had bogged down, its radiator taken down and the passengers mulling the possibility of waiting for hours for the substi truck.
We went ahead and we saw the mountainside clear of overgrown trees. There were short grass amongst black rocks on the right and the steep ravines on the left. But seeing lesser jungle trees meant we were near the paved road again.
Reaching the paved road, I struggled to keep awake and had to succumb to sleep. It was the most uncomfortable seat to nap on for sure, but I just had to pull my hoodie low on my face and voila, I dozed off. I woke up when we were back in the town center. I couldn’t wait to wash off the mud and drink a cuppa.
My cousin invited us to have some birthday grub, spaghetti and fried spring rolls at their home. Who was I to decline? That evening, it rained hard. The rain poured overnight as I waited for my adrenaline to peter out. Something in me demanded to know why I had to do the tour.
Who was I to decline? We live life on the edge and sleep knowing what’s out there. The day before, I really had no idea what that journey was like. The day after, I had a bruise on my arm, but today, it’s hardly there. What stays on is the knowledge that I went on this adventure and got the chance to write this blog for you about what you can do during the monsoon season in the Philippines.
Arriving in Baguio, you instantly feel that you could breathe, which is difficult in the lowlands when it’s so humid, dusty and dry. I was surprised that away from the most visited place in Baguio, which is Burnham Park, the traffic wasn’t bad. The traffic marshals were doing an exemplary job. Waze app helped, too.
What to see? Well, if you check out Lonely Planet, Mines View Park is listed as a must-see. But if you must, do it at the earliest time you can, say 6:30? We went around 9:30 am and the lines of cars waiting to find their way into Mines View were slow. And then, when we got to the actual spot overlooking mountains and pine trees, I couldn’t see much, there were way too many photo bombers. On the way there, cringe at the maltreatment of ponies and some dogs forced to pose with the tourists for a fee. Hey, just telling it the way we witnessed it folks.
However, the yummy climate encourages flora and sprouts. I couldn’t haul that much sprouts nor proper plants, so I just bought seeds. They sell a complete array of the herbs and the floral seeds in Mines View. A packet costs 1 US$ minimum. I could vouch for the germination success of Baguio seeds, cos I immediately planted the spinach seeds and as of this writing, they’ve sprouted to a height of over an inch.
The Baguio Public Market sells cheaper (than lowland prices), higher quality vegetables, fruits, fruit jams, fresh berries and pastries and if you want to be able to buy in peace, hit the market at 6-7 am. I took my sweet time, talking to the sellers in the local tongue (here it’s Ilocano, and I never miss opportunities to sharpen my Ilocano . But most Ilocanos speak fluent English and Tagalog too) while buying strawberries and vegetables, everything sold here is grown in nearby upland farms, and the price difference for goods bought here, versus goods bought in the grocery is evident. The Baguio Public Market also has a nook selling local weaves made into blankets, table runners, coasters and home decorations. Like I said, if you trek to the market early, you save up on cost, as well as time, since you don’t run into tourist foot traffic. Traveler tip: If you’re the first to buy from a seller, like I was, it’s customary for some sellers to give you a bit of extra. I got a bit more french beans and broccoli for being that sweet lady’s first customer. Yey!
There are so many good food choices in Baguio. So much food, so little time. I recommend trying the street food. Normally warm taho (made of soy with sugar syrup and tapioca balls) is just beige and brown, but in Baguio, they’ve revolutionized this simple breakfast street food by introducing strawberry taho. This year, they have it in ube (purple yam), gasp!
At the Good Shepherd property, my mom and sister bought tempting sweets and healthy herbal tea homemade by the Good Shepherd crew. The proceeds from the sweets have paid for many of its scholars’ college education. It has one of the best mountain views in Baguio City. And there’s a serene little garden– The statue is of the nun who founded Good Shepherd. In the parking area, there are tall rainbow trees. It does feel like the pot of gold lies in the shade of a rainbow tree, especially for the kids who get to finish college from the local sweets and health teas and pastries sold here.
The highlight for me of this journey was visiting the Bencab Museum, owned by Philippine National Artist Benedicto Cabrera. It was a golden opportunity for me to share this art experience with my family and treat them to lunch (my extended birthday celebration, which I officially spent in Boracay. Check out the previous blog).
Bencab lives here and has a massive art collection on display. His collection of bulols (Cordillera wooden figures of home and rice gods) and wooden carvings are representative of the hill tribe culture and arts.
I wanna go back and show you again this pair below, which are also bulols (they sometimes come in pairs), just more intricate in detail, because we’ve had a similar pair at our house since we were little. My father was born somewhere in this mountainous region in the Philippines and I also am able to speak the local language which is Ilocano. So this is also a part of who I am, my family’s roots too.
He also exhibits other notable artists’ art. I’m posting a few here:
Equally popular among the museum’s galleries is its cheeky Erotica gallery.
That volcano is the reason for the hot spring which I’ll show you later on.
The road leads to Tuasan Falls. It’s a pretty easy falls to locate. From the parking area, you just paid the environmental fee then about 5 minutes walk, you could already see the basin where the water falls. It’s like a fairy’s domain. Cool shade of trees and sunlight filtering through rocks and leaves.
That was it for the day tour. The hot springs were very near our inn. Needed to relax. Sarah and I finished a cold San Miguel Pilsen Grande bottle purchased for us by the kind inn caretaker. The room didn’t have a fridge, but the store beside the inn had cold beverages.
There are many batchoy places to choose from anyway like Ted’s All Timer, Deco’s, and Casa Ilongga. But for an authentic encounter with the batchoy noodle dish, head to La Paz Market (if you’re looking for coffee also head over to La Paz Market for the cozy Madge Cafe.) Ted’s, Deco’s, Casa Ilongga, those places also serve another Ilonggo delicacy called molo soup.
The Riverwalk is always being improved and this time I am pleased to see that both sides of the clean river have landscaped and newly-cobblestoned walk lanes on both sides of the river. Pretty at nighttime.
