Exploring Sagada, Mountain Province (Day 2, Part 2)

       It was a tiring afternoon for all of us as we got home. Finally, sweat trickled down on my face! I used to complain about the hot weather in Manila, but now I want fifty percent of that hot weather.
      We all went to our rooms to rest and check out the souvenirs we bought. Some charged the batteries of their cameras for the next adventure later. Others went down to help our professor cook our food for lunch. As for our group, we also went down to help clear and prepare the table. Well, our viand for that day is mixed vegetables. I forgot what those veggies are, but it tastesgreat. I didn't know our professor has great cooking skills.

      After eating, well, we're still the great dishwashers and others finished their duties. While we're through, our professor gave us a lot of time to rest. We cleaned ourselves, while others decided to take a nap. In our room upstairs, my friends and I took selfies to kill time.

Photo credits to Liwliwa Taclibon and Ian Magtira. :) 

       I can recall that rest time was like, two hours? We had that feeling that our adventure to the Hanging Coffins might be cancelled because it's already 3 in the afternoon. One of my classmates checked our professor downstairs and told us that he is sleeping. We just sighed and went back in taking selfies.
      Finally, after a few minutes, our professor called all of us to get ready. We hastily got up and hurried downstairs. Actually, we're all ready for an hour now, so there's nothing to rush. Our professor oriented us that it's gonna be a long walk from home, but it's fine with us. We're all here for adventure and experience anyway. We all said yes to him after that.

My blockmates and I really like selfies so we took one when we're out of our house.

       Great. A rainy afternoon and we have our cameras. Well, it was only drizzling, but some of my classmates hid their cameras under their shirts to avoid getting wet. I hope this drizzle will stay as a drizzle.

      So we walked down this long road, and passed by huge rocks. A creation of nature, we can all say. My classmate here asked me to take a picture of him as if he is carrying the world. Atlas inspired, perhaps?

That's him. And a photo bomber. :) 

     As we go along, we finally saw the Hanging Coffins from afar. We're almost there and we're separated by a cliff from were we are standing now. 

    We continued walking and passed by houses and saw this sign:

     We're nearing the Hanging Coffins! I'm so excited to see it! On our way there, we saw these strange plants on the sidewalk. I told myself to know the names of these plants when we get home in Manila. I wanted to ask the natives what were these called, but sadly, no one's around, so we just continued walking.

       Here we go again to the one-way passage. I never thought going in that cave was going to be as easy as this. The road is flat and I can run freely here. Oh well, I guess this isn't the challenge that I'm waiting for. Yet. 

       I realized that the photo above was my last one before entering the Sumaguing Cave. Hahaha! The challenge has arrived, and all the rocks are slippery while going down. It has given us an extra challenge since it had just rained. First I was surrounded by my friends but later on, I was second to the last. I was a real slowpoke, and my professor was waiting for us a few rocks below. I feel like the Biggest Loser. My friend took a picture of me on the way down. 

Struggling for survival. That hand rail ends there. 

     My classmates were already far down below! Okay. I need to focus. My sweat is as cold as ice, but I am unfazed. There are times when I almost slipped and suddenly focused my gaze on the rocky cliff on my left. There are also times when I don't know how am I going to balance myself because my camera is heavy, and I'm also heavy. I looked down, and my classmates were also doing the hard way, since there is no easy way to carry our cameras. We have our own strategies to save our cameras and ourselves. I keep on telling myself that I need to save my camera at all costs.

Look at them go! That's my professor by the way. :) 

I'm too far!

      Finally! I reached the Hanging Coffins! It was really cool and amazing. All these coffins survived in many centuries, and look, it's still here, preserved by the natives. We all took our photos there, as a subject for our midterm plate. Of course, we also took our selfies for proof that we were once here. :)

I was here! :) I feel like I'm a demigod with my shirt labeled 'Camp Half-Blood'. :)

      Our professor said that these coffins were placed that way, because the natives believe that it is the fastest way to reach heaven. Amazing, right?

      I was wondering what is the meaning of this carved lizard in one of the coffins. At the end of the day, one of my classmates said that she asked a vendor in one of the stores about the meaning of the lizard. The shirts sold in stores also have this design. She said that it means "long life". Just like the lizard's tail, when it is cut, it grows again. 

     On our way back, or up, one of my classmates slipped. Fortunately, he held on to a rock for support. I felt that mini-heart attack. As usual, I was still the last one to go up. This time, I chose to be the last so I can have a clear background of the Hanging Coffins. Going up was way easy than going down. 

    When we're back on the flat road, I observed that both my legs were shaking from the climb up and down. We took photos once again, before going back in the town proper. This time, there were photo bombers included, and one of them is our professor.

Photo bombing level 99. :))

       The sun is already setting when we're about to reach our house. But before we get home, our professor said that we'll be eating in the Sagada Lemon Pie House. So, some of my classmates went in to ask for the price of the lemon pie. We waited along outside as they go along. I can't bear the pain in both of my legs, I feel like they're swelling. My friends and I found a place where we can sit.

      After a few minutes, my classmates went out laughing. We rushed to them as they came near us. When we asked why, she said, "Ubos na raw ang lemon pie sa Lemon Pie House. Hahaha!" I laughed on that one, too! We were dismayed, yes, but we just laughed on that matter. 

      Finally, when we're all home, we got to rest. I stretched my legs and massaged it. Nothing happened, so I just sat there and leaned on the wall in our room. Others lied down and breathed deeply. While I was looking at my shots, our professor made an announcement that no one will sleep, for we will have our dinner and for our other classmates who want to buy souvenirs.

     When I heard the stove being opened by my classmate, I told my other friends to go downstairs to help prepare the table. We all went straight to the living room to join our professor and our other friends. One of our classmates came out from the kitchen and told us that she's cooking the dinner for tonight as a treat for her birthday. We thanked her when she went back to the kitchen.

    We waited and shared stories to each other. The boys bought three bottles of sodas outside while the girls prepared the table when the food is being served. The dinner that my classmate cooked for tonight is spaghetti. When I took one spoonful, I realized that this spaghetti has a twist to its taste. I looked at the sauce on my plate and observed that corned beef was added to it. It tastes great, actually. Great idea for that classmate of mine. :) 

"THE EXPERIENCES"

       After a few minutes of sharing stories, some of my classmates decided to buy souvenirs. That was 7pm, I think? We relied on our cellphones there to check the time since there are no wall clocks in that house. My classmates brought flashlights as there were no lamp posts outside. We bid goodbye as they went out. As for my circle of friends, we stayed inside the house to take a bath and do the dishes. Actually, this is a very strategic way when there are more than 10 people in a house. Last night, our group had the chance to buy souvenirs, while those classmates of ours who went out tonight cleaned the house. But tonight, we own

the house. We own the bathroom so we can take a bath without rushing so much. Unfortunately, when they left, the lights went out. Again. 

     My friends and I suddenly freaked out while doing the dishes,  but we didn't scream. Instead of freaking out, I laughed when my friend, who was taking a bath, suddenly went out of the bathroom and came running to us. She was laughing, too. Hahaha! Glad to see that she was through, and she has her clothes on. She told us that she's just fixing her stuff inside when the lights went out. One of the elder guys in our group has this big flashlight. We temporarily used it as a light bulb for we placed it in the table and faced it's light up in the ceiling. 

    The silence was eerie, so I decided to put on some music. I was brushing my teeth then, so my friend selected songs for us. Our professor was alone upstairs by the way, and the guy who took the flashlight said that he was talking to somebody on the phone.He was brave enough to be up there alone, huh. I can't do that. Anyway, as we wait for my classmate who took too much time in the bathroom, we were partying there as Bruno Mars' "Treasure" is being played. 

    When it's my turn, the lights suddenly went back. There goes the extreme cold water again. While I was inside, I was praying the Lord's Prayer many times. I thanked God that I finished taking a bath without the lights going out. When it's my friend's turn, the lights suddenly went out again. She took her phone from the table and played rock music inside while she's taking a bath. We all laughed outside. Hahaha!

     When we were all through taking a bath, we sat and waited for our classmates to come back. And the lights, too. We just talked about music, food and our adventure earlier. Not for long, I saw a tiny light coming from outside. I stared at the window, but it was gone. I felt scared because a knock followed suit. Our guy classmate opened the door and it was only my classmate. We sighed with relief as we saw her, but she doesn't seem fine. We asked her what happened to her, and she told us that she lost her money during the brown out. While we're talking, the lights suddenly went back, and we can clearly see her blank expression and worry over her face. She put her hands on her palms and breathed deeply. We consoled her, thinking how can we help her. 

    My other classmates rushed to the door as they looked for our classmate who lost her money. They did the same, and we decided to lend her money for tomorrow on the way home. 

    After that scenario, all of us went upstairs to prepare for bed and packed our things for tomorrow. Some of our roommates decided to sleep early, but we didn't feel like sleeping yet. We sat at the big space in the middle of the second floor where the others are.  We laughed, and joked and some of us even took a midnight snack. Some of the girls went downstairs to drink water, I guess, and decided to stay down for a while. Not for long, they all went upstairs because my girl classmate who cooked dinner for tonight, was scared from what had happened to her at the kitchen. She said she was alone drinking water while her 

companion went in the lavatory to pee. While she was drinking water, the chair in front of her moved by itself. I felt scared, too, but not much. I decided not to go downstairs anymore that night. She sat at my back and we comforted her. 

      Later, three of our boy classmates went downstairs. They were all downstairs when the lights went out once again. Two of them went back, and we asked where the other one is. They said that he's in the bathroom, and answered the call of nature. Both of them went back down again, and we laughed. When all of them went back upstairs, our classmate who was inside the bathroom was a bit pissed with his two companions for leaving him downstairs alone. But we were all laughing at the situation. Our girl classmate who was afraid earlier started smiling, but she doesn't look happy like the rest of us are. She just sat there and looked at her phone.

      While waiting for the lights to get back, we played something like 'guess the tune' and many similar games. Some of us listened to music, while others ate. I belonged to the group where my friends and I were looking like idiots guessing the tune to various songs. One of us even sent a message to her sister asking the title of a specific song lyrics. When the lights went back, I joined my other friends in the big room and accompanied our scared friend. We were making her laugh, and eventually, she looked fine, though

I can still feel that she's still afraid. We told her not to think about it, and take a sleep. We were all lying in bed by that time, and I'm glad that the bed is big enough for the three of us. Unfortunately, I can't sleep, so I talked all along until one of us fell asleep. I decided to play 4 pics 1 word with my scared friend to let go of her fear, but due to the extreme difficult level, she fell asleep. I felt better when she fell asleep. She lent me her phone, and I continued playing, though I just stared at it like an idiot.  

     Maybe it was only 10 minutes when we heard extreme loud footsteps going upstairs. The three of us bolted in bed and I rushed outside our room to check the commotion. I noticed that half of our block was terrified and shaking with fear. I checked the time, and it was almost 11 in the evening. My friends also got up from bed and checked everyone. Our professor was awakened by the loud footsteps created by my classmates. I asked my classmate who was not that scared about what happened and he told me the story.

     He said that they were all downstairs chatting when they heard knocking on the door. I mentioned that door on our first day, it was adjacent to the one in the entryway. When you went out through that door, you'll see the fields. At first they decided to ignore it, and just continued talking. Later, they heard louder knocks and stared at each other, and still, they continued talking. Finally, it stopped, and they all felt better, but what happened next made them go upstairs altogether. There was a gap of minutes from the time the loud knocking stopped. What happened next is, there was a loud scratching on the door that sent goosebumps on their skin, and they all went upstairs. 

     I was glad for this classmate of mine for he was still able to tell us the whole story. Another guy classmate of mine leaned on the door and started crying. Our professor went out to check us, and told us that there really is "someone" else in that house we're at. My classmates on the other room who went to bed early, took a peek and closed the door again. 

    As for me, I called my classmates and I volunteered to pray the rosary. My classmate who was scared earlier that night joined us. I grabbed my prayer book and lead the rosary. We didn't turn off the lights that night. After praying we talked about other stuff in our room and decided to just wait for morning and don't sleep. But still, we fell asleep, and gladly, the fear that is stirring in my friends' faces disappeared and last thing I know, we all began snoring.