Sagada, a nice place

I will be candid here.  Of my trip to the north of Luzon island in the Philippines, during which I visited Baguio, Sagada, and Banaue, by far I enjoyed Sagada the best.  It is a beautiful little town that sits in a valley atop a mountain at the end of a narrow, snaking road.  The people are friendly and helpful.  You can find good food in all sorts of places (as long as the the restaurant you are frequenting has the ingredients, a challenge at times), and nice scenery.  It looks prosperous, yet the living is cheap.  Where everywhere else in the Philippines I have been finding rooms at 900 to 1500 pesos (22 to 38 dollars) a night, with the first night here being a ridiculous 80 dollars (due to my own mistake of ignoring my own advice and trusting a cabbie), I was surprised to be told my nice room in Sagada's George Guesthouse was 300 pesos a night (about 8 dollars).  I think I actually did a double take.  If anyone has the opportunity to come to the Philippines, I highly recommend going to Sagada.

My first night in town, I took a walk to Echo Valley.  I tried to go by myself, but one of the ways the people of the valley bring money in is through the tourist trade and by providing guide services, even when the tourist might be looking for a quiet walk by himself.  I was able to initially make that point to the boy who tried to attach himself to me.  But then I took a wrong turn and ended up walking up to the local priest's house.  When I came back down, realizing my mistake, the boy reappeared and wasn't going to be sent away this time.  I think children sense weakness, and I think they are also ruthless in attacking it.  I resisted for a long time as the boy told me things about the local cemetery, a couple of graves, the view of the town, the echo properties of the valley.  But then I slipped and asked a question.  Damn!!  Then I knew I was going to have to pay him.  So I resigned myself to it and asked him how much he thought he was going to be worth.  As he was just a (remarkably well-informed and entertaining) fledgling guide, he wasn't worth what a regular guide would be worth (400 pesos).  He was only worth 100 pesos.  As that is about 2.50, I didn't mind.  I asked him more questions and let him tell me lots about the valley and hanging coffins to be found there.

The coffins are put up on the sides of cliffs or at the entrance of caves in order to give the spirits the chance to continue to roam and experience freedom.  Many of the local people are now Christian and bury their dead in the cemetery, but the old ones still follow the old traditions and bury their dead in coffins on the sides of hills.  My young guide told me that the most recent burial had been in December.

In the end, I learned a lot and did manage to experience the peace of the little valley of echoes, at least to a point.