Sagada's Rice Terraces

The afternoon after visiting the caves of Sagada, I decided to take another tour of the rice terraces of the area.  Pierre and I arranged it with Alfred, our cave guide.  Initially I had thought we could just go and wander about on our own, but Alfred told us that the people of the terrace area wouldn't allow people through without a guide.  So Alfred came with us.  We took a transport out to the terrace village.  And then it was down to the terraces themselves.  Before we got there though we saw the main transportation mode for rice, and presumably the grain stalks and seedlings and most of the materials used in maintaining the rice terraces.  In this area as well, there are no machines, so all work is done by brute force.  In fact, one of the communities we passed through had no road access at all.  While there, Alfred had to yell at a child who was playing with fire.  A fire accident in that community would be a disaster.

To get to the community where we would pass only with a guide, we walked among the terraces.  It's rather stunning.

The area also has some gold in the hills and there are some villagers that work the mines, by hand, and reap the meager benefits.

At the bottom of the terraces is a waterfall, Bomod-ok Falls.  When we first arrived at the falls, the only sound was the crashing of the falls.  In the rainy season, approaching the falls is impossible as there is too much water coming down.  As it wasn't the rainy season for our visit, swimming was possible.  Of course, the water is high mountain water.  It was cold.  I didn't swim, but Alfred and Pierre took a dip in the serenity...

And then the peace was shattered.  A high school group from Baguio had arrived in town during the afternoon and they arrived at the waterfall while we were there.  The chattering, laughing students were having a great time, but shortly sent us scurrying from the scene.  We headed back up to the road through the terraces, and it really was a very nice visit.