I have wanted to go to Sagada for the longest time. Finally, I got the chance to explore this mountain retreat with four fellow first-time visitors. Nestled in the Cordillera Mountain Range of Northern Luzon, Sagada is an 11-hour butt-numbing bus ride from Cubao City in Metro Manila, involving a change of buses in Baguio City. From the Manila-Baguio deluxe bus, we transferred to a Baguio-Sagada no-frills, cramped bus. Soon enough, I forgot the discomfort. The open bus windows turned into a slideshow of magnificent mountain ranges, carved rice terraces, big sky, and wildflowers. As I stuck my hand out the window, palm spread wide open, it dawned on me that the bus was only inches away from the edge of the cliffs we were rounding. If the driver made even a tiny miscalculation, we would become part of the scenery. Okay, that scared me a bit.

The bus stopped when passengers had to get on or off. In one spot, a group of eager vegetable hawkers surrounded the bus and I quickly saw a woman holding an armful of lush sayote tops. She was selling the huge bunch for only P20! I snapped it up, making a mental note to ask the kitchen staff at St. Joe Café to steam it for us and include it with our lunch. About half an hour before we reached St. Joseph’s Inn, our base for the next three days, I called the information desk to place lunch orders for our starving group. I was told we were going to have fried chicken and brown rice with a side dish of sautéed vegetables. This begins the story of how I met an unforgettable cabbage. The sautéed vegetables, served with large pieces of heavily battered fried chicken, were small pieces of greens that looked like miniature cabbages. Sautéed very simply in oil and garlic, the mini-cabbage is fully cooked, without the crunch I like in my veggies. But I enjoyed it so much I ended up finishing the generous serving. It had the slightest hint of bitterness to it but also a certain sweetness inherent in freshly picked vegetables. On market day, I would encounter this very vegetable again.

Sagada Saturday Market

Every time I visit a new place, I find my way to the local market. In Sagada, the market unfolds every Saturday morning in the heart of town, occupying almost a kilometer’s stretch of the main road. I was there at daybreak, all excited as I watched the market come to life and the stalls fill with different varieties of fresh fruits and vegetables at unbelievably low prices. Broccoli and zucchini were going for P30 a kilo, while baby potatoes can be had for a mere P10 a kilo. As I walked among piles and piles of produce, I spotted a whole bunch of the tiny cabbage-like vegetable we had for lunch the day before. When I asked vendor Aling Elsa its name, she answered matter-of-factly, “Born-again Cabbage.” Now, who knew there was such a thing?

Sagadans, I later found out from a former town councilor, are fond of bestowing nicknames on just about anything. Aling Elsa went on to explain: “Matapos mapitas ’yung repolyo, meron ulit susulpot na bagong repolyo pero hindi na sila lalaki sa normal size kaya pinipitas na namin. Dahil bagong panganak sila, tinawag namin silang born-again cabbage.” Locally, she added, the vegetable is called saringit.

I also chatted with Aling Laura who, for the last 20 years, has been in charge of collecting each vendor’s rent. “The biggest spot—the ones with wooden structure and roof—cost the most,” she informed me. “It can go as high as P120 a day. While the ones occupying a small spot and sells only one kind of item has to pay two pesos.” The whole time I was talking to her and asking my questions in Filipino, she responded in English. She did not utter one Filipino word.

American missionaries came to Sagada in the early 1900s. An American Episcopal priest named John Staunton established the Mission of St. Mary the Virgin in this remote Ifugao region. To this day, a church that bears this name still stands. Badly damaged by bombs during World War II, it was later repaired by the Americans.

A few minutes walk behind St. Mary The Virgin Church is Echo Valley or what locals refer to as Valley of the Dead because of the existing cemetery. A short hike brought us to a view of towering limestones in the middle of a thick forest of pine trees. Peering closely, we spotted the famous hanging coffins of Sagada. Our guide, the soft-spoken Charles Sydney Degay, invited us to trek down for a closer look. “There are still a few here who practice this,” Degay said, referring to burying their dead seated then hanging the coffins from the mountain cliffs. The Igorots believe that burying their dead this way continues to give the departed’s spirit access to the sun’s warmth and to fresh air. The skull of a wild boar hung from a tree not far from the coffins. This is done, we were told, to guard the site and ward off evil spirits.

The French Chef

The other reason I was at the market so early that Saturday morning was to catch Aklay, resident chef of Log Cabin restaurant. A Frenchman who stumbled into Sagada and never left, Aklay prepares and cooks the weekly Saturday buffet dinner—it is the food event of the week, where both residents and tourists inevitably take part in. I was told he would definitely be at the market, buying produce and meats for that night’s buffet. I couldn’t wait for our seven p.m. reservation.

Log Cabin was packed to the brim by the time we arrived. The long buffet table was set right inside owner Dave Gulian’s own kitchen. With his house right next door to the restaurant, tables spilled into living and dining rooms. The long queue was a mix of foreign and local tourists; as well as Sagada locals and foreigners who have made Sagada home. “I’ve been coming here every Saturday for many years,” shared a pleasing Australian lady who spoke highly of the food.

Originally from Alsace, France, Chef Philippe—renamed Aklay by locals because he resembles an Igorot mestizo of the same name—came to Sagada eight years ago on a mountain bike. Gulian recounted: “First time I saw him, it was dinnertime, I was at the bar. Galing pala siya sa Baguio for how many days on a bike ride. Tingin ko pagod na pagod. I was there, and he was asking for a house to stay just for a night. Kawawa, so I said stay here.” Gulian later found out that Aklay has had over two decades of cooking experience that spans continents (“he was schooled in the best culinary schools in Europe”) and once even served as pastry chef for the Sultan of Brunei.

Undoubtedly, he has amped up Sagada’s dining scene, giving people his French take on indigenous ingredients at such an amazing price. One would be hard-pressed to find an all-you-can-eat spread at P299 per person. That night, we partook of Carrot Cinnamon and Rice Soup, Pork Shoulder Braised in Blueberries and their Vinegar, Boneless Chicken with Raw Vegetables and Thyme, Mashed Potato and Garlic, Sautéed Vegetables with Apples. For dessert, there was Katrina’s Lemon Tart, Flourless Brownies with Orange Peel and Semi-bitter Icing, Gingered Crème Caramel. For salad, we had Pickled Blueberry, Watercress and Ferns with Olive Oil and Native Balsamic Dressing topped with Stuffed Egg. This man can single-handedly put Sagada on the map with his gourmet creations.

Into the Caves

“If you don’t go caving, you might as well not go to Sagada,” we were told more than a couple of times. True enough, going into the gut of Sumaging Cave turned out to be one of the highlights of our trip. Also known as Big Cave, Sumaging’s wide mouth is an indication of the enormous hollow space deep within. Man-made rock steps made the initial descent easy. As each of us went down, Degay, our guide, lit his kerosene lamp, the only light source we would have for the next three hours. A friend urged me to take footwear with good traction—this tip saved me from losing my foothold on the slippery limestones and falling into nothingness. At one point, I had to lay my butt flat on the guano-laden rocks, grasping the sharp rocks tightly and ever so slowly sliding down, inch by inch. I was totally focused on avoiding any slips, simply dismissing the bat drippings hitting my head and face. At one point we had to rapel down to get to the lower floor of the cave. As we went, he pointed out standout rock formations the locals have named, such as the Chocolate Cake, the King’s Curtain, the Turtle, and the Pregnant Woman. Then he pointed to a rock in a huge phallic shape, telling his audience of five, “At ito po ang dahilan kung bakit nabuntis si Pregnant Woman.” This naughty remark solicited hearty laughter.

The inner sanctum of Sumaging Cave is indeed a wondrous natural beauty. Down there at over 300 feet below the ground are ice-cold, refreshing pools of crystal clear water. Charles informed us that there is a belief that the whole of Sagada was totally submerged in water thousands of years ago. Could those embedded seashells we saw on the walls of rocks be evidence of this? Perhaps.

Then the Ground Shook

Wet and dirty, we went back to our lodge to shower and change. We were starving by the time we sat at a table in Log Cabin to have dinner. We returned for a taste of the regular menu—Curried Veggies with Sweet Potatoes, Swiss Style Chicken Sausage in Penne Pasta, Baked Eggplants in Tomato Sauce, Sagada Field Greens with Yoghurt Mint Dressing, Balsamic Vinegar, and Olive Oil, Potato Au Gratin, Paprika Chicken in Sour Cream Gravy served with french fries and cucumber salad.

The waitress arrived holding a plate of steaming pasta when we suddenly heard an eerie loud noise, and then we felt it. In a split second, the whole place started to shake violently. Earthquake! The startled waitress told her customers, “Lumilindol. Don’t panic.” Then she put the pasta on the table and quickly joined the diners who had taken cover under the tables. Once the aftershocks settled, we went into the street to survey the scene. It wasn’t until the next day that we found out the tremor registered 5.6 on the Richter scale.

A travel writer who has been retreating to Sagada for the past 10 years or so told me: “I’d go back there once or twice a year to recharge and to ‘think deeply and live deliberately.’ When I first went, there were no phone lines, no cell phone signal, no Internet cafés—virtually no way to reach the outside world, or to have the outside world reach me. It was where I went for absolute quiet and solitude.” That is no longer true of Sagada, but the beauty remains. And in the light of day after an earthquake, it sparkles even more.

Your Guide to Sagada

How to get there: From Manila, take a Victory Liner bus to Baguio City (P380 per person for regular airconditioned bus; P600 per person for deluxe airconditioned coaster with in-bus comfort room and no stopovers). From Baguio, take a taxi or FX to Dangwa Terminal, a 15-minute ride that costs about P50 to P60. Book a ticket on Lizardo Bus for the six-hour trip to Sagada (P225 per person).

Where to stay:
ST. JOSEPH’S INN
Poblacion, Sagada
Mobile no.: 0918-5595934
Rates: P500 a night for dormitory-type rooms (good for two people) and P1,500 per night for cottages (good for three to four people). With hot shower water.

ROCK INN AND CAFÉ
Batalao, Sagada (two kilometers from town proper)
Mobile nos.: 0920-9095899, 0920-9028608 (ask for Bang)
Rates: P450 per person for bunk rooms (good for six to eight people with private bathroom); P300 per person for bunk rooms with communal bathroom; P1,500 for executive rooms (good for three people with private bathroom).
E-mail: rockfarm_sagada@yahoo.com

Where to eat:
LOG CABIN RESTAURANT
Mobile no.: 0920-5200463
Rates: Saturday Night Dinner Buffet, P299 per person, P199 for vegetarian buffet. Make reservations a day before. Open daily.

MASFERRÉ COUNTRY INN AND RESTAURANT
Tel. no.: (074) 423-0034; Mobile no: 0918-3416164

YOGHURT HOUSE
Tel. no.: (074) 423-0034; Mobile no: 0918-3416164