A Given Chance

Yesterday, I prayed for a chance. 


It's been a while since I pressed the pause button of my life. I have been a bum for quite some time now, 4 months to be exact. I have done everything to seize the moment. I slept late, woke up late, bummed all day, traveled, shopped, worked out and just about anything my heart desired. 


Until yesterday. I just felt like everything's becoming redundant. I can't do much anymore because of my dwindling savings. I prayed for a chance to change my everyday routine. For something more progressive. I prayed for a job.


I have never  believed in me surviving a corporate life. I always wanted to be my own boss. My ill-fated internet shop proved my passion and ability for business. But then again, it slipped into my hands. I felt like a lost kitten under a pouring rain. Do I really have to go back to employment? I had no choice. It took me 4 long months of contemplating and weighing my options. Until last week, I applied for a position in a prestigious company. I fixed my mind on to it. It's the only company I am eying. 

Last night we went out for a drink and some karaoke sessions. I had too many beers which rendered me hung over and useless this whole day. My phone rang. I was so zombied out that I wanted my boyfriend to answer the call. But then I realized it was an unregistered number. I suddenly came back to my senses and just answered it anyway. It was from the company I was applying to! They scheduled me for an interview tomorrow. It was a very fast answer to my easter wish! I realized that the universe really conspired into giving me this opportunity. I better give my best shot. Wish me luck, journal! =)

I haven't had great relationships with my previous jobs. Note to self: If you were lucky enough to be considered, keep it! Let this cute giraffe convince you to love what you wished for.

A Good Friday at Monasterio de Tarlac

We spent our Good Friday at the Monasterio de Tarlac. I was with my whole family. Whole, meaning the four of us - me, my mom, dad and my only brother. It was an impromptu trip with a last minute googling of directions. It was a two-hour drive from Pampanga.


The Monastery is located on a mountain top. An small silver ark houses the actual relic of Christ's cross. It was authenticated by Papal seal, proving that it is the real deal!


It was fitting. To be close to something that He actually touched during His times, something that meant huge to His suffering, something that actually played a role in our salvation.


It was a beautiful chance for reflection... and photo op too!

A beautiful sunny afternoon

It looks like a headdress

He's watching over us

With my Creator :)

Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. Hebrews 13:15

It is finished. He already died to save us. Let us not punish ourselves in the thoughts of cleansing our sins. He did that already. Be thankful instead and offer a sacrifice of praise.

Sagada Chronicles: Day Four, Dilemma - to leave or not to leave

Recap:

Sagada Chronicles: Pilot

Sagada Chronicles: Another Dimension

Sagada Chronicles: D-1

Sagada Chronicles: Day One

Sagada Chronicles: Day Two, Unleashing our Extreme Sides
Sagada Chronicles: Day Three, Coming Home


The fourth day had arrived. It was initiated by a text from our guide Sotero saying his invitation for us is still open. Remember the wedding that he invited us to? This day is their preparation day! Kuya Sotero stopped whatever he was doing and fetched us all the way from our inn. Genuine kindness! To think he's doing this for free - just for us to experience their culture. 


As we arrived, the scene surprised me. They were butchering pigs. I'm an animal lover but I was just a guest. I had no right to be squeamish, and besides, I eat pig! This is really what they have to go through to be eaten. It was just sad. You know, to watch your fellow pig be stabbed in the heart, be burned, be opened up and then be chopped, knowing that you're next. Sigh.

8 huge pigs were butchered

The groom. He's not allowed to help. His friends and relatives say they can handle everything for him.

Improvised stoves

Firewoods. A whole lot of firewoods.

Not for the faint of heart. Blood gushes out with every last breath the pig takes.

A local kid worries while the pig cries out for his dear life.

Friends and relatives, armed with their own itaks, come here to help .

I got nothing but respect to these people still practicing Bayanihan up to these days.

Kuya Sotero kept on entertaining us while chopping pig parts. We could have stayed there until lunch but we still have a 10am bus to catch. Leaving is such a sad sad part of a travel. 

Heart is heavier than the bag.

Our wallet says we should go home but our hearts says the opposite. Our emergency money and the lone ATM kept on convincing us to stay. We had to make a choice. We pulled out our phones. I did the first call. I called a client and asked for an extension (work deadline). He said yes. He wanted to text his boss for another leave but I called my mom first. I can't use the "missed the bus" excuse anymore. I just told her we wanted to stay. She did not approve. That was it. 


We had to go home not because we're scared of my mom, but we did not have their blessing anymore. We waited for the bus. And waited.... and waited. 


It was past 10am. We realized we actually missed the bus this time! Oh well. We just waited for the 11 am bus. And waited... and waited. No bus arrived.


We went to the Municipal Hall and asked the personnel there. He said there was no 11am bus going to Baguio. The next one will be at 1pm! How did we spent those last two hours? We saw people riding on top of the jeepneys and thought that would be fun, so we went to Bontoc! Plus, we heard there would be a local festival there so we better check that out.

They call this Topload style.

With a friendly German lady.

The ride was fun! It was like a roller coaster, only riskier. It was a 45-minute ride full of twists and turns. The view was very rewarding but the sun was a bitch. It was the fastest sunburn ever. Wearing sunglasses without any sunblock lotion is freaking bad news for your face. I do not mind having sunburns, I just did not want a bordered one. 

Lang-Ay Festival

Bontoc is Mt. Province's city. It was unbelievably hot and humid out there. It was like I was just in Angeles City. We did not get to see the festival's parade. After we had our lunch, we quickly rode the bus going to Baguio. And then it rained. Good thing we did not extend another day for we would not want to spend half day inside the inn's room. That would have been pointless. 

Cloudy/rainy mountains

We arrived at Baguio at around 7pm. We bought our to-go dinner at SM. It was just a quick hello and goodbye to Baguio - my most favorite city. 

Hello Baguio, Goodbye Baguio.

I feel like betraying my favorite city because, deep in my heart I know, a little place called Sagada snagged its place already. Yes it's not a city, but that's totally the point! Our Sagada travel marked the day I got bit by the travel bug so bad it even infected my boyfriend. It will definitely stay close to our hearts, especially its kind-hearted people. We may go back this December for the SaGGA's bonfire fest. Or maybe this July. We even considered it to be our retirement place. Who knows. 


We got home around 12am. Snap back to reality. After we showed our photos to my family, my boyfriend went home immediately. He still has work at 8am the next day. As we kissed goodbye, we shared a little smile. That was enough. Our little adventure will definitely have its sequel, soon.

Sagada Chronicles: Day Three, Coming Home

Recap:

Sagada Chronicles: Pilot

Sagada Chronicles: Another Dimension

Sagada Chronicles: D-1

Sagada Chronicles: Day One
Sagada Chronicles: Day Two, Unleashing our Extreme Sides


On our third day, we were supposed to have a dip on the Bokong Falls. With our bodies still aching from our Crystal cave exploration, we were too lazy even just to peel ourselves from the bed. We trashed the idea of swimming. We just woke up late and decided to shop for souvenirs instead. It was 10am. We still managed to go to the church for a slow leisure walk before shopping. I pulled out my souvenir list and ticked every item on it. As we arrived in our inn to pack our things up and be ready to go home, I checked our shared wallet. With our fare and lodging fee already excluded, we still have more than a thousand in it. 


A thousand. Additional night will cost 600. 
400. Every meal will cost a hundred. (Yes, a hundred for the two of us! We knew this cheap eatery.) Additional three meals, thats 300.
100. Bus food. 


With both of our eyes twinkling, we suddenly read each other's minds. We're going to extend! The budget may be tight, but we will definitely regret it if we did not do it. I called my mom and informed her that we missed the bus. She bought it! Off we went. We had our yet another cheap lunch and planned our afternoon itinerary.


At the local eatery, we chanced upon two men eating there too. I had always wanted to have a conversation with the locals especially their kind - old and wise. They were also pleased to talk to us since they got to practice their Tagalog skills. We talked all through out lunch. I learned that one of them was a former Vice Mayor and a retired teacher (or police) and the other one was a retired police (or teacher, hahah, I got them mixed up). We could have talked the whole day but we were in a hurry to fulfill our half day plan.


First stop: Bokong falls swimming
Due to our lack of money, we decided to do our two plans DIY style. Bokong falls and Lake Danum are one of the spots that doesn't need a guide anyway. As long as you know how to get there - which we didn't. Good thing our inn provided Wifi, we downloaded Sagada's map. We followed the map and asked few people along the way. We walked and trekked and as soon as I heard a flowing water, I knew we succeeded! 

Pretty little falls

We found two young boys already swimming. Good thing because I was about to attempt something stupid and there should be witnesses. Someone to run for help in case I fail. I always wanted to dive head first from the highest rock into the pool. I read it was 12-feet deep. Just perfect. 

The water was so cold

I immediately went into the lower rock. As soon as I stood on to it, I got overwhelmed. What if I dove and got caught by a rock or something. What if I did not die but had my face totally ruined. Damn, I can't risk that! I just jumped normally and trashed the idea of diving from the highest rock. But then I saw the kid climb. I just couldn't resist danger's charm. I climbed too. It was the scariest thing that ever happened to me in Sagada. I was there, climbing while wondering which rock to hold on too. My foot is wet and slipping. I just couldn't get a good grip. Good thing my boyfriend was already on top and pulled my hand. My hero... 

The lower rock

So there I was standing at the top of the rock. I gave him a look. I needed his permission. Of course he wouldn't want me to jump. It was scary. And yet he saw the eagerness in my eyes. He knew I needed to do it. It was one of the thing I told him over and over again while planning the trip "I wanted to dive in the Bokong Falls".  I knew a lot of people already jumped from there, but I needed more assurance. And just in time, a tour guide with French tourists came. They were adult French couple. The guide gave me a go signal. That was my sign. It was indeed safe to jump. 


As my boyfriend saw my conviction, he went down and got the camera. He'll document my craziness. Head first...I was still contemplating. I saw the video of my first jump. It was not good. My jump was too powerless. I won't be able to pull off a dive. And that's how I chickened out and just jumped. Not a head-first-dive, but a jump. It was kinda lame, but nevertheless, I'm still proud of it. Only few will have the guts to even swim into that convex pool. 

first jump

higher rock

The French couple applauded my jump. We had a quick chat and they asked for my e-mail address. The guy said he'll send me my pictures. Wow! Sikat na 'ko! After they left, I literally rolled onto the stones and just chanted "my picture will be in Paris, France!!" Heheh.


That concluded our first stop. We went back to our room and had a quick shower. It was around 4pm and  we wanted to eat fishballs! Yes, their fishballs are so clean, they actually use vegetable oil for frying. They do not reuse it either. It was so good we just consumed 50-pesos worth of fishballs and kikiam!

World's Cleanest Fishballs!

Next stop: Lake Danum

Lake Danum is one of the easiest spot to go to in Sagada. You'll just have to follow the high way. Bad thing about it is its distance. It's a 1-hour walk. We reached the lake just in time for sunset. It was breathtaking. It would be so perfect if we had more time. We didn't even sit down to catch our breath. We only took four photos and literally ran off. The sun was setting and we did not have any flashlights with us. My phone's battery was nearing empty. The road was rough and long plus a great portion of it did not have any street lamps. It was kinda scary. We did not have any water too. We prayed to Jesus to hold on to the sun for a little longer until we reach the lighted street. And he did! It was so amazing. The moment we reached the municipal hall, the sky was so dark already. That's when we realized how crazy we were for going there without any help. It was fun though. Going back only took us 30 mins!

Pretty pretty lake

That night, I only had barbeque and rice for dinner. He had this amazing noodle soup. We ate in our inn's restaurant. He asked the lady which soup can she recommend, she said all of them are good. He chose between a noodle soup with egg and a noodle soup with vegetables. He picked the one with egg. It was 45 Pesos. Not bad for a fancy-named soup, until it arrived. It looked familiar. He tasted it...he looked disappointed. 


It was actually a Payless chicken noodle with egg. Hahah! I wonder how the one with vegetables looked like.


After our dinner, we wanted to go out and check out a local resto. With our dwindling budget, I decided to break into our emergency money just to drink beer. It was an emergency situation anyway. Good thing we're too tired and just watched Discovery channel until we dozed off.

Next entry: Day 4: Facing yet another dilemma, to leave or not to leave. 

ME and YOU just US two

When people hears the news that we are going to get married next year, they instantly gosh about the same thing - babies!

No we don't want babies, at least not yet. We're gonna pull off a Robin Scherbatsky (How I Met your Mother) until we're thirty. 

So people, stop putting pressure on us. We want to officially live together, to make big decisions with each other, that's why we're getting married. Not just because we want to have a baby. We'll want that in the future. In our own time frame. 

Somehow related note:

These are some reasons why I wanted to freeze that baby thought for a while now:

** From both being electronics engineers, we want to do a total career shift. He'll study IT and make a career out of it while I pursue my love for writing. I want to study journalism or something like that. I have been earning as a writer for quite some time now but it's not that fulfilling. I'm a part time ghost writer. Yeah, a ghost + writer. I'm like a dead-man writing. It's my dream to immortalize my name on a paper. My name has been printed on a newspaper before (board exams results) but I never got to have a copy of it. Someday, I'll have my name printed on it again. 

** We want to travel more first. Although we are never trashing the idea of travelling with our future kids, you know it's always easier if there are just the two of you. 

** He will be sending a kid to high school. I landed myself into a very kind-hearted man. I know I should not be blabbing about his charity, but I just can't help it! It's a very big decision considering his minimum income. Awwww.

Oops, I just recalled, I already had an entry about this subject. It looks like I'm REALLY freaking out it. 

Sorry if the pronouns used not just on this entry but generally all through out this blog are 95% "we". I guess I'm a We person. 

Sagada Chronicles: Day Two, Unleashing our Extreme Sides

Check out my the previous parts of my Sagada Chronicle

Sagada Chronicles: Pilot

Sagada Chronicles: Another Dimension

Sagada Chronicles: D-1

Sagada Chronicles: Day One

4 in the morning, got awakened by an alarm.

I was never a morning person. You can count the times I have been awake before sunrise. I can't even recall seeing one, I mean, watching it actually rise from the horizon. My boyfriend on the other hand, loves the morning! Sunrise is his thing. As I arranged our itinerary for this trip, I considered waking up 4 in the midnight (as I refer it) to do him a favor.


We arrived 4:30 on the tour guide's office and met our guide, kuya Sotero. We walked for one whole hour just to reach the Kiltepan peak which is the perfect spot for Sagada sunrise. By the way, we were warned the day before that day that seeing the actual sunrise is just a 70-30 chance. 70% being the probability of a cloudy morning where the sun is hidden with thick fog.

Thick Fog = No Sunrise Shot

They were right. We saw no sunrise. Did we regret that? Of course not! Not a single bit. The walk, although long, was very refreshing. The foresty-feel was so amazing, i feel like Vampire Damon will show up any moment.  The view of the terraces never fails to awe me. The rising sun may be the highlight of it all, but the journey itself is priceless.

The view was nevertheless... priceless

As we walked all the way back to our inn, we told our guide our plans. We wanted to do the cave connection afterwards. My boyfriend already did that 2 years ago. I already did Sumaging cave last February. But we wanted to do it together. Then our guide, Sotero, suggested that we might wanna try the Crystal Cave for a change. It's more extreme than the cave connection. How extreme? Here are the tell-tale signs:


Cave Connection may take 4-5 hours, Crystal Cave may take 6-7.
-It needs one guide per guest.
-It costs P1,500 per person.
-Ordinary ropes for Cave Connection are not qualified. A newer one is required.
-Leggings should always be topped by sturdy shorts. There were some unfortunate people who already tore their leggings inside.
-Large-framed people should come at their own risks.


But there was a catch. It's not that open to public. They're trying to limit its visits to preserve its precious straw-like stalactites. Hearing that, I suddenly agreed to the deal! I did not care if it means slashing off 3k from our shared wallet in an instant. We'll figure that out, I thought. After we agreed, we laughed on how easily we got sales talked. Hahah maybe it  he just said that to stir our curiosity and give in easily?


1pm was our call time. We had plenty of time to rest and prepare. He slept, I had my Cranberries concert on our balcony. Came lunch time, we got a little adventurous and decided to eat at the Pinikpikan eatery. I had that famous meal while he settled with a porkchop meal. I was not ecstatic about that Pinikpikan, but hell, it was an experience. I think they prepare the chicken by pounding its body until its blood clots and then burn its feathers with a blow torch. And then the etag is added. Etag is a preseved and smoked meat. It's a proud product of Sagada.

The Etag was tasty!

We were all set up. Ready for our secret crystal cave adventure! We met our two guides and walked our way to the jump off point. We passed along the Lumiang Cave entrance. Then we went out of the road in to the forest. Oh my! Our guide was right. Crystal cave is indeed a controlled spot. There was no pathway leading to its entrance. We had to go through the forest to find it.

Crystal Cave's Entrance

As we came inside, I already noticed the cave's unique beauty. The rocks are shimmering, literally! We also caught a little bird. Kuya Sotero identified it a sparrow while Gareth, upon seeing the photos, insists it's a shallow. Whatever. It was a cute little birdie. They say that bird produces that thing for bird's nest soup. After a short while, I was convinced that the cave was indeed controlled. It has a an iron fence on one of its opening. And it was locked. We had to work our way through it, and by that I mean forcing it to open. Anyone who happened to stumble upon this blog, hush, please don't tell their municipality about it. =)

Birdie

Sparkling Stones

Entering alone was not an easy task. After that fence was a very steep descend. We started using the rope. They say in cave connection, the rope is a mere support. There were only couple of times you have to really, really depend on it. Well in crystal cave, the rope was our life. It was not a support, but it's actually necessary. Imagine going up or down on a 10-feet height. The stones were not as pretty as the Sumaging Cave, they're not even photogenic. They're slippery, muddy and dangerous. The stunts are the real highlight of the Crystal Cave. Of course, the thin stalactites are too. 

We seriously have to go down there?

How thin and sharp are the stones inside you may ask? Before we had our break, the guides were leading the way, I came in third while my boyfriend watched my back. Suddenly, we heard a loud explosion! It came from my boyfriend! Apparently, he slipped, and his thigh landed on a very sharp stone. A Fudgee bar inside his pocket exploded from impact literally saving him from a very nasty injury. Lesson learned? Always bring a Fudgee bar, it can not only satisfy your hunger but might also save your life.


We reached a portion of the cave where unique rock formations were found. They were like ice dripping from the ceiling. They're so white I can't stop thinking about Narnia all those time. That is the trademark of Crystal Cave. Better savour it with photos of course.

It looks like snow!

After around 1 and a half of non-stop descend, we stopped on a beautiful rock formation. It was out of the way, but they still wanted us to see it. It was like a series of bathtubs but too bad they were dry that time. Kuya Erwin, our other guide, told us that he once took the staff of Lonely Planet magazine there. He had his photo taken with the editor on that very same spot. Amazing! We had our break there. My heart melted when our guides handed us two Gatorades and a big ensaymada-looking bread! Those were from their own bag, from their own money! Come to think of it. They actually considered us. I swore I kinda hated myself at that very moment for being so selfish, what am I thinking?? I only brought one bottle of water and two fudgee bars - just for ourselves, while they slashed a portion of their earning just to provide for us. Truly heart-warming. 

Break time!

After the break, went back to our trail. The first stunt was already challenging. It was like a hill that we need to go up to. A smooth hill, that is. No edges for hand and foot grip, just the rope to pull our body weights up.

Smile like you're not freezing.

Very vulnerable straw formations

But the most challenging part was not a climb or a descend. It was when we had to go through a very small opening with our backs on the ground, head first. Imagine lying down, ground is wet with mud, pushing your self inwards, rocks on top literally touching your chest. I can't give the effort enough justice through words, but just to give you a clue, check the picture out. 

Hardest Stunt

Look how deep that mud is.

Last memorable stunt was when we were at the Crystal and Sumaging interconnection. Gareth was having a Sumaging tour at that time. They were clean looking people. We were all muddy coming from a secret hole inside a cave. As we went down to their location, they pulled out their cameras and took some picture of ours like we were some kind of cave men. 

We definitely looked like cavemen!

We dipped into Sumaging cave's pool. It was freezing but we need to take off the thick mud on our bodies, clothes and slippers. We did not explore the Sumaging cave anymore. As we asked Gareth for the time, he said it was 5:30pm. We started at 2pm. That was just 3.5 hours! Our guides commended us for a very successful and quick exploration. They say it was because of the wonderful teamwork that we had. As we headed towards the Sumaging exit, I asked Kuya Erwin to pose for a photo with me. He said he rarely poses for photos so I was flattered when he said yes. Check out our picture:

We totally cracked up upon seeing this! Headlamp lang ang litaw =) Sorry naman.

That's the Sumaging ext. Just look at my fulfilled smile!

As we walked our way home, we stopped on an internet shop for our certificates to be printed. Kuya Erwin stayed with us. We learned a lot from him. His sister had married a Kapampangan like us. We said whenever he plan to visit his sister, he should come by and meet us. It would be our turn to return the favor. 


We just couldn't get enough of their stories and just their mere company so we decided to invite them to dinner. In return, they invited us on their relative's wedding (Kuya Erwin and Sotero are cousins). It will be 2 days from that night. We said we will be heading home the next day. It was sad that we won't be able to witness a tradional mixed with Christian wedding. They gave us a background about their wedding ceremonies. They are big on weddings! In fact, some weddings requires 15 pigs to be butchered just to feed the whole barangay. No invitations required for everyone is invited. A carabao also plays a crucial part on weddings. It symbolizes prosperity. You'll notice some families even place their wedding carabao's skull outside their homes. But this carabao thing has its own ruling. If the eldest son unfortunately wasn't able to produce a carabao for his wedding, then his siblings must not have carabaos too. It would disrespect him if they tried to.

Kuya Sotero 09395062033
Kuya Erwin 09286900062

The dinner concluded our day two. And for the last time, I had my photo taken with our two new found friends. 


Most memorable line from Kuya Erwin "You are no longer a spelunker, you're now a caver!" Aylavet!!


Up next: Day Three - coming home. Or is it?

Sagada Chronicles: Day One

Original Itinerary (Was it followed? Nah!)

We left at exactly 12:30. I was tad excited I did not even sleep the whole day, considering that the only descent sleep I will be having is on the bus. We waited for maybe an hour for a bus going to Baguio. I ate siomai in the bus terminal and made me regret that! My stomach got upset and made me stay awake fighting the urge of not to throw up. I'm gonna give you a spoiler now. That upset stomach was the last bad thing that ever happened to us on the whole trip. 


We arrived at Baguio around 5 in the morning. We had our cold lugaw and a little Baguio-lovin' reminiscing before taking the bus going to Sagada. We lived in Baguio together before that's why it's so dear to us, but that's another story. The road to Sagada will always be a bittersweet experience. Bitter because of all its twists and turns and when you're quite unlucky, you'll land on a bus having it's seats still covered in plastics which will make your ass slide every twist of the road. Like what we had. I was wearing a skin tight leggings which translates to a slippery clothing when in contact to a plastic seating. It made me sleep less because of the balancing I had to pull off. Well, the sweet side of that was the view. I just adore the mountains and the marvelous terraces our ancestors made for us. 


After our lunch, we went straight to the SaGGA office to meet with my contact. Unfortunately he wasn't available so we got assigned to another guide, which I did not regret for even a moment. His name is Sotero. He was older than the usual guides. He told stories about the places and their culture. I thought that was just their usual spiels. Until we really got to know him. He was one of the most genuine person I ever knew. He helped us go through the Echo Valley. It was a place where you'll get to hear your echo once you shout. We had good laughs on how he mimics the shouts of other tourists. 

My Cristo Redentor Pose at the Echo Valley

Us at the Burial Site at Echo Valley

Going down in this burial site was quite dangerous. The path was along some cliffs and the dried leaves and pine needles were slippery. Anyhoo, we still made it. According to our guide, people placed here actually requested for it. The one in a bright brown coffin was the newest addition. It was December 2010. You'll notice that there were chairs attached too. Those were the chairs used for their wake. Apparently, there were those nights were in the dead must be seated on a chair like regular people. You'll also see that other coffins are rather small for a person. This is because they were placed inside in a fetal position. The purpose of that is very interesting - they wanted to go back to mother nature like a little fetus again. We also learned that they do not use preserving chemicals like formaldehyde. So their dead really smells after several nights at the wake. Coffins are also a chance for bayanihan, they were made by friends. There are no funeral parlors. Some do their own coffins even before they die. I'm not quite sure if all these apply to every deaths in their place or to some traditional people only. Nevertheless, still very interesting. I know they have this regular cemetery which is free to use by the way, where they bury their dead the modern and Christian way. So hanging coffins is no longer for everybody, but what about the formalin? I forgot to ask, damn.

After that trip to Echo Valley, we quickly had our showers and headed outside again. We wanted to savour the place and spent less time in our inn. While waiting for dinner time(we had reservations at Log Cabin for the 7pm dinner), we killed time by having our photo shoot. He has a good eye for photography and I love modelling. Haha. We also met a beautiful dog, locals call him Raffy, we call him our friend. He tagged along everywhere we went. It made us think he was tour guiding us. =)

Our dinner at the Log Cabin was an experience. The place was cozy, it even had a lit fireplace. Other guests were mostly foreigners. We actually felt good about it. He said it was a nice decision to had ourselves reserved. Then the food came. We marveled on our first bites. It was different. The chef was French, the food were not familiar. At least not for us. After we ate a quarter part of our food we agreed to exchange plates. I had his mustard covered penne pasta. He had my chicken and mushroom in cream. Then we ate silently, both of us trying so hard not to spill the truth. But then it had to come out. I can't recall who said it first, but it was a mutual thing - we were not enjoying the food at all!! I don't know if the food was just plain or our palettes were just used to plain food.  We are definitely not one of those people giving wonderful reviews about that restaurant. Sorry. 

That sums up pretty much everything of our first day. We had few drinks in our inn that night just to let us sleep early. We received an invitation to attend a local party from my previous Sagada trip tour guide, but we passed. 4:30 am was our call time. We'll have try to view the sunrise the next day. Watch out for that entry, journal. =)