The next day we decided to take a break from sightseeing and took it easy. It's important to take a vacation from your vacation. We spent the morning at Tam-awan Village surfing the net, checking emails, communicating with friends and family while sipping on a bottomless cup of the free coffee they provided. We decided to alter our trip a bit so we worked out time to visit Sagada, home of the hanging coffins. We loved that we had no set itinerary and no reservations whatsoever, which allowed us to change the trip as we went along.
We had to get into the city center to purchase some food. We knew that if we saved money buying some groceries for lunch instead of constantly eating out, our dollars would go much further in the long run. So we took a taxi into the city center and took it to, you guessed it: the local shopping mall. If you know me, you know going to malls is something I loathe. It was a Sunday and the SM Mall was packed to the gills with shoppers. At the entrance to every shopping mall and bank there are security guards armed to the teeth. After having the contents of our backpack searched and a pat down, we were inside. We took care of our business, and got to a bank to withdraw some cash. The security guard at the bank was armed with an Uzi and I wondered if these guys could even handle their weapons if they needed to use them.
We took a few photos riding in the taxi from Tam-awan village down to the SM Mall. The immensity of homes that blanketed rolling mountains was amazing as were the criss-crossing power lines.
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We got a text from Liz telling us that she and her husband Tevs were going to head over to Tam-awan Village to meet us for dinner and drinks, so we hailed a taxi and headed back to our home base. Back at Tam-awan, we weren't surprised to see the artists sitting, drinking, and eating. On the table was Pancit Bihon, a rice noodle dish stir fried with chicken and veggies. There was also Bangus, a smoked fish fired until crispy, rice, and the unique item for the evening Sea Urchin fresh from the South China Sea.
Now the Sea Urchin was something I've always wanted to try only we could never afford it back in the states, and there was a large bowlful sitting there waiting to be shucked! You grab the Urchin in one hand and crack it open with a spoon. squeeze some lemon in it and eat the roe inside. The one shown in the picture had noodles put inside but mine did not. I ended up getting pierced by one of the barbs and with some help from Liz the barb was removed from my finger. There was also shucked Sea Urchin in a bowl of a spicy cream sauce which I devoured with Pandesal, a Filipino bread roll. So good!
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We did more catching up with Liz and was so happy to see Tevs again. He runs a mechanic shop in town and is a great, honest mechanic. The night was filled with drinking, eating, and laughter. What a great day that was!
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