The next morning we took our large packs to the People's Lodge lock-up storage and, hanging onto our specially packed overnight daypacks, we decided that even if we weren't staying at Santa Fe Lodge, we'd go have breakfast there. It was definitely quaint and has wi-fi too.
We met up with Jeremiah our guide for the day at People's Lodge at 8 in the morning for our hike to Batad. We were able to set up a rideshare with 2 other travelers to save some money for the ride up to Batad saddle. We rode up with John from the UK, and Yoshida from Japan. The drive was a bumpy 45 minutes up to the saddle where the trail began. It felt like my organs were displaced inside my body from how fast the driver hit all the bumps and ruts in the road.
The view at the top of the saddle was absolutely awe-inspiring!
After getting out of the van, Jeremiah began leading us away from the trailhead and hiking down towards Batad. The trail started with a long stone stairway that seemed like a steep 20 minute descent. The only thing going through my head was the fact that we had to climb up this steep staircase the next day. At the bottom of the stairs we hit the trail where the descent was more level and the hiking was a bit more easygoing. Jeremiah would stop along the way to give information such as this rice god statue in the photo. After another hour of hiking we made it to the village of Batad.
Batad was constructed out of the mountainside, and it was so refreshing that there were no cars or motorcycles zooming around honking at each other. The people of the village were so friendly and hospitable as well. The plan was to walk to Batad Pension which has a restaurant, place an order for lunch, and hike to Tappiya waterfall through the crevice on the other side of the terraces. After the hike to the waterfall, we were going to head back and have lunch, and the others would leave and we'd find our way back in the morning.
Before we got to the restaurant, Lori was descending some stairs and rolled her ankle at the last step. She fell as gracefully as she could trying not to sprain anything else coming down. I grabbed a chair for her to sit on so she could wrap her ankle with an ace bandage. Lori has a tendency to roll her ankles, so we came prepared and I was so relieved to have it. She limped around for the rest of the day, but she hung in there. She didn't want to have to sit out while I was hiking around the rice terraces with everyone else, since we traveled so far to see them!
We took a quick walk into the G-String (not the same G-Strings that we are accustomed to. Their scantly clad, but woven. There's a woven flap that covers the front of the wearer) Weaving shop which creates authentic Filipino garb for the dancers and other items. It was really amazing to see them at work using the old weaving ways. The group made their way to the Inn, placed an order for lunch, and began hiking to Tappiya waterfall. Before leaving the Inn, Jeremiah gave Lori a hiking stick for extra stability. The hike through the rice terraces was beautiful. It was so surreal walking through the terraces knowing that villagers still work here growing rice despite the fact that they were built 2000 years ago. The walls containing the rice paddies doubled as walkways. There were a couple people working, slogging through the paddies but they were far away from us. Although the beauty of the terraces was stunning, the heat was relentless. Sweat was pouring out of every pore on my body, and had to keep drinking water for fear of getting too dehydrated. Every 20 minutes or so there was a shelter built on the trail so hikers could get out of the sun for a while and cool off. Some even had people selling water, soda, and beer to drink.
Jeremiah said greeted another guide with a group heading back from the waterfall. The other guide handed Jeremiah some rolled up green leaves. I asked what he was going to chew, so he showed us as he unrolled the leaves a little that there was a bit of white powder and a nutty looking thing. He applied some of the white stuff to his inner cheek, which at first I thought was cocaine! But rather pulverized limestone, and then he put some of the nutty piece in his mouth where the powder was placed. This was Moma! (Moh-ma) The betel nut. We had seen signs all over in some towns saying, "No spitting of Moma". He spat red. You could see some red developing around his teeth which were stained red from the nut mixing with saliva. The pulverized limestone he said was to help numb and protect the inner cheek where the moma was placed. If not for the limestone, acid from the nut can burn the mouth and can be very painful. Moma can be used for things like altitude sickness or to help warm the body up, but can be used anytime. It's very traditional, especially to the elders but we saw younger guys using Moma too. It's easy to recognize, just check to see if their teeth are stained red.
After making it to the other side of the terraces, we began descending further down on the other side where there was a canyon with a nameless river at the bottom. Jeremiah assisted Lori with descending down the trail which was nice of him. Of course he could run this trail in 20 minutes wearing flipflops. The only thing on my mind was getting into that water to cool off. We finally made it to the bottom, where there was a great view of the waterfall which was at least 70 feet high. I was so excited to slip into the water. We jumped into the river and the water felt amazing, we didn't want to get out!
We swam around for a half hour and we all began feeling a little hungry, so we started hiking back to Batad Pension. Back at the pension we sat down and were immediately served. I ordered the pork Sinigang (my favorite), and Lori ordered fried rice. We washed it down with San Miguel beer and talked with John and Yoshida. They both had to make it back to the saddle where the van driver was waiting all day for them, so after lunch we said goodbye and Jeremiah led them back up the mountain. Lori and I decided to continue to enjoy the view over a few more beers and wrote some postcards to family and friends back home. We also met a young girl who was working at the Pension in conjunction with her education attending a university. It was very nice to converse with someone who grew up in the country and could speak English very well. It was definitely educational for us as we learned more about the country, Batad, and the people. Then we heard the monkey.
Down below us there was a pet monkey. Lori took a few pictures from far away zoomed in, so they are a bit blurry but the monkey seems to have a strange friendship with a dog. We were sad to see a monkey chained up like that, but it was fun watching it interacting with the other animals.
The prices for a room Batad Pension were a little too high for our budget, so there was another inn where the prices for their rooms were a cheaper for 300P ($8) a night and had been suggested by fellow travelers and Lonely Planet guidebook. We checked out the room and decided to take it. The best words to describe this room was basic but clean. The sheets were kids cartoons! (We had sleep sacks to sleep in on top of the bedding.) The back window faced the shower and toilet area. The walls were plywood, and you could hear every conversation that was spoken by your neighbors, but it was a place to lay our heads for a night. Plus I always travel with earplugs to drown out the sound of roosters, dogs, cars, motorcycles, and people so I managed to get a good nights sleep. We also found a large moth in our room which decided to dive bomb Lori several times repeatedly as she sat on the bed, so she put hands over her head as protection after she got "thumped" by its large body. We couldn't stop laughing. Such a wonderful day!
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