We woke up to our last day at Tam-awan. After eating breakfast, we packed up our backpacks, said our goodbyes, hailed a taxi and headed for the bus terminal.
After arriving at the terminal, I had to pick up some food for the ride to Sagada, and get to a bank before our bus left. I left Lori at the bus and went to take care of some business. It's really the only time we parted from each other for more than a few minutes, and was nervous as hell while I waited for food and withdrew cash from an ATM. The central station in Baguio wasn't the safest place to be, but it had to be done. Perhaps I was getting a little paranoid, but we were in a foreign country and the thought of something happening to her while I was a away scared me. Luckily, when I returned her and our things were still there. She was perfectly alright, but she shared the same fears as I had.
We boarded the GL Transport bus and sat down only to realize my knees were shoved into the seat in front of me, and realized this was going to be one uncomfortable bus ride. To make matters worse, the lady in the seat in front of me leaned her seat back adding to the agony of having long legs. We pulled out of the station and began making our way north to Sagada.
After making our way through Baguio City proper, we began climbing up into the mountains on the Halselma Road. A windy twisting road that snakes through the mountains, that is wide enough for one car but is designated as a 2 lane highway! It was probably the most nervous bus ride we have ever taken in our lives. We just had to remind ourselves not to look down out of the window as the bus skirted the cliffs. (Of course you can't stop Lori from taking pictures.) It didn't help matters much when the rain came down. Not a light rain mind you, it was more of a torrential down pour which lasted for at least 2 hours. The Halsema Road was once a dirt road which over the years was paved section by section. But mile after grueling mile and one turn after another, we finally made it to our first pit stop.
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The lady in the seat in front of me left to go to the bathroom, so I reached over and tilted her seat forward to give me a little relief. Feeling the call of nature, I and every guy on that bus began peeing in a trough. And if you've ever been to a baseball game, you know what I'm talking about. Poor Lori on the other hand wasn't so lucky. There is often a cost of three to five pesos to use a restroom along the way at bus stops. Once Lori paid the five pesos to the attendant out front, she came in to see a raised tiled platform with 5 stations and no dividers. These stations were open with simply a rectangle cut leading back to an open trough. So, without question, she followed suit next to the two ladies and took over the next open station. Luckily it was only number 1. For a first timer in this experience, I hear she didn't bat an eye. Go get em Lori! And of course, no toilet paper was provided, but she came prepared. We ran into some western travelers that had expectations of finding their western world here, which to us is ridiculous. Lori and I had accepted and looked forward to new experiences, leaving our expectations at home.
As the journey continued, we miraculously were able to catch some sleep. The bus ride took over six hours and as we arrived in Sagada, it was night. We made reservations a day in advance and stayed at St. Joseph's Resthouse. We checked in, dropped off some laundry that desperately needed washing and went upstairs to our room. We were so relieved to find that the room was immaculately clean and we had our own private bathroom with HOT WATER! We were so excited, as we had spent the last few days washing ourselves with cold water from buckets. Not that we were complaining, of course, just found the hot water a very pleasant change.
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After cleaning up and putting on some clean clothes, we left the hostel and searched for some food. We ate at a little local family restaurant and feeling the need to unwind, we ordered a liter bottle of Red Horse Beer to share. We made our way back to the hostel, and collapsed. It was one of the best sleeps we have ever had.
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