It was only for two days, but it felt timeless.
From Tuguegarao, a town in the far northeast of Luzon, a group of nine of us left at the crack of dawn for the six-hour drive southwest across the Cordillera Mountains into the landlocked province of Kalinga.
Our destination was a small mountain village called Buscalan. To get there we passed through some stunning scenery.
Chico River
The final 1.5 hours of the trip were traversed on foot, down and up mountain sides, often at a 45 degree incline. Where the road ended we were met by "porters" - five women of the village, mothers of three to six children each! They nimbly carried our heavy bags and boxes of gifts for the villagers; while many of us, the visitors, unaccustomed to hiking at these heights, huffed and puffed our way up.
There were a number of spots along the way where I struggled with my vertigo, especially crossing this narrow bridge with no railings. Pity the photo does not fully show the long drop!
[More bridges can be found at Sunday Bridges.]
Kalinga, 2012
I link this post with Scenic Sunday. Stay tuned for Part II.
11 comments:
These are wonderful frames of the whole area, all beautiful. I am glad I am not with your group as I will be left out of the first bridge, I confess I cannot go through. They are not even a meter in width, OMG, I will faint and will drop down the ledge. Even just looking at the foto made me so! That's also the reason I cannot take the zipline! I envy your courage. My inner 'whatever there is in me' doesn't allow me heights.
Francisca, as always your photos are superb. I am looking forward to part II.
Really great shots. The bridge is very simple but I like that in thought there is also fence on one side still only consisting of one wire.
welcomed back, missed you. You learn to carry stuff on your head?
Wonderful photos of a beautiful landscape, Francisca! Interesting places which I will never see. Thanks for sharing!
Glad I caught these. Love seeing them. Bless you for huffing and puffing up that hill. I'm not sure I would have made it. Very beautiful views. Interesting terraced-like fields. Hugs.
Wonderful shots, Francisca. It looks so lush and tropical.
Fantastic scenery and photos.
3 to 6 children each. I want someone to carry their things...give them a rest :-).
I really enjoyed all three posts of this journey -- what a fascinating trip -- like going back into another time. Beautiful scenery and amazing to get to know the tattoo artist and the other people you met.
The area is indeed stunning. I'm so glad you took photos as there is NO WAY I could cross that bridge to go there myself. I am dizzy just looking at the photos.
It must be exciting as well as sad for you to be moving to Moldova. What a challenge!
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