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.
