Among the 10 municipalities, Bontoc is the capital of Mountain Province. As you’ve probably already deduced from my previous two entries (here and here), our adventure was in the municipality of Bauko, considered to be the most populous town in the province. It is divided into two: upper Bauko and lower Bauko. (Our adventure was focused on lower Bauko.) All in all, Bauko has a total of 22 barangays. I have already made mention of several of them in my previous posts: Abatan, Bagnen Proper and Bagnen Oriente.
In this post, let me take you around a bit of what I saw in Bauko.
(Pics are mine unless otherwise indicated in the captions.)
Bagnen Proper
Bagnen (or, in some cases, Bangnen) Proper is where we made a pit stop after we got off the Spanish Trail. Trekkers will be able to find several homestays in the area, where they could spend the night and be refreshed, in between hikes. The place where we were able to score some brewed coffee, rice cakes and steamed sweet potatoes was called Mt. Polis Homestay. From what I’ve been told, you can stay in their comfortable rooms for Php200.00 per night.
Just a stone’s throw away from the Homestay is the St. Gregory Stone Church, which stands more than a century old. It was the first structure set up by the Anglican missionaries who arrived in the area, and it is made from, well, duh, stone.
It was already past mid-afternoon when we were at Bagnen Proper, so we decided to pass on visiting the Dawey Old House and proceeded instead to where we will camp out for the night.
Balintaugan
The barangay of Balintaugan was where we spent the night. Some set up tents in the wide grassy grounds in front of the two-classroom Balintaugan Elementary School. Most of us, however, were too lazy (and shivering with cold) to set up tents. It also rained quite a bit earlier, so the ground was wet, and we weren’t too keen on packing up wet tarps and tents in the morning. So we slept inside the classroom, on the cold floor, rolled up like burritos inside our sleeping bags.
Before the community integration program and dinner, however, we made the short walk to the Healing Cave.
To get to the Healing Cave, we passed through a flat pine forest, which is called the Anam-am Airfield. Well, obviously, it is no longer an airfield, but it retained the name. According to our guide, it is where planes dropped off supplies and rations during World War II.
The sign here says “Welcome to Anam-am Airfield”. My low-end camera isn’t really made for shooting in dim light, so…. haha!
We then blindly followed our guide (it was already dusk) and we only had several flashlights among 24 of us walking in a line to the Healing Cave. From the school, getting to the Healing Cave takes 20 minutes, give or take. Of course it will be faster if it were the middle of the day and you can actually see where you’re stepping on.
Finally, we arrived at the Healing Cave. It looks like a huuuuuge rock rising from the earth, and you’d have to go down inside, to a cavern. You could immediately hear the sound of water trickling from a spring inside. It was dark, so I was not able to see it.
Inside, there is a wide space with a low ceiling, and a makeshift table stretched in the middle. This is supposed to be the “receiving area”. They sat us down for a bit of a lecture on the history of the cave.
Another part of the cave is another sectioned-off cavern. Here, you can crawl through the rocks and check out a small stream under. There were too many of us, and the space allowed for only one or two persons at a time. And it was dark, so only a few did it.
The next day, we had a refreshing early morning walk along the road leading from Balintaugan to Bagnen Proper. There, we passed by the Kitay Medical Spring, but what engrossed us more was the sight of the rice terraces. I think it’s the Bacong Rice Terraces. Needless to say, we also spent a lot of time taking photos.
And I am hoping I won’t get hit by posting this pic without these peeps’ permission. Haha! *crosses fingers*
Truth be told, the simple act of walking along the country roads will already have you feasting your eyes on nature’s bounty, and of a culture lovingly preserved, despite the gradual “intrusion” of modernization.
I am hoping that progress will continue to come to this place; more than that, though, I am praying that it remains true to its roots even when technology comes in. I admit that I find a certain charm to the concept of a two-classroom school, with less than 15 pupils attending it. I can’t explain why, because I haven’t fully understood it myself.
The municipality of Bauko is stepping up its game when it comes to eco-tourism, so why not consider adding it to your getaway itinerary this coming months?
For info, you may contact the Municipal Tourism Office of Bauko. Email them at bauko_tourism@yahoo.com or visit their Facebook page and add them as a friend. You’ll also get updates of upcoming activities they have lined up.