Beautiful Banaue Rice Terraces

Lately one of the biggest challenges for me and my cluster mates has been feeling bored when we aren't doing some scheduled activity and feeling frustated because our activities are mostly directed by someone else. So, yesterday a cluster mate and I decided to go see the Banaue Rice Terraces.

We caught a jeepney at 6am and rode for about two hours into the mountains of Ifugao Province. The road was winding and the jeepneys were crammed full of Filipinos. Whenever I thought "okay, the jeep is full" - we would stop and pick up three more people! People were even riding on top. Whenever they wanted to get off they would bang on the top and the driver would pull over. Needless to say, even the trip there was a cross-cultural experience.

When we arrived in Banaue, we were met by J.R., the son of Paul, our language-cultural-facilitator (LCF). He and his cousin, Clint had a tricycle and were there to be our tour guides (for a fee, of course). It was nice because we knew that we could trust them and that they knew the area, etc. First they took us to the viewpoint at the top of the terraces in Banaue. The view was stunning. These terraces are built with dirt alone, they do not have any walls separating them. They stretch out across the sides of a few mountains and into the valleys. We took pictures at the top, but on those terraces there is no place to walk, so we couldn't get out and "experience" being in the rice.

Next, we had J.R. take us to another group of terraces in a village called Hoppaw. There, the terraces are supported by ancient stone walls that also double as a sophisticated irrigation system that waters all the terraces from the mountain water source at the top of the mountain. It's incredible. In fact, modern engineers have tried to replicate it, but they cannot. Because of the stone walls, people are allowed to walk through the terraces. So that's just what we did. We walked and walked and climbed many flights of rocks and walked and walked. Our destination was a hot spring on the other side of the terraces. It was the middle of the day, so it was extremely hot. I have to say, that there was one point when I said to the others, "You guys go on and I'll wait for you here!" But they wouldn't have it. So, I rested and started walking again. We walked and climbed for about an hour. Finally, we reached our destination. And I must admit, I was disappointed. The hot spring was a pool about seven feet in diameter. There were only a few little bubbles and the water was warm. I thought "ah man, all that sweat for this!?" But then Tom told the guides that he wanted to swim in the river that ran nearby. They told him "Sure, just climb over that wall to the other side." So, I thought, what the heck, might as well. I am so glad I did.

On the other side of the wall as a roaring river flowing over big boulders into a beautiful pool area. When I climbed down that rock wall and felt the water - I was in Heaven! It was so cold and refreshing! The river was beautiful and clear, not to mention being surrounded by beautiful mountains and rice terraces. The view was breathtaking and the water was delicious! I just soaked it up. The sky was bright blue with white puffy clouds. But after we were there about ten minutes or so, the clouds moved in and covered the sun and the weather cooled down. We stayed there and swam for about 20 or 30 minutes. Then we walked back under nice cloud cover and with a cool breeze fanning us along. I'm so happy that I didn't give up whenever I wanted to. I'm so thankful that they encouraged me to just keep moving - no matter how slow. It was totally worth all the heat and discomfort of the trek.

I must say, it turned out to be an awesome experience and a great break from the boredom!

Gotta run. Love to all. Keep writing - your emails and letters keep me going! Thanks.