[SEDXC] Fw: Barr Report - Philippines Part 1

[MIKE GREENWAY]

>Hello Everyone,
>
>We are currently communicating from the only internet connection (and
>actually one of the only telephone lines in this area -- that's the town of
>Banawe, as well as anything within 4 hours drive of here, probably more.
In
>fact the village we spent the last 3 days in, Sagada, had NO telephone
lines
>at all.).  So THAT's why we've been a tad out of touch.  But having a GREAT
>time!!
>
>When last you heard from us, we were 8 hours north of Manila, since then we
>went another 9 hours to Banawe, then 4 hours to Sagada, and now we are back
>in Banawe returning to Manila tomorrow (8-9 hours).  Yes, we've been
>covering a fair amount of ground, but a lot of the time is due to simply
>AWFUL roads.  We average about 20 kilometers an hour, which is something
>like 13mph.  All this is in the *comfort* (term used loosely when you are
on
>an incredibly bumpy, rocky, windy-through-the-mountains, road) of a car
with
>our driver, Ernie.  This affords us two things: a closed vehicle when
called
>for due to dusty roads (constantly), and the flexibilty to stop and go as
we
>wish - a valuable alternative to the local "jeepneys" which are open air
and
>have bench seats filled with locals.
>
>We headed for Banawe as it is famous for its phenomenally beautiful rice
>terraces, known as the Eighth Wonder of the Ancient World.  Over two
>thousand years old, there are thousands of square miles of terraced land
>covered in beautiful green rice paddies, carved out of the sides of 5000 ft
>mountains.  We were not disappointed.  On both nights here we had a
fabulous
>view gazing over mountains, rice paddies, and village housing.  The sunrise
>was, well, nearly orgasmic. (Bill got me up to see it, else I'd have missed
>it entirely!)  The local native tribespeople, still maintaining an age-old
>(and dying) tradition of growing rice; several of the elderly didn't know
>their own age, but we understand longevity here is extensive.  Even though
>they rarely make it with all their teeth!  Since we arrived shortly after
>harvest, all along the (two lane) national highway, people are drying their
>crop.  That's ON the highway.  We were dodging 3 foot wide stretches of
>drying rice alternately with oncoming traffic.  This went on for maybe 40
>miles or more.  Incredible!
>
>Houses here are uniformly without paint.  Some of cinderblocks, some smooth
>concrete, some woven of palm leaves with thatch roofs, and others of
>corrugated tin.  All with tons of laundry, and lots of animals hanging
>about.  Maybe on a clothesline, maybe drying on a pile of rocks, maybe
>hanging from a fence.  We've driven by miles of houses with no electricity
>or plumbing, but a few have generators...
>
>A nearby area that we intended to visit was unfortunately out of the
>question due to -- get this -- tribal wars.  Between factions of the
Kalinga
>tribe who are renowned for being the nastiest of the headhunter tribes
>around here.  Now OF COURSE they don't hunt heads nowadays...they just use
>guns.  We opted to miss this portion of the mountain region of the
>Philippines.
>
>The Philippines is an interesting mix of cultures: Hispanic, Malay, and
>Chinese.  Spanish seems predominent (other than the tribes who are
>maintaining their own culture) in language as well as the way of life
>(wildly colored and garishly decorated vehicles, 80% Catholic faith).  The
>climate where we have been for the last week has been blissfully cool.  We
>are in the mountains and days are in the 70's, nights 60's -- if you've
been
>reading our previous reports, you know what a delight! this is.  We haven't
>seen a TV in about that amount of time, so those of you who sent word of
>current events, THANKS!
>
>From Banawe, we went over a few mountains, into a more remote area, again
>dominated by historically headhunting tribes, to the town of Sagada.  It is
>my personal favorite part of the Philippines.  A quiet village whose life
>goes on, despite a lack of modern conveniences and the infiltration of the
>occasional tourist.  Some of the ways they cope/control their environment,
>is to actively PREVENT the roads from being repaired, to discourage a large
>influx of outsiders, and to impose a 9:00 curfew.  Our hotel even locks the
>doors in an effort to enforce it.  The specialty here is weaving, and we
saw
>some beautiful things, as well as got to see how their cloth is made --
this
>was fascinating!
>
>Our home for a few days in Sagada was a 10 room hotel where we had no hot
>water and not even a shower or bathtub.  Bathing consisted of standing over
>a drain in the bathroom with a big plastic bucket filled with cold water,
>tempered by the boiling water brought up from the kitchen in a kettle, then
>ladeling it over yourself with a dipper.  What fun!  And with lace curtains
>on the window that had cartoon creatures and "Club Dinosaur" woven into the
>lace.  The exterior walls were raw concrete, interior walls were a thin
>veneer of wood.  Beds were a 2 inch slab of foam rubber covered in flour
>sacks sown together to make a mattress cover, on top of a wooden platform.
>Primitive, but surprisingly comfortable --good thing we like a hard bed!
>Bill thinks the most challenging aspect of the room was shaving with no
>mirror and cold water.  Personally, I have to go with the whole bathing
>thing for my vote.  (Stay tuned for an entire future installment of the
Barr
>Reports to be dedicated to more Bathroom Adventures)  Of course our sleep
>was punctuated with the usual all-night barking dogs, the crazy or sadistic
>roosters who crow at all hours of the day and night, and the frequently
>hysterical pigs.  Bill's theory on the dogs is that since they are often
>eaten here for food, this is their "statement" that they will not go
easily.
>
>We found a local watering hole we enjoyed immensely (four tables, you get
to
>know everyone here pretty quickly) and met lots of interesting
characters --
>including one who had two thumbs on each hand. Yes, that's FOUR thumbs up!
>The last night we were there, when 9:00 curfew came along, we were the only
>non-locals in The Shamrock Pub and were invited to join the locals at their
>(apparently nightly) bonfire, where drinking (usually locally-made gin) and
>merry-making continues.  If you are off the streets and relatively quiet,
>there are ways to get around the curfew.  We declined, out of sensibility
>mostly, but definitely with some reluctance.  Now THAT would have been an
>experience!  And you can't believe how dark it is when there are no street
>lights, and all the 3 or 4 establishments close at 9.
>
>Now for the centerpiece of Sagada: The Cave.  [Unfortunately, I am getting
>really tired by now, and probably so are you, so I will try to pack a lot
>into a short bit.]  We first visited the Burial Caves, where hand-carved
>wooden coffins are stacked high near the mouth of the cave.  Each coffin is
>only about 3 feet long or less, and looks like a child's, but it's not.
>Upon death, the loved one is placed in The Death Chair, where they are left
>to basically rot for a week or more.  Then they place the body in the
coffin
>in the fetal position, so you see, it takes up much less space.  Next, we
>went to The Big Cave,  A guide was DEFINITELY required, to show the way
>through the 2 1/2 hour trek and to carry the kerosene lantern.  I can't
>really even describe the total experience here, but here's a smattering:
>Down, down down, on slippery, sometimes loose rocks (some left by an
earlier
>earthquake), often crawling along with all limbs, just to keep from falling
>-- and in a significant segment: walking on and putting your hands in Bat
>Guano!  While the little buggers squealed and laughed overhead.  Tromping
>through water and balancing on what seemed to be sheer precipices (you
never
>know, couldn't see very far!  Probably by design, to prevent panicking).
>When we reached the Bottom (600 feet deep into the earth), a huge pool of
>clear water awaited.  "You can go for a swim." our guide said.  And to the
>guide's surprise, Bill jumped in (15 feet down) and almost as quickly,
>scrambled up the nearly straight-up wall -- apparently this little
>stream-fed pool near the center of the earth was fairly chilly!  I missed
>this opportunity.  Well, of course we had to climb back out, the same way
we
>went in, but it was easier climbing up than going down.  A truly amazing
>opportunity, that would never happen in the US, due to incredible liability
>issues.  We understand a German trekker fell last week and broke a few
ribs.
>  The Fabulous Barrs, however, emerged without a scrape.  Make that only a
>few scrapes.
>
>We'll have to send more in another installment.  We head out tomorrow for
>Manila, and from there, will probably catch a 22 hour ferry to the island
of
>Palawan (still in the Philippines)  We'll send word as soon as we have
>another opportunity, but it shouldn't be as long as last time.
>
>Again, thanks to all who have written.  This week we heard from Barry I,
>Anna, Johnny, Glenda, Gary Phipps, Stacey (Bill said thanks for the Lucent
>data), Lynn and Susan (plus The Dog's email forward with NO personal note)
>I see we also have some hotmail but no time to read, need to get off PC,
>now.  Please send all future mail to
>Thesparck@hotmail.com
>
>Write more!  We love it!
>
>Leah and Bill
>
>
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