Sunday, February 17, 2008

sagada again and again

this was my third time to visit sagada in a span of a year. i would always leave my heart in sagada and that could be why i've kept on coming back. this time, i've decided to do less trekking and do more talking to the locals. i've met new friends and saw new things to explore.

sagada lemon pie house. i've always visited mang joseph's lemon pie house in dagdag for a slice of his famous lemon and egg pie, combined with their home-made freshly brewed coffee. i've realized it is time for everyone to know where the lemon pie house is. i've dropped by mang joseph's place to talk to him about my proposal. i wanted to make a video clip about him and his business and feature him in biyahengpinoy and clickthecity. i've told him that i was willing to do this project at no cost. all i wanted was his cooperation and willingness. i am currently making their video and i hope that it would help them with the business.  read more...
here's a list of things we did:
  • ✓ cleaned the store and the garden
  • ✓ rearranged the store's furnitures and woodworks
  • ✓ fixed the store's lightings
  • ✓ took pictures and videos of the garden and the store
  • ✓ interviewed joseph and katrina daoas
  • ✓ made a lemon pie house blog
ug-uggo souvenirs, store's name used to be johngansmackay prints, named after their kids, until just recently, the store owners, andrew pekas and safe pekas, decided to change the name to ug-uggosouvenirs. we've been good friends ever since my first visit to sagada. it's only a 2-minute walk from george guests inn, where i've stayed at last year. the couple were so nice and warm, always smiling. i've visited their store many times to surf the internet and buy souvenirs.
rice planting. planting rice could be very exhausting but it was actually fun, well, maybe just for a day. but i've planted rice in sagada twice and it was a very fun time for me. getting into the mud wasn't hard, but staying in the mud for hours was a major torture. instead of getting out of the mud, after long hours of work, my body started to feel heavy, and so i found myself resting my elbow on top of my knee. i've never thought that it would be such a relaxing position. you think that's bad? let me tell you what's worse. i forgot to bring a spoon to use for lunch and my hands were full of mud. i couldn't find clean water around to wash off my hands so i've decided to use the water coming down from the water supply off the rice terrace. the tips of my fingers were all full of mud so i ate right on my palm. i wouldn't forget that day.
i am not sure if this would be appropriate to tell (and i'd tell you anyway) but the warts on my fingers and on my toe which i've had for more than 3 years just vanished. i've had them surgically removed a long time ago but still some of them came back. i couldn't tell if it was the cold climate, the minerals in the caves, the food i ate, the water i drank, or the mud on the rice fields that cured it. "isa itong himala!"
jamming with tebag. it was the last day of the fiesta and i've thought of wondering around poblacion. i was checking one stall after the other, making sure that i wouldn't miss anything. then i saw jackson bayang (a tebag member), playing his guitar and singing with robert pangod, a representative from an organization called the montanosa research and development center. their song sounded so familiar. soon i realized that they were singing songs from the albums "tebag" and "malinggis." they saw a few songs which i've enjoyed so much. after singing "dam," robert invited me to come back later that night and maybe join them in their jamming, and so i did. watch their jamming video, soon.

12 comments:

Oman said...

i know the feeling dude. i keep coming back to baguio this first quarter myself. hopefully, i could go farther to Sagada.

I am now in the land that greets "Sawadee". I'll post lots of pics when I go back home.

Anonymous said...

great blog you got here. kuya oscar (saggas) recommended this site to us after when we visited sagada two days ago. i'm just curious, since you've been to sagada many times, have you ever seen an apple tree?i heard they have it there, unfortunately all i got to see was a persimmon tree (i think) when we visited sagada. it's really a nice place, very different from the crowded and polluted baguio city.

Sidney said...

"here's a list of things we did"

Now, that is what I call dedication !

Anonymous said...

lawstude, i'd always leave my heart in sagada and whenever i come back to get it back, i would always end up leaving it in the same place i've left it. maybe sagada is where my heart is.

asongtothemoon, oscar is very good friend. his brother john is my best friend in sagada. i think mang joseph (owner of lemon pie house) told me once that he has an apple tree right in his garden. i'd try to confirm that. thank you for visiting my blog.

sidney, i've had so much fun doing it.

escape said...

Wencel (tama ba?), isama mo kami sa susunod mong lakad.

lateralus said...

benj here (atheista.net). saw your reply at the sagada lemon pie blog.

It's funny that you told me to "visit sagada".

Im working on http://visitsagada.com right now, actually. we have some content already and it would be great if you'll allow us access to your pictures, posts etc. :p If you want to write features for us, you're also welcome.

email me at benj [at] visitsagda [dot] com if you want. :p

Anonymous said...

thanks for confirming it!now i have more reasons to go back.. for my apple tree!hehe.. kuya oscar is a nice person indeed,a bit shy but knows how to play along. thanks a lot!keep on posting more interesting things in this blog!

lateralus said...

We just launched it.

http://visitsagada.com

See you there. If you want to be a contributor or if you want to share pictures, tips and other bits of information for those who are planning to Sagada, kindly leave us a note in the comments or email me at benj [at] visitsagada [dot] com

A million thanks! :)

Anonymous said...

Hi Wencel! Hayy =(... I wasn't able to go Lemon Pie House when I visited Sagada last december... buti ka pa pabalik -balik ka na... =) Thanks sa mga videos mo at least I can still feel the Shangrila...

Ug-uggo Souvenirs said...

Wow!!! Wencel, ganda ng presentation mo sa Lemon Pie House. It is a BLESSING that you are sacrificing your time to help the beginning entrepreneurs of Sagada. Continue the good work Wencel.

Administrator said...

Hi, how can i get a copy of Tebag Cd and how much? Tnx much.

Anonymous said...

administrador, email me. you can find my email address above, right on the blog header.