In Banaue we were when once again shocked by the unseasonable weather. The rain poured down the afternoon that we shown up so we sat in a peaceful restaurant as well as delighted in some tasty regional specialties. We talked to some other travellers who had done some treks around the area as well as liked them so Dariece as well as I were truly praying that the weather condition would remove up.

The weather condition closing in on Banaue

The next morning it did, We had some sun however a dark ominous cloud on the horizon prevented us from committing to a full day trip so we just headed out to see a few of the views in the area around Banaue town. This region in North Luzon is well-known for its amazing rice terraces. Over 2000 years ago, entire mountain chains were carved as well as etched with fantastic eco-friendly rice fields that totally altered the topography of this mountainous land. The terraces have been passed down within these dedicated households from generation to generation. These colossal feats of human engineering are now thought about a Unesco world heritage site as well as 8th question of the world. They are stated to be on par with the pyramids for the perplexing nature behind their style as well as development without the utilize of contemporary tools. They go on for 10,000 square kilometres as well as are really awe-inspiring.

View From Our Deck At People’s Lodge Banaue

Stunning view Of The Banaue Rice Terraces
Dariece as well as I chose to head as much as a few of the numerous view points around town where we might get a appropriate vantage point of the terraces, so we set out around 8 am on our own. We occurred to pass by Banaue Homestay, had by Doreen’s household who we had satisfied on the bus the day before. We stopped in as well as she provided to show us around to her preferred spots. She really ended up acting like a guide for us, her understanding of the areas flora, fauna as well as culture was amazing. We satisfied some regional tribesmen who utilized to search the area, numerous of whom were over 90 years old as well as still hike around the steep cliffs all the time every day. As we neared the greatest view points the sky closed in as well as the rains began just in time for us to get in a tricycle as well as trip it back to town.

Face of a Banaue Warrior
Hand of a Banaue Warrior

Banaue Warrior
Stunning Views

Us with our new buddy Doreen
Dariece as well as Doreen

And that ended up being the story for Banaue as well as essentially all of the next 2 weeks of our trip. Rain. typically this is the dry season which promises bit much more than a sprinkle every few days, however with the apparent modification in climate around the world, the Philippines is no exception. The rain was ruthless as well as the electrical storms were fantastic, however we were confined to the little restaurant in our hotel for the rest of our 2 days in Banaue.

Walking with Banaue town With Doreen

On our last day, with the storm, Doreen concerned our hotel as well as invited us out for karaoke at her regional pub. seeing as we had spent the last couple days working on our site in front of our laptop screens, we were pleased to get out as well as spend some much more time with our new friend. So she took us to her cousins karaoke bar as well as had us pick a few tunes that she might sing for us. karaoke is big in the Philippines as well as everybody is into it. In truth the owner of the patent for the device is Filipino as well as throughout the country everybody as well as their canine likes to get on as well as belt out a tune, skilled or not. fortunately Doreen was incredibly skilled as well as sung some fantastic tunes.

Doreen Belting Out A Tune

We delighted in a couple of beers as well as fantastic chats with her as well as at the end she even provided to pay for the drinks. She was incredibly generous as well as provided us parting gifts of regional great luck appeal pendants carved from native Banaue wood. We may not have had the weather condition on our side, however we were extremely lucky to satisfy Doreen as well as have kept in get in touch with with her through text messaging ever since. sadly we were never able to do the treks that made the area around Banaue famous, however even what we saw close to town wasfantastic so I assumption it’s just a reason we’ll have to return one day. We left Banaue on an overnight bus with the rain pounding down the whole way. fortunately we escaped the mountains without being held up by floods however we weren’t liking the noise of the forecast all around the Philippines: rain, storms, typhoons as well as lightning. Not what we had in mind when we organized our stay in a country with fierce as well as frequently harmful weather. We might only hope that it would remove up.

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