An Expected Journey to Sagada’s Marlboro Country
Popular advertisements of
Marlboro cigarette always show a cowboy, his horse and a mountain in the background. This
must gave the idea for people of Sagada to call a span of the Cordillera
Mountain Ranges that lies on the boundary with its neighboring town Bontoc (specifically Alab) “Marlboro Country”.
In fact when you reach the
area, you will for sure agree that the whole scenery before your eyes gives a
realistic view of what is seen in posters and on TV ads of the cigarette brand.
As a native of Sagada, I
have heard of “Marlboro Country” for the nth time. My brother Bal-aken once said
it homes wild cows and horses. One day this Christmas season while on holiday
in Sagada, I demanded my youngest sibling to bring me there.
At 9 in the morning, we
were already set to conquer the famous spot in Sagada. With us were a load of
junkies, four liters of drinking water and tons and tons of excitement to see
the place.
We were accompanied by
Lemya, a cousin of mine who did not give me a second thought when I asked her
if she likes to come with us for an adventure to the Marlboro Country. Our ever innocent and sweet niece Dunnay also joined us.
When we started climbing
the mountain from town, we enjoyed the cool air and the greens surrounding us. The mountain was vegetated with the natural beauty of shrubs, mosses and pine trees.
We followed the road, took
a snack for a few minutes, and then continued with the stroll. My brother
brought a bolo with him so he was able to fix us wood sticks to assist us in
walking the muddy road.
Upon reaching the end of
the road, we saw empty bottles of Red Horse. Obviously, there was a group that
had some good time in that area the night before.
As we approached the inner
part of the mountain range, it was noticeable that there were no longer pine trees
along the way. The shrubs and wild flowers were four feet high and the mosses covering the ground were thicker.
It was a good day and the
sun was shining bright. I kept on talking to entertain the group while asking
too many questions. That time was in fact a great time to keep up with my dearest family members who not live in separate areas.
It was becoming warmer
since we were already losing the sight of the woods. On our first stop, we saw a village in the far left- maybe a mile away. My brother said the village is part of Bontoc; we were
kilometers away from Sagada.
A certain type of wild
flower was almost everywhere. My cousin told the group there were orchids in
the place. I could not agree more because of the thick moss covering the ground.
Then, I saw pitcher plants. We took some rest and moved forward to see what the
trail could further offer us.
We stopped again and we saw
the Staunton Road from afar. The road climbs down the hill to other parts of Mountain Province like Bontoc and Sabangan.
We
found ourselves losing the sight of the shrubs. We were already on the Marlboro Country ground! Three hills were in front of us and only tiger grass grows on the
ground on top of the hills.
We could feel the strong winds circling around the hills. Upon
approaching the first hill, my heart was captivated by the view. We were
like on an island surrounded by mountain ranges. Layers of ranges disappearing
in the horizon as the earth meets the sky was fantastic no man can ever invent
even if he is given two lives to spend.
We sat on the ground and
checked out the time. It was exactly two in the afternoon. We opened plastics of junkies and filled our stomach while enjoying the view. My head was
turning 360 degrees to witness all the beauty around. It was really unimaginable for me that I have reached the Marlboro Country. Rumors were right then.
We then proceeded to the
second hill which appeared to be a grazing land for animals there. Stories have
it that there is a white horse living in those mountains. We picked wild
berries along the way to give ourselves a treat of mountain blessings.
When we reached the third
mountain, we tried to look for the right path. There were many paths used by
both man and animals. In short, we were lost.
When we went down the
mountain, we felt we were following the wrong path so we climbed the slope
again. Fortunately, we saw a group of ladies proceeding to the edge of the
third mountain.
Upon approaching them, they
asked us about the name of the place. We identified that we are on the boundaries of Sagada
and Alab, Bontoc. It was me who even confirmed that the village that we could see in the distance is part of Sagada. In short, they were also lost.
The group of ladies were
looking for their way back to Alab. We
told them that we are looking for the way to the Blue Soil. In fact, they just
came from Blue Soil. So together, we went down the mountain to see the Blue Soil.
We reached the foot of the
third mountain and saw a meadow with carabaos. There was a small,muddy lake where the
carabaos get water while keeping their skin moist.
When we took pictures with
the ladies, we joked to upload the picture to Facebook. Thus, they asked about
my name on Facebook. Upon giving them my complete name, they asked us if we
knew Francis Lizardo. Francis is my cousin. They then told us that
they are siblings of his wife Jhona. What a small world!
Down we went to see the
Blue Soil.
The Blue Soil is a
wonderful spot in Marbloro Country. Its soil appears like snow in pictures.
After taking pictures, my cousin Khujie said it was like hill in Canada.
After taking pictures, the
ladies took their way back to Alab while we followed the trail down to foot
of another mountain to reach the road connecting that mountain to the nearest villages of Southern Sagada. It took us almost an hour to reach the
road.
There were pitcher plants
growing everywhere and we picked unopened pitcher leaves to quench our thirst. I had the chance to
collect huge pitcher plants to book-press to create book markers.
At 5:45 in the evening, we reached the road. For
five minutes, we took some rest. I was glad we made it to find the way.
When daylight ceased the
earth, we were still walking on the road. I attempted to tell my family to
fetch us but it seems no one bothered to give us a hand. They were aware of the danger of walking
on that road because it is far away from civilization. As the eldest in the group, I was worried we would meet bad guys.
We followed the road even
if we were not seeing anything. It was dark. It was terrifying. The sound of birds and wild
creatures can be heard and myths have it that ghosts may lead people in the mountains
at night to nowhere. Ghosts in the mountains can even hide lost people, stories say.
I asked my brother if he
brought something to build fire. My brother smokes so he gladly brought out
his lighter. We gathered dried pine needles on the ground and made a small
fire. Then I said a little chant for ghosts to use the light to get out of our
way.
My niece Dunnay kept on
complaining that she is tired so I carried her at my back. I asked my brother
to light a cigarette if he has got one. Glad, he brought two sticks. According
to stories, any fire keeps bad spirits away on the road.
We kept on
walking following the road up the mountain. Good thing there were dried pine
branches that we lit to light our way.
After two hours, we reached
the cemented road. It was a sign we already reached Sagada. We took a small snack in a little
store along the way and made our way up to our village which is just half an
hour away.
When we reached home,
dinner was already served on the table and the only thing we had to do was to
clean our hands for a good meal. At past eight, we were already at home safe and resting-
after 11 hours of hiking.
