Cordillera again, beat the summer heat of 2015 (day 3, 4 and 5): Motorcycle Riding

Day 3: Abatan, Benguet to Banaue, Ifugao

Date: March 30, 2015

Route Taken: bike repair at Abatan – Abatan, Benguet – Bontoc – Banaue

     Good morning Abatan…..

    As per planned, after breakfast, we looked first for a trusted mechanic who can help us troubleshooting and fixing the problem on Dad’s bike. As recommended by the locals, and as also confirmed by a co-rider and MCP forumer Ithcyfortravel, we found a Honda Authorized Shop just in the center of the busy Poblacion of Abatan.

     Since we dedicate the half of this day for motorbike maintenance, I also took the chance to have my bike checked because I am having minor problem with my bike’s breaklight. It’s around lunch time when bike repairs got completed. Took our lunch and prepared ourselves then started rolling again aiming to at least reach the town of Bontoc for the other half of the day. Very few stops and one of them is in Benguet - Mountain Province boundary.

     More pictures along Halsema Highway heading Bontoc:

     This is the famous mini-tunnel in Halsema Highway before reaching the town of Bontoc. Years ago, sometime in 2006 when I first passby on this area of Halsema, the road is not cemented yet and the concrete road on the right side of the tunnel is not yet constructed. All vehicles are passing inside the tunnel one-way at a time as 2-way traffic is not possible.

     The original plan is to go to Bangued, Abra from Bontoc via Tinglayan, but due to time constraint, we decided not to push through and instead, diverted the plan going to Kabayan, Benguet via Banaue-Kiangan-Tinoc. Around 3:30PM when we arrived in Bontoc. The sun is still high and Banaue is approximately 60kms only from Bontoc, so we continued riding because we’ve estimated that we can arrive in Banaue before dark which could be around 6PM.

     This road intersection is the road going to Barlig and Natonin. Last year when I pass through this road, it is still rough road. Construction is really fast that it looks like fully completed to date. Few more years and it can be another biker’s haven enjoying the twisties of Cordillera going to Paracelis.

     Bay-Yo Rice Terraces:

     More views along Bontoc – Banaue Road…..

     Banaue Rice Terraces:

     We arrived in Banaue before the sun sets. Exact time as our estimated time of arrival which is at 6PM. Looked for place to stay, had our dinner, taste the locally brewed wine (rice wine) and we ended the day.

== END OF DAY 3 ==

Day 4: Banaue, Ifugao to Kabayan, Benguet

Date: March 31, 2015

Route Taken: Banaue – Kiangan – Tinoc – Bugias – Kabayan

     Good morning Banaue!!!...

     Prepared ourselves and our bikes, took our breakfast and we left the hotel at around 9AM.

     Continue travelling towards Lagawe and to Kiangan as our first stop for the day.

     We’ve visited the most famous tourist destination here in Kiangan, Ifugao which is the Kiangan Shrine. This is like a smaller version of the Shrine of Valor in Bataan where it shows the braveness of the Filipino soldiers during World War II. This became a famous landmark because it was said to be the place where the Japanese highest Commander, General Tomoyuki Yamashita surrendered to the Filipino and American forces.

     One of the good spot here for picture taking is on the top of the Memorial Tower where you can see the panoramic view of Lagawe Valley.

     Also located inside the compound is the Ifugao Museum which clearly describes the culture of the Cordillera people and how they live independently without the need of help of the more advance technology from advance countries or nearby cities. Inside the museum, they showcase their old tools for daily household chores, farming, hunting, carpentry and many others. Camera is not allowed inside so we just did our souvenir photographs in front of the museum.

     Few more shots and we bade goodbye to the caretaker and security. Had some hydration at the nearby store and we started traversing the bumpy road heading Tinoc, Ifugao. From Kiangan, road concreting is on-going with only approximately 2 kilometers completed. Then after that, all rough road terrain all the way to Tinoc.

     Upon reaching Tinoc, more beautiful vegetable plantations and terraces can be seen left and right. I was amazed how these Cordillera natives able to curve these very steep cliff and mountains to cultivate these kinds of land to be their source of foods.

     Past 3PM when we arrive at the town proper of Tinoc where we took our late lunch.

     Initial plan is to spend our night in this town but since it is only 3PM, we decided to keep moving heading Kabayan, Benguet. So after taking our lunch and few minutes of rest, we again geared up and started rolling across the mountainous terrain and more steeper, bumpy and rocky road heading Buguias to Kabayan, Benguet.

     Only few pictures on this segment of the ride because we are on a hurry to reach the town of Kabayan before dark, because it will be difficult to manage some part of the terrain which is almost technical when we get caught by darkness in the middle of the mountain. We moved fast as much as we can and we arrived in Kabayan town proper at past 7PM.

     The lodge owner was kind enough to cook for our dinner. Had our dinner, few bottles of beer and we ended this long and tiring day.

== END OF DAY 4 ==

Day 5: Kabayan, Benguet to Taguig

Date: April 01, 2015

Route Taken: Kabayan, Benguet – Aritao, Nueva Vizcaya – Nueva Ecija – Bulacan – Quezon City – Taguig

     Today, since I need to go back to work the next morning, I will go back to Manila ahead of my Dad as he still want to stay longer in Kabayan to explore the town and some tourist spots. So around 7:30AM, I left Kabayan on a solo ride going back to Manila via Aritao and Nueva Ecija.

     Very few shots on my way back to Manila because I’m on hurry to be home early avoiding riding at night because my headlamp got faulty again. So here are some shots, mostly on the boundaries of each province.

     Kabayan – Bokod Boundary:

     Benguet – Nueva Vizcaya Boundary:

     Nueva Vizcaya – Nueva Ecija Boundary: 

     Lunch and gas stop at San Jose, Nueva Ecija:

     Some “pasalubong” shopping in San Miguel, Bulacan:

     Then continued riding and arrived home safe before it gets dark. No long stories and sharing of road experiences and very few pictures on this last day as it’s purely motorcycle riding going back home.

     So thank you for visiting my page again, until here and until next time…..

== END OF TOUR ==

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Cordillera Again (beat the summer heat of 2015): Motorcycle Riding

Day 1: Taguig to Mt. Santo Tomas, Benguet

Date: March 28, 2015

Route Taken: Taguig – Angat – Candaba – Tarlac – Asin Road – Baguio – Mt. Santo Tomas

     Yearly, as much as I can, I am trying to visit Cordillera Region and exploring new route. It could be during the peak of the cold months or during the peak of the summer months. And this year, we choose to visit it on a summer month to at least escape the heat of the city even for a few days.

     It’s been a year since my Dad rode his bike due to ankle injury and now that he is ready, I rode with him again hitting the twisty road of the Cordillera Mountains.

     Part of the preparation is to seek approval of leave from work, but I got difficulty securing one and I had it confirmed and approved late. So we almost got no time to prepare the bike and plan the route. We plot our initial route and agreed that it would be flexible depending on situation and circumstances, so here it goes…

    I haven’t experienced to ride the back roads of Baliwag to Candaba to Tarlac, so we choose to use this route instead of the common Mac Arthur Highway route. The road via this route is too narrow for high speed but the good thing here is you have a good view of Mt. Arayat all the way along Pampanga area.

     Had a quick breakfast in Baliwag and continue riding heading Tarlac. Filled our gas tanks in Tarlac City and filled our hungry stomach in Carmen, Pangasinan for our lunch.

     After lunch, we’ve rested in Carmen for more than an hour before we hit the road again. And we got so lucky to hit the heavy traffic from Urdaneta, Pangasinan to La Union that made us a bit sleepy. So upon reaching Rosario, La Union, we stopped again for a while to shake our heads, take some energy drinks and rest our tired and sleepy eyes.

     Then continue riding going up to Baguio via Tubao – Asin Road… again. If you can remember, this is the same route I’ve taken last year in going up to Mt. Santo Tomas.

     This is one of the tourist attractions here in Asin Road, the Asin Tunnels.

      It’s already dark when we reached Baguio. We first dropped by in the place of a co-rider and MCP forumer Argon who is already based in Baguio for some chats and wish for lucks for our 2015 version of Cordillera Exploration. It was already past 9 PM when we start rolling heading up the mountain of Santo Tomas. It’s very difficult for off-road bikes having weak lamp to manage the less lighted and foggy terrain going up the mountain, but crawling inch by inch, we safely arrive on our target destination to end this day which is in sitio La Presa. We paid the tent space fee of P250 each and we are already free to choose where to pitch our tents. Fixed our things and ourselves, had few bottles of beer and we ended the day.

== END OF DAY 1 ==

Day 2: Mt. Santo Tomas to Abatan, Benguet

Date: March 29, 2015

Route Taken: Mt. Santo Tomas / Mt. Cabuyao – Baguio – Halsema Highway – Abatan, Benguet

     It’s nice to wake-up again on a cold and foggy morning at the foot of Mt. Santo Tomas, and had our free brewed coffee and breakfast courtesy of the land lady.

     Prepared ourselves, prepared the bikes and photo opts with Sitio La Presa in the background. This place in Mt. Cabuyao is actually sitio Pungayan but became famous to be called sitio La Presa because of the TV program Forevermore that was shot in this place and they called it on the TV program as sitio La Presa.

     After the necessary preparations, we started moving up north to km 26 of Halsema Highway where we took our early lunch at Guerilla Saddle 66^th Infantry Restaurant. This place was become famous to travelers specially to motorcycle riders as their rest stop going to Mountain Province or the nearby provinces. It was named as that because its place was the battleground of the 66^th Infantry Battalion when they fought against Japanese Army during World War II.

     We had an hour of rest after our meal, and then we continued riding again, stopping at some landmarks and beautiful spots along Halsema Highway.

Cordillera Mountain Range as seen from Halsema Highway:

Halsema Highway Half Tunnel:

Highest Point of the Philippine Highway System with an elevation of 7400 feet above sea level:

    Before Highest Point, we have observed that my Dad’s bike is not in optimum performance anymore. We’ve tried to make some adjustments at Highest Point and planning to look for motorcycle mechanic on the next town, but the problem gets worst and worst up to the point that we are running at max speed of almost 10km/h. And the situation became more difficult when the heavy rain started to pour. Riding in slow pace on the twisty and rolling mountains with heavy fog that has almost zero visibility, we manage to reach the town of Abatan, Benguet safe. Looked for available mechanic but most of the establishments are already closed as it is Sunday today and we arrived in the town past 5pm. We then decided to end our day today and better to look for mechanic as our first itinerary the next morning.

     Had our dinner and few bottles of beer and we ended the day.

==End of Day 2==

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