Monday, August 11, 2008

Rediscovering Danac, Sugpon, Ilocos Sur

A continuation to my 888 post.


Alright, last week, just got back from my grandma’s memorial services. I reported to work for two days and then I got sick. I was alone surviving for three days.


Anyway, the trip to back to my lola's barrio was rewarding.


And here’s what made it even exciting.

Going upstream the Amburayan river (on a bangka) against a strong current, it's a bit terrifying, never mind if I'd get wet but with a camera at hand, I would have preferred to walk.
We actually had to make a stop. Trying to save our shorts, we took them off wearing only an underwear from waste down, my niece saw this and got me painted. Aww!
Trekking a very narrow path. This one's even more scary. Imagine trying to keep your balance here with barely about 5 inches wide steps, sakto lang sa isang paa. One mistake at aabangan ka na ng mga bato at malakas na agos ng ilog sa baba.
That was before. Digging deeper it is now almost half a meter wide. But it's always advisable to never look down. Nakakahilo. And so I got dizzy looking down at the river below, makapicture lang. This is the river, bird's eye view, which looks a lot better during summer when the water is clear. This picture was taken summertime, the same spot, from a different angle: Now, the falls.
This is actually a view from my grandma’s house, the falls, which about a kilometer away. I spent almost half of my childhood years in this barrio and I never got tired looking at it. Approximately, it's about 100 meters tall. Is has a small pool below although not big enough for swimming. (As a kid, I never dared going there myself because of a myth about a huge snake nesting under the rocks.) The falls dries out during summer so you only get to see falling waters during the rainy season.
Siyempre naligo. And yet another smaller falls near the area. And this one's my favorite. I call it the falling waters though it doesn't look like a falls to me, if enlarged, you'll notice umaagos lang ang tubig sa mga halaman, coming from about 15 meters above. And I love the sound it creates. Relaxing kumbaga. Too bad after this shot, umayaw na camera ko. I would have taken a full length shot. Reviewing the photos later, almost everything is just so green. I love it.

Thanks everyone for the condolences and thanks to the kindness of my coworkers who volunteered as my reliever during my absence. I almost didn't make it and It would be a lifetime of regret on my part if I wasn’t there. I didn’t cry for some reason and I even managed to go out and took some seemingly “vacation photos” like these. But when it was time to walk back and leave, that’s when I felt like I missed something and couldn’t hold back my tears. I dropped by my grandma’s grave, prayed and bid her goodbye...

24 comments:

[chocoley] said...

Hmmm.. may ganun factor, erasure ng short shorts? and oh btw, wtf is tht bridge.. almost a hanging in the cliff before you die, gush.

And lastly, condolences to yer granny.

lucas said...

wow..parang saya mamangka! i could imagine the rush..parang rio grande sa enchanted! hahaha! grabe yung trail na malapit sa bangin..tsk tsk...ang ganda talaga ng falls...

thanks for posting bout your adventure there...

my condolences to your lola...

Chyng said...

uso ang sakit! ansarap naman sakto ang bakasyon mo!

chyng <-- inggetera

Nanaybelen said...

Ayy.. nagpintasen. Hindi ba Sugpo IS

KRIS JASPER said...

delikado namang mag lakad dun (yung may bangin)... imagine kung may luggage kang bitbit?

Anonymous said...

what a nice, peaceful-looking place!

my-so-called-Quest said...

hay!
sana nagyaya! hehehe
pero ayos at nagenjoy ka parekoy.
sana magaling ka na ngayon=]

condolence kay lola.

Abou said...

grabe ganda naman ng lugar na yan.

kahit medyo nalalagay ka sa bingit ng kamatayan kapag pumunta e sulit naman.

Anna said...

there's this indian chant that goes:

"happily may i walk
may it be beautiful before me
may it be beautiful behind me
may it be beautiful below me
may it be beautiful above me
may it be beautiful around me
in beauty it is finished"

this is exactly what was on my mind when i looked at your photos. beautiful, beautiful...

Ely said...

dazedblu, actually shorter than short shorts. hehe. kaya na-censor.

roneiluke, namangka nga kami, nakakatakot nga lang, pati na rin ung bangin. thanks ulit...


nanay belen, Sugpon IS po.

kris jasper, mahirap pag binibitbit, backpack is preferred para nakasabit lang.

Ely said...

chyng, oo nga eh, pero di enjoy pag ganun.

acey, indeed...

abou, ndi naman bingit ng kamatayan. hehehe, basta maingat lang ok na.

my so called quest, naku, mahirap yayain mga busy, hehe. magaling na ako, sana ndi na ulit magkasakit.

anna, wow, memorize mo pa talaga ang chant na yan ah! hehe, pero applicable nga. :)

sugar said...

wow! ang ganda ng mga pechurs.
kaka pigil hininga naman ung cliff,as in!

parang di ko ata keri ang tumulay dun..tsk!

anyway,condolence sa lola mo.
namasyal lng po.

wanderingcommuter said...

uyy, bakit kaya may doodle yung isang picture? may nagsusuot ng trunks sa waterfalls. hahaha. biro lang dude. well, its nice to know that you are already fine aftyer what happened. and this place is really a treat. hope i'll be able to go there too. just continue your adventure, dude!

[chocoley] said...

Haha, may shorter than short shorts pa pla? Anu naman yun? superrr duperrr short shorts? --> which supposed next to undies, sike.

Enjoy yer vacay :)

Ely said...

teresa, thanks sa pamamasyal. ung cliff, pag andun ka na, mapapatawid ka na lang.

wandering commuter, censored daw. hehe. thanks pow.

dazedblu, sori for that. hehe. lets just call it "brief".

Anonymous said...

astiiiigggg!! =))) galing galing. =)

gillboard said...

naku kung, ganun yung view sa labas ng bintana ng bahay ko... naku, di nako lalabas ng bahay...

the place looks serene and beautiful...

on a sad note... condolence to your grandmother...

Abaniko said...

We all have our own Time for everything including the inevitable end.

But you sure had your grand Time taking pictures. Nice ones.

Boying Opaw said...

ang ganda naman ng lugar na ito. mukhang payapang-payapa at napakatahimik.

Ely said...

ka bute, whoah! thanks to that!

gillboard, i thought so. in a place like this, mawawala lahat ng problema mo.

thank u...

abaniko, you are right. :)

boying, tama ka rin. hehe. sobrang tahimik.

dex said...

wow, very serene place. i'd love to visit someday.

onatdonuts said...

ako ay nakikiramay sa pagpanaw ng iyong mahal na lola...mabuti na lamang at nabisita mo rin ang inyong probinsya. Napakaganda naman ng lugar. Dapat sinubukan mong tawirin ang ilog joke hahaha ang rumaragasang ilog haha

astig naman ang dinaanan niyo, parang pag dumaan ko dun kailangan handa ka na ring pumanaw hahaha joke

natuwa ako sa lugar niyo, sa iriga palang kasi ako nakapunta at trabaho pa yun, nung may nirescue kaming batang pinagsamantalahan. di ako nakapaglibot.

Keep on posting, I'm reading

rodangeles said...

ang ganda ng province mo, bakit hindi ako nakarating diyan when i was still in the phil.?
anyway, i'll make it a point to see SUGPON when i go on vacation soon!

Ely said...

rodangeles, thanks! malayo kasi siya, mahirap puntahan. hehehe.

no link?