At last, Flora and free foot spa at Apayao [part 2/2]

It has been a long time since my last post due to a back packing adventure in Malaysia. Well, that story next week. 😉

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As continued previously, we had at last found the long, winding road to Flora, Apayao.

We stayed at a good doctor’s house in barangay Poblacion for three days, which served as our ‘base camp’ from reaching other nearby barangays. Though we had been to around five barangays in Apayao, our most memorable visit would be the one to barangay Malayugan.

Locals refer to the barangay as being malayo [far] and walang lugan [no vehicle], hence Malayugan. Despite the warning, we had no choice, as one of the health cases that we need to analyze belong to that barangay. So on our second day, we had to hire two tricycles to drop us off at Balluyan, the barangay where the road ends, and hike for about two hours to reach .Malayugan. The weather was hot and humid that day, but setting your eyes on the green fields provide respite from the high temperature.

A group of men were sent by the captain to greet us at Balluyan, as well as for escorting us to the barangay. One fellow was offering to carry by back pack but I respectfully declined. He repeatedly insisted, as we were walking along the way but again, I said that I can manage.

Aside from the two hour hike, we were also reminded that most of the way would be in lubo or knee-high mud. I was skeptical at first, thinking that it might only really be around 500 meters or so. Oh well, it turned out to be in lubo all the way to the barangay hall! You have no choice but to enjoy the free, two-hour foot spa and cardio work-out

Walking along the muddy path elicits strenuous pictures, of how the locals probably experience a regular day in the fields, carrying sacks of rice to be brought in town for sale. On how their sweat and efforts will be transformed into a piece of paper that can be used to purchase a meager quantity of other goods and services. You’d think of why they would need to go through something like this, when other people are just basking around somewhere, spending something they had not worked for. You would think of how they should be experiencing something better, like a paved walkway, in order that they can walk around the fields more easily. There are other things that should have been, but yet, these are all just a bunch of illusions that you hope would be reality someday.

Nonetheless, all these dreams become just mere thoughts that are meant to pass. There is nothing significant about all these should-have-beens, they were merely for exercising your thoughts. What matters in the end is the experience you had just gone through, testifying to yourself that you had tasted the bitter, yet healthy bread, that they are relying upon day by day.

Yehay! Free foot spa! and a cardio work-out as well.

Related articles

• Finding Flora, Apayao [part 1/2] (makkosadventures.wordpress.com)
• An Intro to the Cordilleran Adventure (makkosadventures.wordpress.com)

Finding Flora, Apayao [part 1/2]

Apayao amazing geographical fact or fiction?!

Traveling with us in Apayao was ma’am RCB, telling us that the geographical boundaries of Apayao looked like a human head in side view, like so:

Amazing! And if you will include Kalinga, it would really appear like the bust of President Ferdinand Marcos in side view. A contributor in Wikipedia [hehe] even suggests that it was positioned like so, to portray the late leader was onlooking his home province. Too bad, such things have not been discussed in our history classes. On a personal level, I’m curious as to how the president tasked his men, budgeted the project and managed other processes involved in permanently etching his profile on the Philippines. [Calling on pareng Ambeth Ocampo! and other historians out there!]

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It’s unfortunate that regions in CAR are not adequately road-connected with one another. So starting off from Abra, we had to pass through the provinces of Ilocos Sur, Ilocos Norte and Cagayan in order to reach Apayao. That meant making side trips to stroll around Vigan City, viewing windmills at Bangui, and having lunch at Patapat Viaduct.

As we were all first timers to Flora, Apayao, finding the entrance to Flora along Maharlika Highway involved a lot of will to stay awake, and scanning intersections here and there. We asked a lot from locals, even slowing down along road signs to check if we were on the right track. And then, around ten hours on the highway and behold, a weathered and miniscule signage, indicating that we were near the entrance to the municipality of Flora.

Upon arriving at the next intersection however, all were doubting. Is this is it? An un-concreted road? Seemingly leading to just another barangay in the area? As they say, when in doubt, ask.

We saw a provincial bus ahead of us, and it brought relief, as it definitely assured the group that we were nearing our destination. Indeed, it was the right path.

As we were still in the territory of Cagayan, our navigator noted that it may be the reason why the highway was not concreted – that we were in Cagayan. And certainly, as we reached the arc welcoming us in Apayao, was the welcoming comfort of a smooth and concreted road.

What happened next? Tsk! Part 2 would be a photo essay of the Flora adventure. 😀