Rough Groove

E Masferre: A Tribute to the Philippine Cordillera, 1999

“A photographer with remarkable foresight, Masferre understood that change is inevitable. So, with his camera, his eye and his heart, he kept the Cordillera’s proud, ancient soul visible and timeless amidst the changes.”
- Felice Sta. Maria, from Eduardo Masferre’s Timeless Images of Cordillera Life Ways as printed at the back of the book.

This book showcases photographs that Eduardo Masferre took from 1936 – 1954 in different parts of the Cordillera, in effect, recording the different facets of his mother’s people’s lives, ways, culture and rituals. The 50 photos are grouped into 5 sections: agriculture, village life, rituals and portraits and shows a very rare image that now is very much seldom seen, or might have forever changed with the encroachment of modern technology and outside influence.

Available at the Masferre Country Inn and Restaurant for P1,500 in Sagada. Pricey but definitely worth it as the 1988 coffee table book is out of print.

Sagada: Coffins

Echo Valley, just below the town’s cemetery is a fascinating place to go. Not only are there caves, but the major drawer there are the hanging coffins suspended a few feet from the ground as well as burial caves.

A portion of the famous hanging coffins showing the “death chair.” In previous times, the tribespeople usually place their dead in these chairs for a few weeks before being transferred to the coffins. With the influence of Christianity, these practices dwindled but is still being observed in some remote villages.

A few meters before reaching the hanging coffins, one can observe this cave a hundred feet from the ground stacked with coffins.

Just above the big cave a little further past the hanging coffins, this burial cave can easily be missed if one is not observant enough. Its a feat to bring these caskets into this cave considering that it was located very high from the ground.

Sagada: Sights

Mention Sagada and images of waterfalls, cool and wet caves, hanging coffins, mountains and wonderful sceneries just floods in.

Bomod-ok Falls. One of two waterfalls in the area, it takes a long trek to go to this place, down the scenic village of Fidelisan with fantasic views of the valley below, rice terraces, cliffs and a gold mine. Water is quite chilly here and the trek back is arduous.

Rice terraces, Fidelisan.

A constant site in many places in the Cordilleras, the terraces attests to the agricultural heritage of the mountain tribes, transforming the mountains into green steps to the heavens.

Misty morning view

The scent of pine trees and great vistas just fills the senses.

Sagada: Buffet dinner at the Log Cabin

Saturday is market day in Sagada and the resident French chef, Phillipe Heyer of Log Cabin Cafe, Bar and Restuarant prepared a sumptuous buffet dinner at P250 per person. The menu for that night:

Pork leg cooked in beer with apples, celery and spring onions
Baked potatoes with spring onions
Roast tomato
Tomato soup
Broccoli and millet wheat bread with almonds, garlic and rosemary cheese spread
choco and strawberry cake
choco, pinipig (rice crispies) and strawberry cake

And how the food tasted! Really heavenly. Except for the cake which I found to be dry, I saw myself coming back for the wheat bread and cheese spread.

A trip to Sagada is never complete without a dine at this place.

Sagada: Food

If your going to Sagada, be prepared to forego your diet. Just imagine:

Plain yoghurt with honey at Ganduyan Inn

Big servings of vegetable soup on a bowl, hot and tasty that effectively warms you up and a plateful of spaghetti with meat sauce at Alfredo’s Inn and Restaurant.

Delicious home made yoghurt topped with granola, fruits, honey and brown sugar and

creamy spinach fettuccine carbonara with broccoli that just fills and satiates and pancakes with either banana or cheese (Cheese Lovers Pancake) at the Yoghurt House.

Home brewed native coffee (arabica that was introduced by the American missionaries at the start of the past century) that’s great to start the morning with paired by a sumptuous breakfast of garlic rice, native longganisa (sausage, in this case, have a semblance to those in Ilocos that is not sweet but garlicky but very delicious and heavenly) on a bed of green and crisp lettuce leaves, sunny side up eggs and dessert of red plump strawberries at Masferre Cafe.

CHILI con carne ( as in really hot) with strips of ginger and bits of meat with rice or french fries and salad of tomatoes and lettuce at Shamrock Cafe.

And, just great food at the Log Cabin.

Streetfood fare of day old chicks fried to a crisp.