mountain light

Literally just at Adam's backyard, this one is about 30 minutes walk from where we stayed. It offered one of the best mountain views of sunrise I've seen.

Our guide found it weird that we went there while the rest of the town is still in slumber land. The previous night he was suggesting that about 6-7AM would be a great time to go there for sunrise watching. I said "No, we'll wake up at 4AM"


fog cover

We managed to peel ourselves off the bed when our wake up alarms went off. Quite surprising actually, considering the amount of wine we had the previous night (in my previous post I mentioned how I tasted one of the best fruit wines in Adams).


sunrise rays

Half way through the hike I could already see the first rays of the day breaking through the fog layers that blanketed the mountains in the east. We all seemed to not mind the uphill walk, as we are all excited what Lovers' Peak have to offer.

The peak was fog covered when we reached it, but within seconds the fog began to recede and we can already discern the valley below. Then the light show started.


Lovers' Peak layers

The light show was accompanied by the beautiful slow dance of the fog. It changed form, flowed, disappeared, and reappeared in another place. I was like a kid in a candy store, not knowing which direction to shoot first.


grand view

Before it was even over I could already see why they call the place "Lovers' Peak". It certainly is one of the most beautiful parts of town. Like a lover, the place have a way of clinging on to you (and I'm not referring to the countless amorseko or crabgrass that I still have to remove from my shorts and shirt).

welcome to Adams, population: 1800

A small town - the smallest in the Philippines with only 1 barangay, nestled in a valley surrounded by pristine rain forest near the northern edge of Luzon. It was our home for two stress free days. Limited cellphone signal (currently only Globe works), no 3G, no emails.


Adams lived up to how it got its name. There were several variations of the story but the main theme remain the same: it looked like the garden of Eden or the garden of Adam and Eve when early settlers first laid eyes on the lush valley - rich in natural resources and has a very diverse flora and fauna.


lush green valley

The place became a melting of different tribes from Apayao and Cordillera region. Currently the population consist of different Igorot groups (Kankana-ey, Isneg), Yapayao, and Bago - just to name a few. Its a perfect example of how different cultures coexist harmoniously with one another.

There are so many dimensions to the place: people, culture, food, and scenic beauty. So many to cover in one visit, but here are bits and pieces of Adams:


Baset hanging bridge
Its the longest hanging bridge in the province of Ilocos Norte. During the rainy season when the river overflows and covers the small concrete bridge below, this bridge becomes Adams' lifeline to the outside. Its a great experience crossing this bridge (not for those with vertigo) on foot. Some daredevil ones cross this on motorcycle (most common mode of transportation there), much to the chagrin of their passengers.


crossing the into Adams
Adams is just 13.5 kilometers from the main highway but it looked like far away place, much different from the coastal scenery of Ilocos Norte. A few minutes into the ride to Adams, the salty and humid sea breeze is replaced by a cool mountain air. The dirt road is like a corridor cut through a heavily forested area. You'll know when you are near the town proper when you cross the crystal clear Bolo river. Fed by countless waterfalls if there is one reason to go to Adams then this is it - at least for me), the river traverses the town and empties in Bangui Bay in the north.


serenity of Ilyn's place
Built piece by piece by the Chens, this place is truly a labor of love and one of the best homestays (a "homey place" as the Adams folks would call it). Ilyn used to be an OFW in Taiwan but later decided to settle in her home town of Adams. A colleague of hers, a Taiwanese national, followed her here and the rest is a love story that became the foundation of this homey place.


fruit wines
Adams has some of the best local fruit wines I've every tasted. Dr. Bielmaju, who owned a small winery, treated us to an evening of wine tasting which lasted from dinner time to near midnight - much to the delight of a wine connoisseur companion. The town folks started experimenting blends and producing wines starting 2008. Currently there are about 63 wine makers and producers.


Bugnay wine
Of the fruit wines in Adams, the Bugnay (wild blackberry or currant tree) wine is my favorite. Bugnay's richly color fruit (ranges from red, to deep crimson, to violet and black) is also a favorite of mine as a kid. If there is one wine that will put Adams on the wine map of the Philippines, then this would be it.


waterfalls of Adams
For those who love nature and the great outdoors, Adams is a perfect place. It has countless hiking trails that culminates in a pristine waterfall. Its as if every hike there has a prize of a cool dip at the end of the trail. On our short stay there we manage to visit four beautiful waterfalls, which I think deserves a separate post.

a Hanunoo elder displaying one of his prized possession: the bolo

The Hanunoos are one of the 7 Mangyan tribes in the island of Mindoro. Of the Mangyan tribes, only they have their own script. The Hanunoos are concentrated in the town of Mansalay in Oriental Mindoro where they settled in 53 sitios (small villages).

Here are some of the interesting personalities I've met one weekend in Sitio Hawili in Brgy Panaytayan while doing outreach work with some volunteers from Black Pencil Project:

Could we change lives given just a weekend? With the right group of dedicated individuals, we easily can.



The heavy rains, thanks to Typhoon Falcon, did not stop the group that Friday night. Metro Manila's every corner is flooded but we managed to make the rendezvous and catch the bus headed to a town in Oriental Mindoro, an island south of Luzon. The destination: Mansalay, home of the Hanunoo Mangyans (one of the 7 Mangyan tribes in Mindoro). The mission: distribute school supplies to about 300 or so school children (official list indicates 320).

The group is made up of professionals from various fields, but that weekend we were all volunteers of Black Pencil Project 

"Black Pencil Project is a grass-root, hobby-based, volunteer organization with core advocacies focused on child's primary education in remote and indigenous communities in the Philippines. Primarily founded as a collective initiative, Black Pencil Project fosters shared responsibility using individual's skill and talent through AdvenTourism and VolunTourism programs." - Mon Corpuz, one of the founders.

This particular trip was organized by a group of BPP volunteers - running enthusiasts who initiated the Run For Pencils project. The fundraising initiative aimed to collect pledges for every kilometer a runner covers.

I was fortunate to be invited to tag along and I almost backed out of it due to a conflict with schedule. Looking back at that weekend, I would not miss it for the world, not even with the flood and the huge waves that delayed our island crossing from Batangas pier to Calapan.

Here are some of the photos I took (with more photos soon):


One of BPP founders Mon Corpuz, camera in one hand and ladle in another. He was the chef of the soup kitchen, alternating between taking photos and stirring 3-4 large pots of steaming pasta soup. That weekend we fed more than 200 people lunch, dinner, breakfast the next day, and mid morning snack of macaroni soup. I was one of Mon's assistants but I would often leave him to hunt for photos.



This is where we cook. There are no decent firewood, mostly just wet bamboo and coconut "paklang" (branches). These made a lot of smoke and hurt the eyes.We were all crying by the time we are finished cooking.



One of the elders helping out, creating a makeshift roof over our "kitchen"



Rice is not a staple part of their diet, but that weekend the group brought a sack. The whole community enjoyed hot steamy rice for several meals.



One of the activities the group did was a coloring exercise, done under the cool shade of a large mango tree (with lots of low hanging fruits you can just grab). The sketches that were used depict Mangyan daily life.



Distributing school supplies: bags and notebook, pencils and pens, crayons and notepads, water bottles and toothbrushes, sports equipment, and everything in between.



A Mangyan kid takes away her kit. Not all of the children were able to make it to where we camped The river had swelled due to the heavy rains and it was difficult to get across. Some of the kids have to walk for 5 hours to get to where we are.



the compound
Our home and activity area for two days. This is where all of us, volunteers and different groups from various sitios, ate and slept. Some of our group stayed on a small hut on a hill just beyond this compound, while some pitched a tent. There are no bathrooms and CRs of course. We had to take a bath in the river and they had to create a temporary CR for us (read: dig a hole and cover it with anahaw leaves)



Mangyan kids
I still don't have the exact number how many of them were able to make it there that weekend but there was enough number to keep the volunteers occupied, from manning the kitchen, telling stories, and organizing/facilitating parlor games.



happy smiling faces
Some of the children with their parents and para-teachers, all beaming and happy.

The pictures may not say it all (I hope to post more) but it was a life changing experience, probably for both the volunteers and the Mangyan kids. The Mangyans are a resilient tribe, making do with what they have. They understood the importance of literacy for their children and have used whatever resources they have, be it a simple hut for a classroom or engaging volunteer teachers, to uphold and sustain this.

I've learned that among the 7 Mangyan tribes, the Hanunoos have their own form of writing. They showed me how to write my own name using their script.

I've learned that their dialect have a lot of words in common with my own (Hiligaynon) and that of my grandparents (Kinaray-a). Somehow I (or they) felt some gap has been bridged as soon as I started using these words and phrases in conversation with them.

As we parted ways that weekend, Imelda, of the the para-teachers, told me repeatedly: "Allan, wag mo kaming kalimutan" (don't forget us). I don't think I ever will.

More photos soon.

Know the dedicated people behind this here.