Mimay pointed Apayao on the
map. We were discussing our group, TREK or TRails to Empower Kids' 4th outreach. That's the province we all haven't visited, so we decided to consider.
Immediately, we scheduled a recon.
Immediately, we scheduled a recon.
The recon
It was my longest bus ride. Mimay and I were joined by fellow TREK founder
Noel, plus Boy Bayhon, one of our most
active volunteers. We took the evening bus and woke up just in time to
appreciate Ilocos Norte. We caught a
glimpse of the windmills of Bangui, the picturesque Patapat Viaduct that
connects the Maharlika from Ilocos Norte to the Cagayan Valley Region and the
beautiful coastline of Ilocos Norte.
The tourism officer of
Pudtol, Apayao arranged for transportation from the bus station to Pudtol. We
left the bus station immediately after tasting Apayao's variation of pansit, the one with fried egg on top, which
was our breakfast. We paid a courtesy
call to the mayor of Pudtol, Apayao, Mayor Batara P. Laoat. That is when we introduced our group Trails to Empower Kids
or TREK.
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| At the Mayor's House |
One of the recon strategies
we thought of is not being upfront with our motives. We didn't want to disappoint anybody in cases
where the site is not approved by the whole group like what happened to one of
the possible sites we visited, which is Hapao in Ifugao.
Pudtol is a 4th class
municipality in the province of Apayao and is divided into 22 barangays, which
includes Malibang, Cacallagan, Aurora, and Lydia. Mayor Laoat
and his staff already plotted our itinerary, so after freshening up, we left.
It was another hour-long trip to the jump off point.
Malibang, Cacalaggan, and Aurora
Our jump off site is a
church ruin built in 1684 by the Dominicans and was abandoned in 1815 due to the Isneg attacks. From here, it is only a
five-minute walk to the picturesque Apayao River, one of the five biggest
rivers in the Philippines, which passes through Cordillera Administrative Region
and the Cagayan Valley Region to the Pacific Ocean. The Isneg or Apayao people
are riverbank dwellers.
Our ability to balance was
tested on these bancas we used to cross
the river to Malibang.
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| Crossing Apayao River |
Here, we saw how the people
cope when the river unleashes its fury. Most of the houses have second floors
to keep the people from harm when the river overflows.
We met some of the locals
and we inquired about their schools. Lack of school supplies and books were our
expected replies from them, and we guessed
right. We visited what looked like oversized chicken cages, which turned out to
be one of the school's classrooms.
Mayor Laoat and his staff
arranged lunch for us. There are so many things I appreciate in organizing
these outreach programs; food is one of them.
Next on our itinerary were
Cacallagan and Aurora, which were 30 minutes to an hour walk from Malibang. The locals discouraged us from
pursuing our plan, worrying if we could survive the walk. They looked at
another option, which is cruising Abulug River, Apayao River's twin river at
the other side of Malibang. The tide was
too low.
So, we decided to walk. We
met this family along the way. They were curious with the strangers on their
village and we wanted to have some photos taken with their carabao.
Time was not on our side so
we decided to go straight to Aurora. We passed by the school of Cacallagan
along the way. There was no school in
Aurora. The teacher and students, mostly Agtas, used the barangay hall as their
classroom.
Most of the students reside
in the mountains and walk hours to go to school. Their teacher was a passionate
Christian who made it is his mission to help these students, which included
knocking at different doors to gather school supplies for the students.
After our ocular inspections,
we went back to Mayor Laoat's place, and he had the most sumptuous dinner
waiting for us, all from the bounty of their land and sea.
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| Our dinner courtesy of the mayor |
Lydia and Mt. Magpulto
The following day, we went
to Mt. Magpulto. Aside from looking for
project sites, we also try to look for tourist attractions our participants can
visit. We add this to make the
experience of joining TREK more fun and memorable.
Mt. Magpulto seemed ideal for our mountaineer friends who wanted to
scale new summits. Mayor Laoat sent a
team to guide us on our trek. We were told that we were the first tourists who attempted to climb Magpulto. We started our ascent early morning. By mid-afternoon, it rained. We
were warned about the spirits of the mountains. They said that the mountain does not always welcome new faces. We were
saddened but we decided to just stay there for the night and forego of the
summit.
We may have missed the peak
but we got to enjoy freshwater delights and the company of the locals who live
there at Mt. Magpulto. We slept in their house.
I remember Noel saying that if the group decides to hold the outreach
here in Apayao, he would fully support.
The need of the community is apparent and second, they are just really
kind people.
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| With the community members |
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| Playtime at Mt. Magpulto |
We had two options back to the jump-off point the following day. We could backtrack or river trek on one of the country's cleanest body of water, Nagan River.
Our guides checked the river early. It rained that night so if the water didn't settle, meaning if it still looked muddy, we couldn't risk it. Good thing the heavens smiled on us that day so we were able to take another ultimate adventure in what is Apayao is known for -- its rivers.
We started early morning river trekking. Some portions were just too good for swimming so we dived.
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| River trekking, rather swimming |
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| River trekking |
Lunchtime came and we were
out of food. We rested in the waterfalls and guides went up to the falls and
came back with greens. That was one of the tastiest vegetable dishes ever. We reached the jump-off site after around
five hours. We cleaned up and went back to Mayor Laoat's home.
The following day was Palm
Sunday so we heard mass and thanked God for keeping us safe and helping us find
our next TREK site. We took a different route back home. We rode a van to
Tuguegarao where we rode the bus back to Manila, bus back to where we will
gather our gifts for the students of Malibang Elementary School, Malibang Pre-School, Cacalaggan Primary School, Aurora
Primary School, and Lydia Primary School.
Bridging Hope and Dreams
“Hindi pala kami nakahiwalay sa
mundo, kasi
nakarating kayo dito” (We are not cut-off from the rest of the world, because you
are able to come here)
These words left an imprint
on me and the hearts and minds of 35 other good souls who returned with us to Apayao.
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| Pudtol Mayor Batara P. Laoat |
The travel to our mission sites
involved more than 15 hours of land, plus more than an hour on foot, including
a short banca ride traversing the Apayao River. The trek was made more
difficult by very muddy terrain that went up to mid-thigh high, as attested by
one of the participants.
These, plus the rains in
Manila that almost prevented the group from continuing the mission, didn’t
daunt the participants, as the task of spreading goodness almost always come
with difficulties.
The first school the group visited was Malibang Elementary School. Then, the volunteers walked to Cacalagan Elementary School.
I joined the advance party to Aurora, and didn't join the visit to Cacalagan Elementary School anymore. Aurora was where we decided to hold our main program. We loaded all our donations in a banca.
It was a totally different river cruising experience. Apayao River's view was vast and wide. This time, the waters were dark green and not much light find its way in the thicket that surrounds the river. The river would easily pass as a location shoot for those creepy movies, but I being that close to nature's embrace, I found really relaxing and serene.
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| Malibang Elementary School |
I joined the advance party to Aurora, and didn't join the visit to Cacalagan Elementary School anymore. Aurora was where we decided to hold our main program. We loaded all our donations in a banca.
It was a totally different river cruising experience. Apayao River's view was vast and wide. This time, the waters were dark green and not much light find its way in the thicket that surrounds the river. The river would easily pass as a location shoot for those creepy movies, but I being that close to nature's embrace, I found really relaxing and serene.
When we arrived at the
barangay hall in Aurora, some of our school children were already there with
their families. Because most of them
have to walk for hours to reach the school, they went there early. Students
from Aurora Primary are from the Agta and Isneg
Tribes, with some coming from former NPA families.
We already finished setting
up the turnover area and the meal preparations when the participants started
arriving, most of them covered with mud.
I wanted to tell them so much about the river cruise but held myself
after their muddy experience.
After they finished pitching
their tents and cleaning up, we started with the program. It was already dark when we started. I worried about the children who have to go
home that night but I was told that most of them decided to stay there for the
night with us.
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| Aurora Primary School |
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| Playing with the children |
The Barangay hall was big
anyway, and most of us also bought our tents.
We started with games, then
turned over the gifts, and finally served dinner.
The short program we
prepared for them was followed traditional dances, which lasted until most of
us were already so tired from the day's adventure. Some of the participants chose to cap the
night by having a few drinks with the locals, while the rest just went inside
their tents to get much-needed sleep.
The following day, after
breakfast, we traveled to Lydia, which is located at the foot of Mt. Magpulto. We reached the site around lunchtime. Mayor Laoat met us there and he led the
program, which was also a simple exchange
of gifts and games.
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| The volunteers |
The community also prepared
our lunch. After enjoying the local
dishes, Mayor Laoat led members of the community and the rest of the
participants in an afternoon of traditional dances.
Great Rewards
The returns were certainly
far greater than the effort.
Gratitude overflowed at
every school we made donations to. There were
endless thank you’s and other displays of appreciation made through their dances
and songs. As a bonus, we also had a nice trip at a man-made lake near our
site.
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