Prevent a sunburn - go north

After a 12-hour bus ride, we arrived in Banaue in the morning. Compared to Manila, the climate in the north is very mild, with a maximum of 25 degrees. Perfect for acclimatizing. The area around Banaue is known for its terraced rice fields, which were built over 2000 years ago by the Ifugao people in the mountainous region and are now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. (Almost like at home) Since we were quite exhausted after the long bus ride, we took a day off, slept a bit, and walked through the village. The next day we started a 2-day tour with a guide. Uphill and downhill, we went to Pula and then to Cambulo, where we stayed overnight. Both villages can only be reached via narrow paths through the jungle and along rice terraces. This requires a lot of time (8h) to cover the various altitudes. The next day, we continued our hike with some muscle soreness to Batad. There we had a great view of the small village, which is surrounded by rice terraces like the steps of an amphitheater in a valley. After reaching a road again with our guide who was chewing cocoa beans, we were picked up by a tricycle and taken to a natural pool. However, we had to get out and walk twice on the way because the road was too steep and/or we were too heavy... 🙈

In Banaue, we tried to withdraw money three times, but unfortunately, no money came out or the ATM was completely offline. Hoping to have better luck in Sagada, we took an overcrowded van on a very curvy ride to this cozy small town that resembles a village. But no luck here either, we didn't get any money. Thank goodness we had withdrawn enough money in Manila so that we could still go on a Cave Connection Tour. Completely unaware, we walked with our 17-year-old guide to the entrance of the cave. After crawling/climbing through 3 quite narrow holes at the beginning, we were already feeling a little uneasy. But there was no turning back, we had to go through the three-hour tour in a pitch-dark cave, which was only illuminated by the guide's kerosene lamp. In Germany, you would probably have to take a two-week course before going on this tour and would be equipped with a helmet and climbing gear. We had no choice but to trust our guide (in flip-flops!!!) who led us along very slippery slopes and through waist-high water. We were relieved when we finally arrived at the end of the cave after three hours with only a few scratches and could see daylight again. After this experience, we treated ourselves to a cocktail in the evening!

The next day, we wanted to enjoy the sunrise at 5:30 on Mount Kiltepan. We started marching at 4:20, but all we saw at 5:30 was fog 😒 no luck! However, after returning to the village, we treated ourselves to a delicious breakfast (fried eggs, bacon, pancake, fruit) before making our way back to Manila. First, we had a 6-hour bus ride to Baguio. After searching for the right bus terminal in the rain for an hour, we took a bus to Manila for another 3 hours of waiting, where we only had 7 hours left to wait for our flight to Boracay. Getting around in the north is a slow process. Now we are looking forward to a few relaxing days at the beach 

Facts about the North:

- It's not easy to get money

- We were asked 3 times if someone could take a picture of us (including armed soldiers who are supposed to provide security in the jungle)

- The Wi-Fi is very unstable (uploading pictures is impossible, took about 15 attempts to book a flight)

- Most men chew cocoa beans and....