By Atty. Antonio P. Pekas
We reached Sagada mid-afternoon one Sunday early last month. We drove down the road to the direction of Ambasing to the former house of my late brother and his family which was inherited by their youngest, Andrew Pekas. It is not anymore a house. Just like many houses in that used to be an idyll of a town but now a commercial center, it has become a business establishment. I thought it was just converted to a small souvenir shop then I heard that Andrew and his “wife” added an inn. But when we drove down that afternoon, at about 50 meters away from the spot, I saw this imposing logo high in the sky by a rural town’s standards—SALT AND PEPPER. In that end of the world, it was a four-story hotel, not just an inn. Not having gone home for almost two decades, it was shocking as Sagada was shocking on how the wholesome rural village was desecrated by commercialism.
I was told that on long weekends now, local and foreign tourists in the town’s main road are shoulder to shoulder in density. So are the commercial buildings now.
We entered SALT AND PEPPER and looked for Andrew and Safe, his “wife” of many years that they now have many kids, to inquire about the arrangements the next day when they would get married in church so their years of sins of ecstasy and bliss would be blessed. My son was the one to bring the Bible to the altar.
We got fed very well in the hotel where I met invited relatives from all over, here and abroad. Then it was almost dark. I decided that my “one-barangay” entourage (mostly in-laws who came with us to see Sagada) should hightail it to my hometown, the next one, Besao. It was already very dark and was raining cats and dogs. The road was like inside a dark tunnel with the thick trees, mostly pine, on both sides of the road. It was like that, very thick stands of trees, continuously, all the way to my hometown which was about 10 kilometers—4 kilometers within Sagada and about 6 kilometers falling in Besao’s territorial jurisdiction. I almost could not recognize the place.
Regreening program? Come to Sagada and my hometown and learn from the people there, particularly on their “batangan” system. When I was a kid in the ‘60s, every family in those towns depended on branches of pine trees for fuel. We had to climb the trees to cut the branches but everyone knew it was a great sin to cut so much that would result in the death of the trees. Commit the sin and you will be called to the “dap-ay” for some good whacking at the butt. The pine trees were life for the community. And so they are today.
Besao and Sagada are very green and clean, free from clatters of plastics and other biodegradables. Some of my companions who saw the place for the first time said, “It is like being in John Hay.” So are the prices of Sagada’s very good restaurants. Yes, they are good. But I don’t know about their hotels which I heard are also good. At least I could vouch for SALT AND PEPPER, about a 100 meters down the road from the munisipyo, as I have seen the inside and the “in-house” food they served on the wedding. They even came up with a passable tofu dish and green salad on that day mindful that I could not touch any of the other items in their menu. Other restaurants there, being used to the varied food preferences of tourists from all over the world, can readily whip up a vegetarian dish for you if you were as finicky as I am.
Too bad, we had to leave afternoon of the next day, right after the wedding, as I had to attend a seminar the next day. The kids, my son and his cousins, were furious because we could not stay longer. But so sorry, I had to attend the seminar.
And so we drove back. The roads from Baguio all the way to Sagada and Besao are now very good. Concrete with two lanes. Cruising at an easy speed, you can be there in 3.5 to 4 hours. It is a far cry from how things were more than a decade ago when I could only confidently drive there only in a 4X4, the International Harvester Scout II or the Land Rover Series IIa. After about 12 hours, you knew you were almost there when your butt and back or your whole body were almost beaten to a pulp.
Now, any of my antique cars can go there and come back in a breeze without being torn to pieces. And I don’t have to eat a bowl of dust, as it was back then.
A word of caution to those who want to go there. Hold your hunger until you reach Sagada with its good restaurants. There is nothing commendable along the way.**