Hapid, Ifugao - Part 3 [ Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 ]
To describe Hapid as being in the middle of nowhere may be an understatement: to go there you basically have to go north along the Pan-Philippine Highway (AH26) which veers toward the east side of Luzon, going through Nueva Ejica and Nueva Vizcaya. Just before reaching the northern end of Nueva Vizcaya, you turn to what appears to be a secondary provincial road that goes to Ifugao; the road narrows a bit but traffic becomes way lighter as you realize that most of the traffic on the Pan-Philippine Highway is going further to Tuguegarao, Cagayan. That “secondary” road ultimately takes you to Banaue, the tourist destination known for the Rice Terraces. Other than that, everything is uneventful. The last major urban area was back in Nueva Vizcaya (Solano) after which the vestiges of civilization (i.e., fastfoods) are gone.
Somewhere after Solano you pass a small town called Lamut and somewhere there you turn off into a road that takes you to Hapid. From a secondary road you are now on a dirt road—it was a pleasant bumpy ride on my small 4x4 owing that it has already started raining. No mud or river crossing to speak of yet but it had dampened the dust—I recall that back in 1981, we went there March at the beginning of summer and drove through a dust storm. This time the mountains were not brown or burned because of slash and burn, they were green and a site to behold.
First time around I was seated on the front seat of a jeepney from where I shot a selfie in its side mirror. I was driving on the return and the original location is covered with foliage; the newer version was taken at a higher elevation and while I was up there, decided to do a stitched panorama—like if it is worth doing then it is worth overdoing...
I headed to the church to get my bearings: in later conversations, it looks haphazardly maintained with its gaudy paint and dirt driveway (there was a pickup truck parked there before I took the photo on the left). They seemed to have cut down two trees and knocked down the fence losing the serene garden it used to have. The older appearance of the church with its quaint bell tower and those wood rice thresher for a cross speaks so "mountain province".
Which begs the question: "what now?"
Clearly, Hapid as a place, is my personal Mt. Sinai complete with its own “burning bush”—except it was not just a bush but the whole mountain that was on fire (I witnessed a whole hill succumb to slash and burn). And it even has a soundtrack: "I Think I Can Hear You" (Carole King).
Actually finding old friends, Mang Maning and Sipin (Candice’s parents), plus Joyce makes things doubly good. Joyce is a school mate from Philippine Christian University who actually stayed and settled in Hapid to make a difference. In the meantime, I had to hunt down Candice…
To describe Hapid as being in the middle of nowhere may be an understatement: to go there you basically have to go north along the Pan-Philippine Highway (AH26) which veers toward the east side of Luzon, going through Nueva Ejica and Nueva Vizcaya. Just before reaching the northern end of Nueva Vizcaya, you turn to what appears to be a secondary provincial road that goes to Ifugao; the road narrows a bit but traffic becomes way lighter as you realize that most of the traffic on the Pan-Philippine Highway is going further to Tuguegarao, Cagayan. That “secondary” road ultimately takes you to Banaue, the tourist destination known for the Rice Terraces. Other than that, everything is uneventful. The last major urban area was back in Nueva Vizcaya (Solano) after which the vestiges of civilization (i.e., fastfoods) are gone.
Somewhere after Solano you pass a small town called Lamut and somewhere there you turn off into a road that takes you to Hapid. From a secondary road you are now on a dirt road—it was a pleasant bumpy ride on my small 4x4 owing that it has already started raining. No mud or river crossing to speak of yet but it had dampened the dust—I recall that back in 1981, we went there March at the beginning of summer and drove through a dust storm. This time the mountains were not brown or burned because of slash and burn, they were green and a site to behold.
First time around I was seated on the front seat of a jeepney from where I shot a selfie in its side mirror. I was driving on the return and the original location is covered with foliage; the newer version was taken at a higher elevation and while I was up there, decided to do a stitched panorama—like if it is worth doing then it is worth overdoing...
I headed to the church to get my bearings: in later conversations, it looks haphazardly maintained with its gaudy paint and dirt driveway (there was a pickup truck parked there before I took the photo on the left). They seemed to have cut down two trees and knocked down the fence losing the serene garden it used to have. The older appearance of the church with its quaint bell tower and those wood rice thresher for a cross speaks so "mountain province".
Which begs the question: "what now?"
Clearly, Hapid as a place, is my personal Mt. Sinai complete with its own “burning bush”—except it was not just a bush but the whole mountain that was on fire (I witnessed a whole hill succumb to slash and burn). And it even has a soundtrack: "I Think I Can Hear You" (Carole King).
Actually finding old friends, Mang Maning and Sipin (Candice’s parents), plus Joyce makes things doubly good. Joyce is a school mate from Philippine Christian University who actually stayed and settled in Hapid to make a difference. In the meantime, I had to hunt down Candice…
Naghahanap lang ako ng info about hapid sa google at nakita ko tong page mo sir. Nakakatuwa yung kwento mo about hapid. Ako man po everytime na magpunta doon hindi ko maiwasan lumingon lingon sa napakagandang view ng sana fe at hapid habang ako ay nagmomotor tuwing inihahatid ko ang nanay ko na nagtuturo sa hapid high school. Bago sa aking mata dahil hindi naman ako nagagawi doon. nito lamang nakalipas na 3 buwan. Kahit bumpy ang daan at maliligo ka ng alikabok e napakaganda ng mga bundok na madadaanan. At pagdating sa boundary ng sana fe at hapid. Di ko mawari ang pagkabighani ko sa ganda ng lugar. Sa totoo lang po hanggang hapid narional high school pa lng inabot ko. Nung bata pa ako sinasama ako ng tatay ko doon pero di ko na maalala kung anong itsura nun dati o baka hindi pa nga ako nakapunta noon. Since kabisado mo po yung daan. Itatanong ko na din po kung talagang may daan doon papuntang mayoyao at kung malapit lang po talaga instead na from banaue pa dadaan.
ReplyDeleteSalamat sa iyong magandang puna; hindi ko masasabi na ganun ko kabisado ang mga daan sa Ifugao, sa alam ko ang daan patungo sa Hapid ay galing Lamut lamang. Ngayon ko rin lang nalaman na pwede na dumaan ang mga sasakyan sa tulay galing Hapid tungo sa Tupaya.
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