We arrived around 8am on the outskirts and a guide welcomed us all on the bus one by one and said they would drive us to the centre for free and then explain. There was a lot of us and we squeezed into 2 jeeps, others had a homestay booked and got picked up. It was raining and in the centre we sheltered and then the guide explained the trekking route which was 3 days. Day 1 you drive up the road then walk 4-5 hours and stay there. Day 2 is 3 hours trek and day 3 is 2 hours trek. I added it up and it made 9 hours which I could do in 1 day. I looked for somewhere to stay and the place next door was 250 but was full, thr next place was more expensive and then greenview was 250 for a room so I took it but it wasn't clean yet as it was early. I went out and got some breakfast and had sticky rice and some kind of rice tapioca and tried to find how to get where I was going which was called Agostina. Apparently there was a minibus to Pontoc that goes past there. I went back and the hotel said the room would be ready soon and I got my things organised including hanging up my jacket outside. The room was ready so I just left my suitcase inside took the key, paid and left. I got to the bus station and there were people going to Sagada which I thought went along my road, there was a minivan to Pontoc but they didn't want to take me the short distance and said to take a tricycle for 300 pesos. I started walking as the bus could be a while and worst case it was 2 hours walk then 9 hours and I finish around 8pm at Batad as it was 9.20. The road winded a lot and the rain was not so heavy so when I got to the first few viewpoints the pictures were ok and I could see done rice terraces. The minibus to Pontoc came and stopped but looked crowded and agsan when I said where I was going they wouldn't let me on. I carried on and it rained more but I had my umbrella and when I got to the main viewing areas like a world heritage Plaque place and a place that charged I couldn't see much. The walk was slow as the road winded so much and maps.me had actually calculated the time based on a more direct path so it took 2 hours 20 to get to the start of the trail. I asked a woman there which way to go but she pointed me the wrong way and maps.me showed the right way which was a nice concrete path/road. This came to an end and I was taking a picture of this when a truck arrived and a trekking tour group got out so I got them in my picture. Then I headed off and the trek was muddy and muddy with the rain continuing but sometimes being light and never that heavy. I passed sheds where you can stop and sit down in shelter and I finished off my remaining food of 2 oranges. The trek was slow because of all the mud and I didn't see anything or anyone so I listened to music. The path eventually joined another path which branched off to Pula and soon I went past a group and went up a hill and started seeing rice terraces and some villagers houses. I went round a corner and there was a large trekking group so I stopped on the ledge for some photos but they were not much further so I went past them. It was around 2.30pm now so I was doing ok for time and the views got pretty amazing as I walked along the stone path rice terraces on one side of the valley with views of the other sides. It was a good path but a bit precipitous as you could fall 10 metres if you misstepped. I occasionally wasn't sure which way to go and sometimes asked people but for the most part it was fine. I carried on past the point where for some reason the trail ended on the app but the real trail was there and the views kind of ended. I went down into the valley and came to a bridge which was solid enough although the construction was unusual. It was about 4.30 now and it was still muddy in places as the terraces were mostly gone now and I made my way into a village called Camiloy???? The path went all the way round and back so I tried to take a shortcut but it ended up being the same. There was a shop there but they didn't have much and it was past 5pm now and with the muddy paths and drops I wanted to be safe by the time it got dark so I walked faster. I got to the tice terraces viewpoint which was still good although the light was going. The path went down into the valley and along when it became properly dark. Some people asked me where I was going and I told them but they didn't offer any help although one of the kids there did run up behind me and then go in the direction I wanted stopping every now and again for me to catch up. I had to climb up the other side of the village and there was still no road. I looked at a few restaurants but they were overpriced so I carried on walking and after going round in circles a bit I found the right path out of the village and eventually got to the road. Some people there said there was more buses and I should go back and sleep in Batad but I checked in maps.me and it was less than 3 hours walk and as it was 8pm that meant I'd be back before 11 which is not too bad.
The road winded a lot and another jeepney stopped and told me not to walk and a girl jumped out the back and said to go with them but I said I wasn't going back to Batad and carried on. My phone battery was not so high and my power banks were drained so I didn't listen to music which also meant I could listen for traffic. It rained some more and the cloud cover meant there was no view of the stars. I walked on and the road joined a more main road which goes somewhere else which meant more traffic and one tricycle stopped but asked for 500 pesos to Banaoe. I stopped at a shop and bought some snacks like peanuts, biscuits and cake and carried on. There was one place on a hill where a lot of people had parked outside for something but not much happened and I got back earlier at 9.50 and found that the restaurants were all closed and there was no street food so I bought more snacks from the only open shop I could find. I went back and ate, charged my stuff and showered. My bag had done well in the rain and I went to bed planning of moving on to Sagada the next day.
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