(Adobo - one of the national dishes of the Philippines. Basically a mix of chicken or pork, soy sauce, garlic, vinegar and other spices. Not bad.)
(Solomon, the tricycle driver, took me around to some of the viewpoints over the valley of rice terraces. A tricyle here is basically a motorcycle with plastic/metal covering to protect it from rain and a little sidecar for guests. Not to be confused with a tricycle that a little kid would ride - somehow I don't think I'd fit on one of those anymore.)
(The mountain town of Banaue. I stayed in People's Lodge, right in the center of the picture...not because of the amazingly creative name but because of the nice views out the back.)
(In mid February, small plots of rice had just been planted, though most of the terraces are still flooded with water. Each of these little clumps of rice are painstakingly planted by hand in the muddy soil.)
(A colorful jeepney parked along the road above Banaue. A friend pointed out that the tires are pretty worn, but I think that's sometimes the least of your concerns riding on these things on the edge of some of these treacherous roads.)
(The view from further up the road, looking back towards Banaue. Rice terraces were carved into the sides of many of the mountains in the area, built nearly two thousand years ago.)
(Another variation of pancit/noodles.)
(The city of Banaue, viewed from the back of my cheap hotel. Many of the buildings on the main road in town are 3-5 stories high, carved into the steep edge of a hillside over the river below.)
(Looking the other way down the valley. Check out the hanging bridge in the bottom right corner.)
(For my second day, I made a deal with Solomon's friend to drop me off at the junction to Batad, an hour away. Winding along the dirt/mud road was a little scary with our tricycle, but in the end, it was fine.)
(After hiking uphill for an hour from the road below, you can see the tiny dirt path carved into the mountainside on the right that leads back to Banaue...yes, that's the road.)
(Pita sandwich or something! Somehow that's Filipino...or not...I don't ask questions, I just eat...Cheese strips, tomato and egg, for those that were wondering.)
(Batad is a tiny village with one part perched on the steep hillside and another part nestled in the valley below, amongst the rice terraces. I stayed in the blue-green guesthouse in the middle of the picture...not to be confused with the blue-green guesthouse slightly to the right of it. There must've been a sale on that paint.)
(Water buffalo lounging in the mud, living the good life. These things are huge.)
(Small trails of dirt or stone line the edges of the rice terraces, allowing you to hike through the area without actually slogging through the terraces.)
(Tappia Falls - about an hour's walk and approximately two million stairs away from Batad. Though steep and a little treacherous, the 30 meter/100 foot falls are definitely worth it. Check out the little people on the rocks in the river below for some perspective.)
(Check out the bigger guy on the rocks for some more perspective. That's me, in case you didn't know. The few people already at the falls left soon after, leaving me to enjoy this wonderful spot all to myself for a while.)
(The entire area is surrounded by massive green mountains with the imaginatively named Cordillera all around. Cordillera means mountain range in Spanish.)
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