The Kayumanggi Trails

text | Carla Ocampo

photography | Lester Valle

.

Summer is still the best time to go to Claveria; on these days the weather is predictably sunny for weeks.

See, the Wet Season brings in quite a lot of rain along the northern Philippine coast. This could be a real bummer, since Claveria (a coastal town) is more of an Outdoorsman’s Playground than a here’s-a-shopping-mall-so-it’s-perfectly-fine-to-be-indoors kind of place —- not to mention the damage to the crops and the meager fish catch in the aftermath of typhoons, which are not too welcome news for the town’s simple folk, whose lives depend largely on the gifts of earth and waters.

For an easy-breezy trip, you’d most probably opt for a pocket of time without rain. Once you nail the perfect schedule, though, Claveria WILL give you the time of your life, and that’s a guarantee.

Nu haan nga agtudo (and that’s “If it ain’t gonna rain” in the Iloko language), here’s what to see, and what to do!

SENTINELA

Claveria’s most enthralling hideaway, Sentinela is a cove just 15 minutes away from the town center.

The view atop its east hill, Bantay Kalbo, warms you within. Over the village itself, grass-covered flatlands lie ready for campers, just a short sprint away from the tide.

.

Bantay Kalbo is famed for its rockface, battered —- or should we say sculpted —-by sea and fate.

.

The other side of the rockface reveals a more benign shore and a view of the hill’s knife edge, whistling an invitation for a more adventurous photo-op.

.

An abandoned cellsite obstructs an otherwise immaculate vista of the sea and Lakay-Lakay in the distance. As of this writing, the local government has been choosing between resuscitating it back to its working state, or demolishing it.

.

Where a river branch meets Sentinela’s roaring waves, the waters are quite shallow. But crossing it to get to the picturesque geologic outcrops would require strong legs to fight the fierce undercurrent.

.

Still, once you cross the waters, you’re allowed your own moment in serenity. Choose you own throne.

.

At Sentinela’s literal west end, you could almost imagine theater actors staging a fiery play on this savage platform.

.

FRESHWATER: MABNANG FALLS, CABICUNGAN RIVER, AND THE VILLAGE OF PATA

Mabnang Falls is “short and stout”, but that’s just its first cascade. It is actually a multi-level waterfall; a longer slide is situated just meters from this dip-worthy pool.

.

Long before it was named after a Spanish Governor General, Claveria was known as Cabicungan. This is the delta of the Cabicungan River, with a flock of egrets flying in the twilight.

.

Egrets are truly at home all over Claveria’s lush surroundings. Here they are, enjoying the view of harvest-time fields in the village of Pata, in playful commensalism with a lumbering carabao who’s quite, uh, keber.

.

The banks of Pata River is the home of quiet fishermen who are as steady as their environs.

.

A resident of Pata balances himself and glides gently above the river on his canoe. The Claveria Tourism Council would soon be allowing visitors to experience this exact same ride. Be ready to paddle like a local.

,

LAKAY-LAKAY’S TURF: THE VILLAGE OF TAGGAT 

The fishing village of Taggat is golden at seven in the morning. The air sings a chorus of cockcrows and meditative waves.

,

Taggat’s wooden port is all that: aged yet still sturdy, humble yet beckoning. To not allow yourself to be framed by its rugged beauty, especially for posterity, is quite a sin.

,

Taggat’s people are Claveria’s image of vigor. Flanked by a medley of uplifted ocean rocks and fecund waters, their everyday dance is that of a united performance with their natural environment.

,

,

In our next post, resident KT photographers Lester Valle and Wing Larase will be releasing images that tell a powerful story of Claveria’s indefatigable fishermen, and their display of birr and bayanihan in their age-old fishing practice: daklis.

(Also check out Claveria, The Northern Escape, our detailed travel guide for Claveria)

——————————-

© 2011 The Kayumanggi Trails | All Rights Reserved