Northern Philippines

Dear Ace,

Over Easter holidays, our family and GramLola took a road trip up north to visit the rice terraces. It is a beautiful and quiet part of the country, where there are not many people. The weather is cooler and the air is fresher. We decided to show your Lola what the north had to offer and to do lots of hiking.

Once again, you were a trooper in the car, both on the way up north and back to Manila. Daddy entertained you while Mommy drove and Lola navigated. We stopped along the way to take photos and you napped when you felt like it. 

We visited three main spots along our tour of the Mountain Province. One was Banaue, where the weather was warm and the views were sweeping.

Another was Batad, where the accommodations were basic and the walks were incredible. There was a huge thunderstorm during one of our hikes, which really scared you. We got you calmed down and you finally fell asleep, but it was a rough day. After that, you loved all of our hikes. You always get excited to go in the backpack and you often get your deepest sleeps in when you are carried around in that thing, listening to the sounds of nature. We saw some stunning rice terraces in and around Batad.

The final stop was Sagada. We stayed in a "cabin" next to a rock quarry and a pig. You loved playing on the bulldozers when the guys would let you and you had your first Easter hunt where you found plastic eggs filled with peso coins, rubber frogs, parachute men and chocolate. You enjoyed hiding in the cabinets, reading your books and playing with your cars. We visited the St. Mary's Church and the cemetery, Echo Valley and the Hanging Coffins, and we ate at Yogurt House, the Strawberry Cafe and the Log Cabin. We couldn't get enough of the banana pancakes with thick, fresh yogurt. From Sagada, we took mini-trips to Aguid Rice Terraces and Bomod-Ok Falls and to Kiltepan Viewpoint and Kiltepan Rice Terraces. The last spot was our favorite. It was so peaceful. And you fell in the mud, which was hilariously cute.

Sagada Town

St. Mary's Church

Echo Valley and the Hanging Coffins

Aguid Rice Terraces

Bomod-Ok Falls

Kiltepan Viewpoint

 

Kiltepan Rice Terraces

 

On our way home, we HAD to stop at the highest point in the Philippine Highway System. We will treasure all of our memories from this trip, especially because we had GramLola to go adventuring with! She loves making memories with you and we had lots of laughs! 

This may just be one of the last long vacations we take in your birth country. Now that your adoption is final and we have your passport, we will be taking our vacations outside of the Philippines, to other Asian destinations. Your birth country will always be an important part of who you are and we will visit many times. We have been lucky to see such beauty as a family and will continue to do the small beach trips before we leave the Philippines for a new "home."

We love you more than all the rice ever planted in all the rice terraces in all the world. 

Mommy and Daddy