After Cebu (having finally found the hostel, which was fantastic, they threw us a party that night because it was the owners b`day) I hopped on an early 5am flight back to Manila. Getting back from the airport in Manila I ended walking through one of the morning markets which was really a sight. Had another days sightseeing in Manila then hopped on a night bus to Banaue, home of the Famous Unesco Ifugo Rice Terraces.Managed a few hours sleep on the bus which dropped me right outside the tourist centre at 7 am, again not many backpackers on board so I decided to wait for the next bus to see if I could share costs with any one. Meanwhile a guide came by and mentioned that he was starting a 2 day hike in 20 minutes. I signed up. After a quick breakfast and repack my bag to lighten my load we were off. I was travelling with 2 other travellers from France. First off we had to deal with a 30 minute tricycle ride on an unsealed muddy road, stopping occassionly and getting out to give it a push.We then reached our starting point and were off. The first few hours were fine,just slightly uphill, when we got to the top of one mountain we had to negotiate an overnight landslide to get us back on our path. After about an hour we reached our first village. We had a 2 hour break, a big lunch and a visit to the school. It was then the downpour and thunderstorms started. We waited another hour in the hope of it easing off but to no avail, it was then decision time, we could either go back up the mountain and over the landslide and then back down again or we could take a local route that is never used by tourists,(and evidently we found out later on not used by the locals themselves either) we even needed another guide to bring us along the trek.A 3 hour trek then turned into a mini SAS survival course, we had to cross 2 rivers of ice cold water, slipping our way downhill through brambles and at one stage right in the path of biting ants. The guide using a machete to cut a path for us, the rain still pouring. We were going uphill then downhill with no visble path and no sign of any Rice terraces either.
