Nicalyn At Banaue Rice Terraces

I was in Second Grade when I first saw a picture of the Banaue Rice Terraces. Our teacher that day was discussing with us the beautiful tourist spots in our country aided with pictures in black and white. Seeing it for the first time in black and white was not mesmerizing at all.

I grew up in Antipolo, Rizal where I was surrounded with endless rice fields which some part of it looked like the famous rice terraces. At least, that was what I believed that time. Funny it is now but that time, I thought I could climb up the Banaue Rice Terraces as easy as going upstairs. Innocently I wondered, what could be so amazing about the rice terraces then?

I never thought of it again until one day, like a twist of fate, I had to be there for our complimentary project in Natural Science 10. All I got was P 300.00 for my food allowance. And I had to contribute P 3000.00 for the transportation fee and for logging. It was sure a bit expensive but it was worth it.

Surprisingly, and I found it really strange, my anticipation to see the Banaue Rice Terraces was choking me inside the van we were boarding from Laguna to the Ifugao Province. I couldn’t just wait. We had to wake as early as one in the morning. Still, the trip seemed forever.

My growing impatience was quickly replaced with an inexplicable excitement when we had to turn off the aircon and scroll down the windows. We’re almost there! The cold breeze was relaxing to the face, and it smelled so clean, so safe to fill in your lungs with it. Our excitement doubled as we saw the breathtaking views of rice terraces. They were almost everywhere!

Hazel, one of my classmates, couldn’t help herself and said, “Eto na, Banaue na!” while referring to the Banaue Rice Terraces. But Sir Danny, a staff of the Institute of Renewable Natural Resources who served as our lecturer on that day, said that those were not yet the famous rice terraces. In fact, he declared that those were actually ‘small’ compared to our goal. So we called them the mini-terraces.

We decided to have a stop-over to give way to picture taking, and also to stretch our numbing legs. We noticed that the soil was reddish brown. There was even clean water surging from some part of the soil. According to Sir Danny, that only proved that the whole place could still be classified as an old growth. Meaning, the ecosystem there was still in good shape and in a safe condition. That made me happy to know about it.

After couple of minutes or so, we returned to the van to continue our trip to Banaue. The community radio playing in the background made us giggle and laugh. It also reminded me of my life in Antipolo. Suddenly I felt home there.

There was a particular place where many students were happily walking to their school. It put a smile on my face, thinking that we Filipinos really value our education. As we drove our way up, aside from the fact that the air was getting colder and colder, the air pressure was somehow blocking our ears. What I did was I yawned to get rid of it. That was the technique I learned from a friend once we were in Calatagan, Batangas for our educational trip in Zoology 1.

I was not sure of what exact place it was where we saw an old Igorot couple wearing their traditional dress. Many people, some were foreigners, were taking pictures with them for a fee. Looking at them, although they were smiling or trying to smile, I could sense that they were not happy with what they were doing. However I was glad about how they show off their heritage through their traditional dress.

After a long wait, finally we arrived in Banaue Rice Terraces! It was really amazing! Right there I was convinced that it truly deserved to be dubbed as the Eighth Wonder of the World with its time-honored beauty which was created 2000 years or so ago. That was according to Sir Danny. He also said that if it was connected end to end, the length of it was ten times longer than the Great Wall of China , or it could encircle half of the world! Isn’t that amazing?

These classic rice terraces manifested the engineering skill of the Ifugaos. As Sir Danny made a joke as he said, “Wala pa mang UP noon ay marami ng magagaling na engineer ang Pilipinas!”

The irrigation was designed with water running from the streams and springs found at the top of the mountains and channeled into canals down through the rice terraces. And to think that these were made largely by hand, I could not find a place to put my swelling Filipino pride.

We took pictures, made fun of each other, and said praises for the majestic beauty of the Banaue Rice Terraces. Hazel took me by my left hand and said, ”Isigaw mo yung pangalan ng crush mo kasi nasa mataas kang lugar, mag-e-echo yun sa puso niya!” I made face and just laughed at it. No way would I tell them the name of my crush!

Our adventure didn’t end there; we found a hidden fall and a pond to relax our tired body. The challenge was we had to take the 1800 plus steps to get there! Anyway it was worth it. We swam like kids and sure did we have so much fun!

It was a great trip to Banaue. I learned a lot. I now know that the Banaue Rice Terraces is really wonderful. All of the sudden, I felt inspired and proud that I am a Filipino. #