Adams: A Paradise Revisited

With my colleagues from The Ilocandia Photographic Society (TIPS), I was happy to go back to a paradise called Adams. We were invited by Dr. Bielmaju Bawingan for a pictorial shoot of the beautiful sights and sceneries in her town intended for a tourism project. We were assigned individually to cover the various waterfalls. I was escorted by a local as we hiked for a period of time. We even crossed rivers to reach these falls. I particularly visited Pao Falls. It was incredibly beautiful.

We passed by the hanging bridges which they use in times of high water on the river. I saw some boys who fish on the river with their clever hands and goggles. We proceeded to the hut by the Bolo River near the town proper. The locals prepared exotic foods and we photographed them one by one. We waited for our colleagues to arrive from their assignment. When we were complete, we dined together with the local folks and savored the food.

We shot the indigenous people in their ethnic costumes. We were surprised to see and learn that some of the young girls were product of intermarriages among the ethnic groups. They danced while some played their indigenous musical instruments.

After a very long day, we dipped into the Bolo River for a night swim. The water was so cool and we were refreshed. Then we were served with sumptuous dinner at Anavic’s homestay. To cap our day, Dr. Biel requested the local string band to perform for us for a night of wine drinking with bugnay and a pulutan of fried frog. It was like staying in a first class resort.

We targeted the Lover’s peak on the following morning to capture the sunrise there. We later visited Lola Ingga to see how she makes tapuey. She oriented us of the procedures until she offered us to try the rice wine. At that very early time of day we started drinking. We were also shown some of the broom, a local product, made of tiger grass. We visited and photographed the various homestay facilities for guests and tourists.

We were treated for a great lunch in a small hut by the pond at Lyn’s place. It’s a special place that offers good native food and great ambiance of nature. Definitely fishing will be a fun thing to do there. Our last stop was at the winery of Dr Biel. She has a big production of bugnay wine and other kinds.

This trip to Adams was indeed another awesome experience. It was full of fun and discoveries.