2018 Calayan Adventure - Day 06 - Sagpat Family Farms and Despedida Dinner

05 April 2018

Today was dedicated to visiting our family's respective farms and properties.  For my Dad who hasn't been to the island in 20 years, this was like an eye-opener.  He was able to see how much the island has changed, even with just the little part that he'd seen.  I guess now he isn't going to wait 20 more years for him to return :D

Then, despedida dinner... a poignant time...








Hats, check!  Sunglasses, check!  Sunblock, check!  Bottles of water, check!  We were ready to get walking to Sagpat!  However, at the bridge (where we were busy checking out the carabaos taking a dip), we were met by a kuliglig which was to take us where we needed to go. 

So, up we went but for the uphill hike, the kuliglig couldn't carry all our weight and some of us had to get down and walk LOL

When the road ran out, we started the hike.  It was good to walk - healthy air, lush greens and the sun.  A great day!

Our first stop was the mango farm.

Some of our group remained here while my Dad, Lynne, Uncle Ambil and us went to visit Dad's land.

I'm the King of the World!

After, we all returned to find freshly-picked coconuts on the ground and coconut juice in pitchers :)  Dana was enjoying eating fresh coconut :)

You might say we were all just chilling under the coconut trees.  The breeze here was fantastic!  Looking out and away is like a geography lesson in real life :)

After being refreshed, we all trooped to my cousin's farm.  The kids were excited to see goats, chickens and roosters :)

They even showed us the cacao tree and Dana tasted this cacao fruit.  She tried the fruity pulp (the white stuff) and she said it was sweet, maybe like mango or sweet santol.

A cacao fruit

Then off we went to our last stop in our trek.  We went to Uncle Ambil's house for lunch and videoke! :)  A Filipino gathering is never complete without videoke, just so you know hehe  While they were getting ready to serve lunch, the kids had their hands full with feeding the goats.  I thought  the goats were going to feel bloated after all the leaves that they ate haha 

And then lunch was served!!  Then videoke time! :D  Those who weren't in the mood for videoke and would rather rest went back ahead of us.  Dylan couldn't be stopped.  He really wanted to sing LOL

Photo by Lynne

Can't believe I sang in public LOL

Can't believe Dana slept through the singing

We actually left early, around 3PM, because we wanted to give the kids a chance to swim again.  It was our last day here and we wanted to maximize that opportunity.

The M/V Eagle Ferry

Around 5PM, we returned to the San Jose Inn to get cleaned up before our last dinner on the island.  Our family went all out for our dinner.  There was "Tatus" or coconut crab, Lechon (roasted pig) and a lot of other yummy dishes.

Tatus - Photo by Lynne 

Photo by Lynne

Photo by Lynne

Even though we all wanted to make the day last, we all had to get up early the next day if we wanted to leave while the waves were calm and gentle.  It truly was a special trip and we wished we had more time to bond with our family.