Banaue- Camote Girl

This little girl is about two years old, couldn’t talk yet but could express what she wants. She came near me and lifted her arms and I understood that meant she wanted me to carry her and sit her on my lap. So I did. It was a sweet act, and I don’t know what went on her mind as she did that. She obviously liked me and trusted me so that she’s willing to approach a total stranger like me.

Her mother says she was fed camote, that’s why she is heavy and round. Camote is a familiar rootcrop in the mountains, easy to plant and easy to grow. Many years ago, in other parts of Mountain Province (the province next to Banaue, Ifugao) I would see old women digging the ground with a stick and unearthing camote from the soil. The women would do this for so many hours that they become permanently stooped.

This little girl’s mother and father own the small store at that place they call Saddle Point, where hikers like us stop to take a rest after some two hours of hiking, and from where we descend to another 30 minutes to one hour hike to Batad. Her mother sells softdrinks, cookies, candies, and local craftswork—necklaces, wood sculptures, and the like.

We bought softdrinks from her, since the hike was so challenging that one could not resist a bottle of softdrink to recharge (of course fresh fruit juice would have been better). Of course it cost us three times the price. The joke was that okay you can go back and buy softdrinks in town which is much cheaper, if you don’t want to pay the store price here.

On a normal day, we would have taken a jeep ride up to Saddle Point and would have avoided the two-hour hike. But we went there during the stormy season, October-November, and the roads were closed due to landslides. The hike was not an easy one as we had to navigate fallen rocks, stones, mud and slippery cement (where I slipped and landed on my butt), fallen trees and plants (where I fell again as my feet got tangled in vines). But the view was breathtaking. I’m glad we hiked instead of taking the jeep. It wouldn’t have been as wonderful an experience.