Mayoyao : Beyond Banaue

Just 41 kilometers beyond the tourist town of Banaue, Ifugao following a scenic winding road is the Municipality of Mayoyao, where the world’s majestic yet still undiscovered rice terraces await the more adventurous traveler. It is bestowed with rich cultural heritage, fascinating history and natural man-made wonders, which can entice any nature lover. The panoramic view of its environs coupled with the unique culture of the people is sufficient to provide respite from the fast-paced city life and tickle the scholarly mind.

Mayoyao has centuries-old stone walled rice terraces, its foremost attraction, dotted with pyramid shaped typical Mayoyao residential houses making it unique from other rice terraces in the country. Carved on the mountain slopes by the Mayoyao ancestors more than 2,000 years ago, the Mayoyao Rice Terraces stretch from the mountain perched barangay of Chaya to the bank of the legendary Penangah River downstream. The terraces, which straddle the entire central Mayoyao valley, look as if they had been built for a higher purpose by the animist Mayoyaos: to reach the heavens via the giant stairways.

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Each terrace is carefully paved with stones, some so big that it could have been impossible for ordinary mortal without modern equipment to carry them from the river below. An irrigation system using lengthy canals extending up a kilometer away bring water to the rice terraces. This is supplemented by bamboo pipes and hollowed tree trunks linked together. Openings are also made on terrace dikes to allow water to flow from terrace to another.

Unlike other man-made wonders across the world, the rice terraces were made not because of slave drives with plash but out of the Mayoyao’s desire to tame the land for survival. But unknown to the Mayoyaos, they built with their bare hands and crude wooden tools an enduring marvel that baffles even modern day engineers.
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In 1995, the United Nations Education Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) inscribed the centuries-old terraces of Mayoyao (together with those of Banaue, Hunduan and Kiangan) in the World Heritage List characterizing it as a “Living Cultural Landscape.”

Another major attraction is the Apfo’or, which are dome-shaped burial tombs found only in Mayoyao and used to house the bodies of the town’s ancient warriors and elite. Construction of these tombs, done with bare hands and crude implements, is a testament to the Mayoyao’s stone-working techniques. Seven of these tombs exist in various barangays of Mayoyao.

The native Mayoyao house, another marvel in the place, is a sturdy tetrahedronal or pyramidal structure perched on four wooden posts and composed of parts carefully fitted together without the use of a single nail. American anthropologist Otley Beyer declared this as the first pre-fabricated house in the world.

(information culled from the Mayoyao Tourism Office materials)

My First WRT Experience

At the outset, i will say it didn't go very well.

While my busy schedule of almost daily hearings, meetings and classes did not prevent me from complying with the training program of my team Yellow Cab TriClark, little did i know that i missed one component of racing that could spell disaster for a triathlete : the simple matter of changing a flat tire.

My team mates John, Alvin, Ton and I left for Subic at around lunch time of 12 November 2010.  We arrived at Subic after about 30 minutes and had a delicious lunch at A Tavola resto inside Subic.  Thereafter, we proceeded to check in at our hotel at the simple yet well-maintained Subic Grand Seas Resort.  

After settling in and meeting up with the rest of the team, we proceeded to Whiterock for the bike check in and the race briefing.  After we finished with the race briefing, we had tacos and chicken for dinner, bought some provisions (which included beer intended for consumption after the race) at the nearest 7-11 store and then headed back to our hotel to sleep.

Waking up at 4 am the following day, i had some pain on the left side of my neck probably because of the pillow i used at the hotel.  The pain worried me a bit since i am a left side breather and it could really pose a serious problem in my swim.  

After applying some katinko and stretches courtesy of my team mate Rene, some of the pain wore off but not completely.  Still, after doing some warm-up in the swim, i thought that i can still swim one loop of the 2 kilometer route and see if the pain will be bearable.  

When the race started en masse at around 6:45 am, i decided to stay at the end of the pack so as to prevent being kicked and hit by other swimmers considering that i had to feel my way through the course with my stiff neck.  Luckily, it didn't hurt that much and managed to still do descent time in the swim leg.

Obviously happy with the swim leg done and stiff neck problem addressed, i got into T1, took in one Gu gel, drank some water, wore my helmet, shades, and started running with my bike to the mounting area.  After settling in with my ride, at around the 8th kilometer of the bike course, i noticed that i had difficulty than usual climbing the ascent.  I decided to stop my bike and check it.  That was when i found out that my back tire was completely flat.

Unfortunately, i didn't bother at any point of my training to learn how to replace a flat tubular.  Some of my team mates soon passed me but i told them to proceed (since i didn't want them to waste any precious second of their time) and just asked them to tell a support group or bike mechanic to come for me.  

After about 15 minutes, a support group reached me and i told them about my problem but since they are not bike mechanics, they told me that they will radio for assistance and ask for a bike mechanic to come immediately.

However, that immediately came after more than two hours.  And when the bike mechanics came, they told me that they can't help me because they can't or do not know how to replace a tubular.  With more than 2.5 hours wasted, i had to throw in the towel and told the bike mechanics that i'll just go for a DNF.

It was a difficult decision, but a wise one.  I found no more reason to continue with the race even if they'd replaced my flat tire since by that time around 3 hours could have already elapsed.

Good thing our friends Marvin, Jem and Ram passed by and i just hitched in their white pick up going back to Whiterock.  I told the race organizers what had happened and they profusely apologized but it's all water under the bridge.

It's a disappointing experience that i am also to be blamed.  I missed on that aspect of the race that is just of equal importance : mastering your equipment.  This is something that i should have been concerned considering my scuba diving background. However, i have been overly reliant on my bike mechanic to take care of my bike pre and post race forgetting that a problem can arise DURING the race itself.  

It's in the nature of the sport.  It's part of the racing experience.  I am consoled by the fact that nothing more serious happened to me.  Nevertheless, no matter how disappointing it was, i can only look forward to future races (Tokyo here i come!) and keep the experience behind me.  It's the only way.

Sad though i may be of the outcome, i am still overwhelmed by the success of my team mates, especially the first timers.  It still makes me proud to be a part of a great team - YELLOW CAB TRICLARK!  You are all ROCKSTARS!

Until the next WRT!