Banaue -- Third of Five Groups

Outside the hotel flower gardens were in bloom -- probably not as abundantly as they would have been in the warmer months, but nonetheless pretty. This is a poinsetta tree. We saw poinstta trees all over the place, simply growing wild it seemed. They grow on tall bushes, probably up to 12 feet high.

Another pretty red flower. We saw all kinds. Sister Roundy probably knows the names of them -- blue flowers, white flowers, yellow flowers, purple flowers. And butterflies here and there.

Banaue is built in the mountains. There is no flat places on which to build houses, so dwellings are perched on the side of the hill. This shows one house (and there were hundreds just like it) that is at least five stories with a sixth one to be added. And there is a terraced foundation below it. Most of the houses on the hillsides were made of concrete. There is not much lumber (just jungle plants -- bamboo) for building, so they use concrete. They never finish the house . . . because while it is under construction it is not taxed, so and unfinished building is not taxed.

This is the hotel where we stayed. This picture is taken from across the river gorge. From the picture you cannot tell the vertical depth of the gorge, but it is deep. And there are rice terraces all up and down the sides of the hills.

The houses are clinging to the sides of the steep hills, up and down the mountain. There are not many roads into these places, so the people just walk in and out, up hundreds of steps and down again on the other side. We did see one swinging bridge and the men crossed over to the other side, bouncing and swaying back and forth.