I had an upset stomach for a few days. (Not Dengue — rather traveler’s diarrhea.)

If you have to be sick, you might as well be sick in paradise.

This is Sagada. (pop. 10,930)

Boys playing basketball, girls volleyball. Christmas carols boom from the Church. A little girl plays with a kitten. Very domestic. Very rural.

In these limestone mountains almost anything will grow: cabbage, tomatoes, green pepper, potatoes, carrots, beans, and other temperate products. Coffee. Citrus, mainly lemon, lime and Valencia oranges. Strawberries and apples.

This is the coldest place in the Philippines. But I’d still call it tropical. There are exotic flowers and flowering trees everywhere.

Formerly a hippie hangout, the tourists here right now are an older, savvy crowd. French, German, Polish, Australian. I met one other Canadian. There are a number of excellent restaurants, a legacy from the hippie days.

Even with my bad stomach, I got out once or twice a day for hiking and jogging.

… Departing Sagada, it feels like I’m finally starting my trip home for Christmas. Home is Parksville, B.C., this year.