BOLIKEWKEW area

"You will never know adventure until adventure finds you and it is up to you if you will going to welcome it"

-pagnapagna

Burgos is a mountain municipality in the province of La Union near the boundary of Sablan, Benguet. It is with great proximity with the Cordilleras. 

Comprising 12 barangays, Delles is one of them with Bolikewkew as one of its sitios.

They are generally Kankana-ey but knows how to speak Ilocano. Historically, this municipality came from the province of Benguet and became one of La Union's in the 1850's.

Please practice the leave no trace outdoor ethics when going to these nature places.

Let us not vandalize, put graffiti on their rocks and stone walls. 

Manage and dispose our waste products properly.

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-my pagnapagna-

I rode a mini-bus bound for Baguio City at 5:26 in the morning. While at the bus, i got to talk to a woman who hails from barangay Delles (Burgos, La Union) and got some bits of information about the area.

At 6:27am, we got down at barangay New Poblacion, Burgos, La Union which is just near their municipal Public Market. It was also there where we got a tricycle ride going to the interior Barangay of Delles at 6:29am. She got down somewhere halfway along my travel. I finally arrived (6:46am) near the bridge that was under construction (Bolikewkew bridge). I paid the tricycle driver (75pesos) and walked my way up to the bridge and into sitio Bolikewkew which is just across the river. I continued my walk along the road and asked one of the old man along the way "Good morning manong, ayan na kadi dyay Rice Terraces?" (Good morning sir, where is the Rice Terraces?).

"Ay awan met ti rice terraces" (there is no rice terraces) the old man answered. It seems that they don't consider their place as having a "rice terraces" (perhaps as compared to that of the Banaue, Ifugao).

"Dagidiay ngay taltalon?" (the farms?) i asked again.

"Ay dagita man ni, ken adda mut dita ngatu. Ada pagnaan dita ayan ti waiting shed" (There they are, and there is also some up there. There is a trail at the waiting shed) he answered back.

I thanked him and walked my way into the trail from the waiting shed. It was an uphill trail going to the small upper area of the terraces.

Bolikewkew Terraces is not as grand and vast as those of the provinces of Ifugao, Benguet or Mountain Province which i do now understand why it is not that popular as a "rice terraces" to the locals. It is not stoned walled and nothing extra-ordinary, but just seeing this part of the countryside is like taking a glimpse or a sneak-peek of what to see in the Cordilleras.

The small Bolikewkew Rice Terraces, best viewed when planted with rice for it's uniformly green.

As i walked further along the edges of the terraces, from my vantage point, looking down, i can see a small waterfall at the other side, which made me excited. Knowing that there is a hanging bridge below at barangay Linuan to get me to the other side (this is my second time to visit the barangay Linuan area), I went back to the road to get to the said barangay.

I walked to a trail passing by residential houses, the rice terraces area until the hanging bridge where a water slides below it. 

"The Slide" located below a hanging bridge. If i am right, it is located at Barangay Linuan Area.

After i took some photographs, i went further up to the trail that crossed along the rice terraces into a waiting shed. At the waiting shed, i asked a farmer where can i walk to get to the upper part of the river and he gladly showed me the way. From the waiting shed i walked towards north passing by a house and into a trail leading to the river. At the river is a small hanging bridge going to the other side. I changed my footwear from rubber shoes into slippers or ordinary flip-flops as i am going to crisscross the river by foot at some point knee deep on gushing flow of water. As i survey the river, i can see a much better cascades upstream and unfortunately, unknowingly ripped my shorts in the process. I went further up the river where an array of small cascades and a hanging bridge at a distance are located. Even with caution, my slipper got caught by the gushing waters of the river and all i can do is watch as it went away downstream. I continued my exploration barefoot.

Here i am with an array of cascades at the upper level of the river. I was holding my ripped shorts together. 
For MORE PHOTOS CLICK HERE.

My ripped shorts. It was ripped vertically from the knee to nearing the belt area. No need to worry nothing 

serious happened, it is just that the fabric fronting the thighs has just worn out or 

thinned out so that when i started to walk upstream, with every upward strides, it started to

 ripped out making a slit in front of my right thigh. Unfortunately, i do not have a spare shorts at that time, 

only 2 shirts and one swimming trunks! I can not go home in a swimming trunks heeha! 

i just tied one of the shirts around my thigh to hide the wrecked shorts.

There it was! I found the other pair of my slipper downstream that was previously swept away 

by the strong river waters when i was crisscrossing the river. 

 I'm glad i kept the other pair. It is complete again.

After taking some videos and photographs, i walked back along an irrigation canal (10:50am) that led to a group of some two to three houses where i asked directions on how to get back. If i got it right, their place is called sitio "Ambelenges". I went back to sitio Bolikewkew and into the cemented road and then crossed the river by the bridge that was under construction (Bolikewkew bridge). I waited for a tricycle but what a luck instead, i got to ride a dump truck on its dumping bed at 11:55am. Heeha! The ride was cool though. I arrived at the Burgos public market at 12:12pm. Ate at an eatery then rode a bus going back to Home Sweet Home.

-end of pagnapagna-

Subject   : BOLIKEWKEW area

Location : Sitio Bolikewkew, Barangay Delles

                 Municipality of Burgos

                 Province of La Union

How to get there:

From Manila take a bus bound for either of these : Laoag City, Vigan City, Candon City, Bangued (Abra), or La Union. 

But you have to get down at the Plaza of Bauang, La Union.

Then walk your way to the waiting shed located at the road going east (Naguilian Road) fronting the Municipal Library of Bauang. From there, wait and ride a bus bound for Baguio City. Get down at barangay New Poblacion of Burgos, La Union (it is near the Public Market and a walk away from the Municipal Hall of Burgos). Walk up to the Market and ride a tricycle to Sitio Bolikewkew for around 70 pesos (as of September 2013). 

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