Nasumpakan or Spanish Trail in the Philippines.

Nasumpakan, also known as Spanish Trail, is a newly opened hiking site for tourists that is being maintained by the municipality of Atok, Benguet. The site is about a kilometer atop km. 46, of the Halsema highway. It is on the upper area of the famous half tunnel portion of the Halsema highway.  I visited Nasumpakan when I was still a kid. It features a cave-like trail experience. An additional feature is an underground tunnel that may be navigated only by brave visitors.

The name of the attraction is suggestive that it is a pathway that was used by the locals during the Spanish era in the Philippines.🙂

BTW(by the way), it is best to make an inquiry from the Atok municipal office, located along km. 50 of the Halsema highway before going to the Nasumpakan site. I hope they have a established local tourism office. Afterall, a lot of tourist attraction in Atok, Benguet are emerging.

Tala = Kankana-ey name of a bird in Benguet, Philippines.

In our hometown, somewhere in the highlands of, province of Benguet, Philippines, Tala is a name of a lovely bird. For a day of the year, some time in September or October, the birds would appear in order to broadcast that a typhoon is coming. With obvious basis, our old folks would label typhoons with birds. "Pewek di Tala" is typhoon of the Tala birds. Just before and after the typhoon, the teasing voices of the Tala would be heard from the backyards and along the gardens(People in our place would refer to their farms as gardens). The forest area in the following picture is seasonal kingdom of the Tala birds. (Yes, that is me in the photo, helping my farming folks carry their produce from the gardens towards the main highway where the goods would be set for shifting to the product middleman in the nearby town who would then cause the produce to reach the main city of the Philippines)

Related Notes:

Ta'la (in Tagalog) = star

Tala' (in Tagalog) = list

Ta'law (in Ilocano) = to elope

Talaw' (in Kankana-ey) = star

"Bigis" is the Benguet Kankana-ey word for insect.

"Nabigis di mula mi." = Our plants are infested by insects.

"Nabigis di ilak-lako da ay lepolyo, organic kano didan." = The cabbage that they are selling is with insects, it is because the cabbage is organic.

The world seems vast but it may be a small world.

It's a small world, after all,  if several can identify the location of the area in the following photo(photo1)

The world is very small if several can identify the location of the area in the following picture (photo2).

Kankana-ey names of useful tools/instruments

wasay = ax
gabyon = grabhoe
banig = bolo
gipan = knife
atip = case for a bolo that is worn around a man's waist
pala = big shovel
sanggap = small shovel
kompay = cycle for cutting grass
gangza = gongs

solibao =. percussion

Nabisngit = torn

Manpa-ultrasound dak kod, inmiba-a din doctor ko.

May I request for ultrasound, my doctor told me to come and have it.

Credits to the owner(ctto)of this poster at the clinic