PITCHING IN

Gazing into Kapangan
GLORIA A. TUAZON

First time I set foot in Kapangan I never thought there was much to this hidden, remote village other than the all-too familiar rice paddies and the lurid news of cannabis plantations. Like an unfairly judged person, Kapangan proved me wrong. Hidden behind Tublay, Kapangan sits silently in the more humid area of Benguet, already being a neighbor to La Union. It is composed of different natural environments, from open meadows and grasslands to riverfronts and woodlands, the central, nearby areas dedicated to farmlands and residential occupation. It is a place where farmers still turn the earth with plows and carabaos.

Where goats bleat at the sight of their masters and where late afternoons are for coming home to families and talking to neighbors. It is a land rich with life and culture. And yes, it is a growing community, slowly picking itself up from the ground and opening itself to the outside world -- old and new converging. So it is one classic morning on Nov. 13 when another building was inaugurated to house the dozen or more police personnel in the area, providing the local folk and visitors a place for refuge when the need arises.

As board member Rogelio Leon expressed and Vice Gov. Cresencio Pacalso reiterated, with a more decent and respectable place to call an office, the police are expected to perform better. With a better environment to move around, the morale of who occupy the would fare better. Sharing the glory of the new, stark white-and-blue building just a few paces away is the municipal building. Grand in facade and beautifully designed it also lifted the spirits of the municipal officials and employees who spend most of their time at work.

So like a jewel lost among the rocks I found Kapangan. Amburayan River is a familiar word, riddled with folklore and tales and legends of gods and spirits and of the people who first populated this land. Today it is a place most visited by people to share bounties and stories on picnic days. Kapangan being still remote is frequented by nursing students and medical practitioners from the city.

After their community duties, they almost always end their visits with a rendezvous along the riverfront. It rarely goes unnoticed, the fact that it is very accessible from the road and the lure of the water is always strong. So strong that sometimes during the rainy season, it rages and takes with it little portions of land along its course. Traversing further we got to a mountain of black rocks. This one they call Mt. Kalukasog. It is pretty hot and searing here, the rocks exposed to the sun emitting arid fumes.

The wonder of it is the flora of the place. Even in the heat i almost wished I could live among the orchids, thousands of them crawling out of the rocks and rocky mountain cliffs. All in different shapes and sizes. A spot on my feet seemed to burst where purple and yellow wildflowers abound among the bare rocks. The flowers especially in summer fit into the landscape awfully well. I almost felt like a child, a blanket of selfish emotion seeping over me just watching this vast expanse, a surge of protectiveness crawled in my bones. This place should be protected, a suitable national park or something of that sort. If not the decline would be fast and irreversible. Conceived by nature for ages -- gone in a wink.

We arrived at an overlook almost at the crest of the next mountain, and the road cleared to a parting of trees, to reveal a jewel framed across the mountain facade. Awesome was my word. With the generous sheets of rain still bathing the area during the rainy season, the ancient, natural etching was a sharp form popping out from the rocky protrusion. The outline of St Nick's face can be traced. In lush green and almost alive.

Christmas is around the corner and pretty soon he will be bellowing his merry greetings across Kapangan. Being still an agricultural town Kapangan has its share of rice terraces too, though not as grand as those in the Northern Cordillera provinces and not as vast. Travel into Catampan and see the overwhelming sight of Obellan Rice Terraces. It is nestled like a nook between the wooded area above it and the shrub and vegetable patches down below. It is at this time so green it seemed like a postcard under a devastating blue sky.

The mountains uphill can be a little intimidating but over all you can drink in the sublime scenery and feel like you own it all. Just when you thought that is all there is in Kapangan, venture into Poking, Barangay Labueg and spend a "lifetime" among the sea of anthuriums. Covering almost two hectares of fertile garden, the Anthurium Forest is a mix of ferns, orchids, trees and dominated by the almost 40 different species of anthuriums.

It was the lifetime labor of the late Paulino Burcio, a span of 35 years, starting with a dream of a garden and ended with a beautiful forest. He left the legacy to his 14 children, hoping they would let it thrive and continue what he started. Kapangan has so much to show and offer. It used to be just one sleepy town until I fell in love with the place.