Exhilarating Experience

I did not go to the office last Friday, 17th March. I left at 3:00am to take the 4:00am bus for a 6.5 hours ride to the north of Manila. I will be joined by my friend from Baguio City and we will be staying with my friend in La Union. She will take us to a waterfall near her place. Serendipity came in as the tourism officer will be bringing some people who won the raffle in their Agri-fair Exhibit. It is one of their promotions for people to visit one of their waterfalls in their town, in fact there are a few more waterfalls there. So we left my friend's car at the Santol Poblacion for the hired vehicle that brought us to the Simminublan Falls. The jeepney was full and a few guys together with my friend took the topload, or on the jeepney rooftop.

As far as this lifetime is going, i can say that this ride and that route to the Simminublan Falls, Santol, La Union is the most exhilarating and scary one! The road is paved to the top of the mountain but rough downwards to the other side where the waterfall is. But the slope, OMG, is definitely only a little less than 90 degrees. It is circuitous and both sides of the road are deep steep ravines, that if we fell there nothing will stop us from reaching the bottom, not even a big boulder. I tell you, it is more than a roller coaster ride. All of us held tightly to the jeepney roof handles! Sometimes, someone gasped, or screeched, involuntary controlled screams that got out from their mouths.

I was able to get a few hurried shots, although they did not show the real dimensionality of the area. They still appeared flat, not that scary as in the real experience. (please move over your mouse for a bigger and clearer picture)

 This is taken while going up to the top of the mountain, afterwhich, it swiftly went down on a rugged unpaved road. I can just think of what it is during the rainy season, maybe more difficult and more scary! The tourism officer said only single motorbikes can traverse this road during the rainy season.

above shows the not so steep part of the road to the top

 The barangay road is only as wide as a jeepney, it is good that nothing comes here but single
motorcycles. Or else the other vehicle will take reverse until the point it started, and that is at the bottom of the mountain. There are portions of the road where both sides are very steep ravines, with nothing to bar you from falling, not even a big tree!

 another view of the other side of the mountain

another expanse at the side of the road

I felt that everybody almost held their breaths most of the time. And maybe a few said some secret self prayer of thanks to God when we at last reach the bottom of the road, a dead end. And from there, a few more steps brought us to big boulders, which kept our destination, the Simminublan Falls.

All of us have picnic baskets, some even have a radio, and of course a large tarpaulin for shade. Most of them swam in the big basin-like catchment of the falls. All the men tried jumping on the water from the rock cliff.

 I did not join them, as my other purpose is to shoot some wildflowers and butterflies. There are also a lot of dragonflies and damselflies, so they also took my fancy.

 
This is the total expanse of the waterfalls, in cascades. They said it is about 30ft in height. The water now is not as big as during the rainy season. It would be lovely then, but i doubt if i can be brave enough to take that single motorbike on slippery steep road during the rainy season.

 the 2nd cascade from the bottom

2nd cascade even enlarged

My friend is the only lady who took the plunge from the cliff. She even wanted to start from the topmost rock, but there are no holds to get there. We were all at the sides, taking her picture. 

the vegetation around the falls

That is a summary of that experience. My more extreme-adventurer friend still wants to visit more of the falls that need more hiking hours. However, i think i need to ask for more details of the road going there before i decide to join her again. 

Below is my friend's video of the road going there and back. 

Video going there: 

Video going back: 

Through My Lens
Outdoor Wednesday
Our World Tuesday
Wednesday Around The World
Wednesday Waters

Waterfalls at last!

The Projects Review and Planning Workshop of our division in the office was held in Tanay, Rizal. I know that Rizal province has many towns in the uplands, but this is my first time there. The terrain is really hilly with limited vegetation, poor soils in many parts, denuded and prone to landslides. The road is circuitous and long, so from Quezon City we reached it in 3 hours by private vehicle. Trips like these are more fascinating for me than the continuous and boring plain. So i had the fun of my life, however shooting is very difficult. I didn't have any descent photo while inside the vehicle.

Before leaving the area for home, we visited aside from the Regina RICA retreat place, the Daranak Falls. It was about half an hour from the Bakasyunan Resort that housed us. From the hills our vehicle went down to the deep ravines, and the photo below greeted us at the entrance.

The above photo could have been shot during the rainy season, as the volume of water at the falls is bigger than it is now. It was like a curtain covering most of the fall ridges. It is understandable at the peak of the dry season, water volume is really very low. Fortunately, the lagoon is wide enough for swimmers to still enjoy the area.

A 20 pesos entrance fee is required of every adult. After the entrance, facilities like huts, tables and restrooms are available for groups. There are also barbecue grounds and sitting areas. From the picnic areas, concrete stairs with rails will guide tourists down to the falls.

I hope i can be back when the waters are bigger and the falls larger. That will be more fun for shooting.

Our World Tuesday

Outdoor Wednesday

Flood Falls

When i experienced visiting waterfalls in the country, I felt like I am so deprived of so much when a few months passed and no waterfalls is in the plans. Hearing the sounds and roars even before you reach the actual falls is like a musical arrangement, inspiring and exhilarating. Most falls here are a bit difficult to reach. Either we have to ride planes, boats, buses and other local transports to reach the place. Sometimes you even have to walk long distances trekking uphill. Others can be reached taking very deep ravines, and you are lucky if concrete steps are already constructed downwards on the very steep slopes. Sometimes, our companions even had to take the ziplines just to watch the falls on the top view. This last alternative,  however for me is not a means to a waterfalls, because i have the phobia for heights.

But I am easily pacified, if there are several waterfalls running through a body of water, I am already happy in seeing one or two of them. For several months now, I haven't seen any waterfalls yet, because we haven't been out of town. So last weekend, there was a heavy rainfall at home in the province. Despite my unhealthy condition because of intermittent fever due to overfatigue and coughing, carrying an umbrella and a jacket I went to the back of the property and tried to see a waterfall. I called it a Flood Waterfall, because it is small and just appear during heavy rains. It acted as a pacifier for me at that instance. I hope you can relate with me in this experience.

My Flood Falls is maybe just 9ft tall, this is the first time i see this.

 On my way back home, the cemented road is already ankle-deep in water, but i enjoyed walking through it.

This is the outflow from my Flood Falls

I returned to my Flood Falls the following morning when the rain stopped, and a small cave was in its place.

Hidden World

Our country is an archipelago, that is composed of many islands. It has already been said and written and cited, etc, etc, that we are composed of about 7,107 islands depending on the tide. Some small ones vanish with very high tides, and reappear when low tide returns. 


The biggest islands are Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, the 3rd being the largest. Mindanao has the biggest remaining forests, wide and still unexploited rivers plus still fertile soils. It also boasts of many waterfalls to say the least. The Tinago Falls in Iligan City is one of the tallest among them at 240 ft. Tinago in Filipino means 'hidden', maybe because after a long rough circuitous road, it is reached through about 500 steps to the bottom of a deep ravine. At the top edge of the ravine, one can already hear the sounds of the falls with its big volume of water. 

conference room

Most of our Muslim brothers are in Mindanao. We were invited by a university there for a lecture on Intellectual Property Awareness. It is amazing to see beautiful and colorful decorations as part of their culture. Marawi City is about 4 hours by car from Cagayan de Oro airport. Iligan City is halfway in between. 

This river is at the back of our hostel in Marawi City. It is still big and the people traditionally use this water for many domestic uses. The group of people at the left side under a tree are washing clothes.

 close-up of the people washing clothes at the river banks, where they take a bath too

The main Tinago Waterfalls, flows through the river we saw above. Under the main falls is a cave which can be accessed via a raft. 

There are small falls at the other sides of the main falls. The area is rich with lush green vegetation of virgin forest, big trees, and bio diverse ecosystem.

Some wood and cement structures are already added to the area to make visitors more safe and the area more manageable.

Provisions like life vests above, are provided for visitors who are tempted to swim its cold waters. I commend the beautiful colors unlike the usual all bright orange vests. 

The part of cemented stairs on the way to and back from the falls. We had 3 small stops before reaching the top ledge, to take deep breaths, rest the legs, drink some water, and look back at the lush green forest around the falls. 

Making a Living

During our previous trip to Mindanao to visit the Tinuy-an Falls, considered one of the biggest falls in the country, I documented some scenes depicting people's ways to make a living, to feed their families in the best they could within their circumstances. They might not be getting much, but certainly they have the most 'colorful' businesses.

Tinuy-an Falls in Bislig, Surigao del Sur is reached by 1.5 hours plane from Manila to Butuan City, then a 6-hour bus ride to Bislig City, and another hired van for 1 hour from the city proper to the falls. At least there are convenient highways, and roads to the falls are already paved and organized. There are also buses which leave Manila to these areas in Mindanao, but it takes days to complete the travel. Going to Mindanao means passing by a few islands, so the passengers have to disembark in some ports for the buses to be loaded in cargo ships, and the passengers also ride on the ships. They only board their busses again when they reach land. This system of transport is called roll-on-roll-off, which is shortened to "ro-ro" ships. 

The Bachelor Tours buses ply the routes from Butuan City to many parts in Mindanao. We also took this bus for another 6 hours from Bislig City to Davao City, our exit airport back to Manila.

Above is a tricycle terminal in Butuan City. Tricycle is a very common mode of local transportation in the Philippines, not only in Butuan City, but also in other parts of the country. It is a convenient way of transport for very short distances. We also have this in Thailand known as 'tuktuk', in Cambodia, Indonesia and India. Although the forms and models are different in different countries,  it is basically a local transport system in Southeast Asia.

The engine is provided by a motorcycle with two wheels, and at the side of the motorcycle a body carriage is made with another wheel to balance it, so it has only 3 wheels giving the name tricycle. Six passengers excluding the driver can use the above model; 4 at the back and 2 in front near the driver who is on his motorcycle. In other provinces, the motorcycle is in front looking like it is pulling the carriage.

 Bus terminals are complete with colorful stores selling all kinds of small things and gadgets; from small bags, toys, eyeglasses and cellphone loads.  

Above stalls show food snacks, candies and plastic toys.

Walking sellers like the above are also plenty, styrofoam packs contain foods like burgers, hotdogs, sandwiches, noodles, etc. There are even full meals for those who don't want to leave their bus seats and eat at their convenient time, despite inconvenient circumstances. But buses also have stop-over restaurants for passengers to stretch themselves and take their meals or snacks, and go to the toilets. Can you imagine the trash especially styrofoam and plastic trash generated by this system! And who invented the technologies like these? It is so convenient to use, that hazards of using them take 2nd priority. It might take time before these can all be regulated and stopped!

Above items are specialty delicacies made of sweets. Normally these are rice cakes contained in empty coconut shells. I am sure most of us who are environment friendly people prefer this practice.

People who don't want to leave the buses can just buy their snacks from these vendors, who bring their items to the passengers. Look at the expression of the above woman, with all her life's experiences seen on her face. I took this from inside the bus, though hazy because of the glass, i still want to capture the vendor's expression.

This is the close-up of the woman's goods for sale: boiled eggs, fried peanuts, boiled peanuts, different kinds of crackers, pretzels, different kinds of chips, different kinds of drinks, and water. Are you looking for more!

This is one of the stalls in one of the bus terminals. The seller is seen via a very small window where she gets the payments for her sold items. Normally, these permanent stalls have refrigerators inside, where cold drinks and water are available. 

I included this photo because it is another mode of transport during that escapade, when we went to Hagonoy Island, also in Bislig City. 

And this is it, Hagonoy Island. I have already posted about it previously HERE. 

Tinuy-an Falls for the Weekend

I am back, and glad to be with you again. I cannot post more photos as have some backlogs at work, can't even get a much needed full body massage yet. But our experiences certainly camouflaged the muscle sores, the long hours of bus rides and waiting time at every connecting points along the journey. This is the main purpose of our long weekend trip to Bislig, Surigao del Norte, Philippines. It might not be the tallest of the Philippine Waterfalls, but certainly it is one of the widest, the Tinuy-an Falls.

It is reached from Manila to Butuan by plane. Three carriers ply this route, Cebu Pacific, Philippine Airlines, and Airphil Express. From Butuan to Bislig is a 6-hour bus ride by Bachelor Express, then an hour hired van from Bislig town to Tinuy-an Falls. Many hotels and lodging houses are in Bislig town proper.

More professional shots and post is done by my friend here: 

 http://lagalog.com/