Falls Alarm

I did a morning ride last weekend and as I went along my usual route, I noticed a new sign: 'this way to Katinong Falls.' I love falls (who doesn't) so I strayed from my path. There were steep descents and steep climbs so it was really an enjoyable ride. Scared myself 'til I giggled on some parts of the track. But all the hype died when I found out that the said falls is no more than a 3-foot drop with water trickling through it. And they call it falls. False, yes.

 

This is the falls referred to. I don't feel bad anyway because the route on the way is really fun.

Chasing Waterfalls: The Elusive Binalayan Falls in Samboan, Cebu

I had a two-day unplanned trip on January 28 and 29. It started as fancy tweeting between the Boss and my high school classmate Mr. Tan, who happened to be her workmate as well. Neither had a destination, they just wanted to get out. Like a quadrant with a very high “Y” but no “X.” So much energy, no place to channel.

I am lingering too much on my reluctance here. It’s because I did not really want to go out last weekend. I just rode a 160-km route Monday of that week and I wanted to stay in my bedroom in a fetal curl. No, the distance is not traumatic. It’s just that I’ve been out too often, too much for the past four months. I want to make myself feel that I have a home. Remind myself that I don’t have to stay out in the open all the time. Lol. So much for that.

Actually, it was a crazy fun weekend. We kicked off at Aguinid Falls, spent a great time at Pebbles Beach in Santander, then finished up at Inambakan Falls in Ginatilan. I have only posted about Aguinid Falls so far and this one wil lbe on Binalayan Falls, which I erroneously wrote as “Gimbalayan” at the previous post. I will post about Pebbles Beach later since it is the only place you can stay at when you are far down south. Then Inambakan Falls maybe tomorrow. I wanted to be more helpful lately after finding out that bots are not the only ones who visit my blog. Kudos to you if you are human, dear reader of this entry!

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I’ll be anti-climactic and say that we did not find Binalayan Falls. We did not intend to go there in the first place. Mr. Tan and Chyrel Gomez just noticed that tarp on our way back to the town of Samboan. So we dropped by. If you are familiar with the south, the junction is along that perpetually under repair bridge in Samboan. It’s where your bus takes a turn around the bridge since that bridge have been under work since like the Big Bang. The water that flows under that bridge comes from Binalayan Falls. The locals told us that Binalayan Falls is just “near.” Again, let us remind ourselves that descriptions which do not involve numbers are always relative. We forgot about that and we assumed that near is, well, actually near.

We thought it’s just a walk in the park from the high way. But there was no park, only lots of walk. Actually, if you are familiar with the place, it would only take 15 minutes to reach the falls. Just walk upstream. You will have to criss-cross the river and even part from it for a while. Just don’t walk too far from it. You will eventually reach a point where all footpaths vanish. From there, you will have to walk in the river, Jesus Christ style. We did not proceed because there were leaves and twigs that block the river passage. We found out later from our friendly locals that the falls are just a short walk behind the river block (it’s not a road block!).

 If you want to go out falls cruising down south, do check out Aguinid, Binalayan, Dau, and Inambakan falls. Make the most out of you 4-hour bus trip. Was our 20-minute of aimless wandering it? Yes, the river trek is worth getting lost for.

 PS: There is nothing romantic or poetic about getting lost. I hate it, in fact. I just had a great night drinking-till-head-whirls, which I have not done for quite some time now since I have not been seeing my whore high school friend Michael. Fortunately, getting lost has no hang over or I'd put two people on top of my hate list.

The Fabulous Mr. Tan: How to Get to Aguinid Falls in Samboan

Aguinid Falls is a cascade-type waterfall located in Barangay Tangbo, Samboan. There are a total of four falls that make up Aguinid. They are located widely apart so it takes a few minutes’ walk to get from one to the next. The junction to Aguinid Falls is located just near the barangay center so you will not have a tough time finding it. Tangbo, by the way, is a 10-minute tricycle ride from the town center of Samboan. I forgot to note how far it is from Santander but I guarantee you will not have a tough time finding it since it is quite popular among locals. Many locals bath at Aguinid Falls because it is easily accessible, being only a five-minute walk from the provincial road. I will let these photos describe the falls for me. Please check Google Earth if you do not know where Samboan is. Google Earth/Map is a very powerful tool and I even use it to find single-track trails. Thank Google for it. 

This trip is totally unplanned on my part. I just logged on to Twitter one morning and James Tan (my high school classmate which I thought was my friend) and the Boss were tweeting about going to the south. The next morning, I was on a bus with two oppressive people (details about oppression omitted to for this post to suit general audience). I got too ahead with the bus ride there. It rained that morning and I was dripping and cold while waiting for my “friends” to show up on time. Luckily, the backpack that I borrowed from my five-year-old cousin had a rain cover. His father got it from the ukay-ukay. The brand is Genova and it was quite good. Amen to patience.

   The rotunda at the town center of Samboan.

    The Boss and the Fabulous Mr. Tan walking behind her.

   On to the first fall.

    The first mini-fall.

    Second.

    The third fall.

    Chyrel Gomez and Mr. Tan minus the felt hat.

    The fabulous Mr. Tan in his contemplative mood.

   The fourth fall. It would be great to climb up and see what's out there.

    Back to the third fall.

   Going down the second waterfall.

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There is another fall just a few minute's walk from the Aguinid Falls junction. It is called Gimbalayan Falls, located in Brgy. Bonbon. Bonbon is just right beside Tangbo. It's less than five minute's walk.

We tried going to the falls but we failed to find it. We walked up stream and just followed the tracks but at one point all the tracks vanished. We could not see beyond the river because it was covered with leaves and branches and twigs that cross over it. As we reached the highway, we found out from locals that the falls were just right behind it.

Gaas Falls, Balamban

This has nothing to do with seeing a world in a grain of sand—you know, this whole thing of taking big delight in small stuff. Like you, I just don’t see a waterfall each day. Mountains are as familiar to me as the taste of a three-in-one coffee. But waterfalls, how many of them are here in Cebu? If there were at least a hundred, I would never make such a big fuss about them.

Yesterday I went to Gaas, Balamban to accompany my cousin in search of his relatives. He is from Bukidnon, like me, and he is here in Cebu for a chill. As a Filipino custom, you are supposed to seek out your relatives even if they live so far out in the mountains. We were walking to where his relatives are supposed to be when his uncle (we didn’t know yet that he is THE uncle) asked us if we were going to the falls. This whole story goes with us looking for an uncle and finding a waterfall. My cousin did get acquainted with his relatives while I had a fun time with the falls. Special thanks to the Boss for the Convergys backpack.






I usually don’t give directions and I’d prefer that you figure it out on your own if you want to go somewhere. But I’m feeling like Mr. Helpful today so here it goes. Go to Ayala Terminal, ride a Tuburan V-hire, and get off near the Barangay Hall of Gaas. Fare is 110 pesos. You also have the option of riding a habal from JY but I can give you a bunch of reaons why you should not. Once at Gaas Barangay Hall, ask where the “linaw” is. You will get there in twenty minutes.

Check out 33 more pics on my Facebook account. Blogger takes too much work.

Osmeña Peak-Kawasan Traverse

This is my photoblog for the Osmena Peak-Kawasan Traverse. It was really long for me, seven hours is. I'd like to choke whoever made that "small world" phrase. These are my descriptions for the photos above. Spare me the need to be meticulous with the html codes. Just match the description with the order of photos.










A tourist takes a walk at a garden of cabbages.
Jonas looking for a store to buy his nth pack of Marlboro.
A view from the foot of Osmena Peak.
A man carrying bottles on his bukag, a basket made of rattan. The basket is usually used to carry vegetables. 100 kilograms is a "typical" weightload, which is carried by the neck.
A fern-planked footpath that leads to Kawasan Falls, which was six hours away. When you ask locals for directions, they'd talk like it's just around the corner.
A boy carries water container. Locals do not start carrying 100-kilogram baskets right away. They start young, with 30-50 kilograms for their first trip.
A hiker fills up his water bottle from the reservoir. Notice the arm muscles, typing on a keyboard did that.
Jonas phone home.
Another photo of Jonas. He is everywhere.
John Lennon T-Shirt by Chyrel Gomez.
Anne Curtis jeering at my backpack.
Locals enjoying a Jet-li movie.
There are very lush parts of the trip and you'd feel like you are lost. Well, you should have stayed at home.
The walk goes on and on and on.
We were nearing Kawasan Falls at this part. My biggest frustration was that I was not able to find Kanlaob River. But it was really fun, especially if getting back pains and chafed skin is your thing.