The morning was spent very lazily. We walked to the store and bought some water, read our books, walked around a bit and just relaxed.
At 11pm, John Paul came back to the resort and met us for a day trip to Kawasan Falls. He brought his neighbor with him who is a tricycle driver. He would be our transportation for the day. The drive to the falls was about 35 minutes long. During that time, we were able to see a lot of typical family life and residential housing. There were areas with very poor shacks and people sitting nearby. There were also areas with lush green palm trees and growing crops. Despite the poverty, the Philippines is a very beautiful country.
Once we arrived at the parking lot for the falls, we were bombarded by ‘tour guides’ for the falls. John Paul had not been there for a long time and so he didn’t offer much input on whether a guide was necessary or not. Having never been there myself, I was persuaded to take a guide after being told it was necessary because the falls were a difficult 2km walk away.
Our tour guide’s name was Mark. Mark was 20years old and was hoping to one day become a sea man in Manila. Mark was our tourguide for about 15 minutes (which was when we reached the falls) and his fee was 300 Pesos. Although this was not a huge amount of money (approximately $7.50), I was still slightly agitated because the trail was perfectly straight and clearly marked. There was no need for a guide at all. I was comforted by the fact that Mark clearly needed the money much more than I did. He told me that his girlfriend was pregnant and that they were expecting in June. At least he is out trying to make money to support his family.
The walk to the falls was breathtaking. Everything is so lush and the water was so blue. Jessie and I likened the colour of the water to blue cotton candy and Downey fabric softener. We were both surprised at the lack of bugs considering that we were basically in the middle of the jungle and it was quite moist.
The day was pretty overcast and it rained in little spurts here and there, but it was very comfortable to walk around in. When we finally reached the falls, we were once again pressured to rent a table to sit at and buy a ride on the raft, but we decided to go for a swim first.
Jessie and I jumped in and the water felt great. This water was fresh, not salty so it was a bit cooler than ocean water. John Paul seemed hesitant but after some persuading from Jessie and I, he also jumped in. It wasn’t until after that we learned that he’s never been in water so cold before. For Jessie and myself, the water was much warmer than lakes in Ontario, but I guess by Filipino standards, it’s much colder than what they’re used to. The ocean is certainly ‘toasty’ in comparison.
We spent lots of time swimming and going under the falls. It was so amazing to be surrounded by so much natural beauty. To hear the roaring falls in surround-sound was incredible! It was also really nice to spend the day with our new friend. I think it’s important for Jessie and I to try to meet other people, because if we spent the next 3 months solely in each other’s company, things are bound to get a bit dull.
Over the course of the day, we learned that John Paul is the eldest of 6 children. His father is a carpenter and his mother sells appliances to retailers. Since the age of 16, John Paul has worked to help support his family. He is now 21 years old and just finished a job contract spray painting flower pots. He is starting to look for work again, but is worried because the job market is quite sparse right now.
After we finished swimming we got out and decided to hike up higher in the mountain. There were numerous waterfalls and the sights just kept on getting better.
One thing we noticed was how unsafe this place was (by North American standards) there were trails beside cliffs that had no railings and slippery rocks. The bridges to cross over waterfalls and bodies of water consisted of bamboo rods that were just places side by side (they weren’t fastened to each other so they could separate at any time). Sometimes, we had to climb up through the water that was falling down. Getting to the highest waterfall gave a great sense of satisfaction because we knew how hard it was to get up there… now it was just the task of going down again.
All in all, we probably spent about 3 hours hiking up the mountain and when we returned at the bottom, our trusty tricycle driver was still waiting for us. In the meantime, he had purchased a rooster which he was planning to eat for lunch (at this point the rooster was still very much alive).
Jessie and I were both very interested in the rooster because we had never seen one up close before. John Paul thought it was hilarious that we were so eager to ask questions and touch something that was so common in their culture. Jessie held the rooster with glee and commented on how heavy it was. I didn’t want to go near it.
By the time Jessie and I got back we were both tired, but I was hungry (remember the 8am burger… that was a long time ago). We shared some nuts and a snickers bar and Jessie begged for a nap. I agreed because at this time my stomach growls had died down. By about 7pm when we woke up, I was beyond famished. Anyone who knows me knows that when I get hungry, I get VERY grumpy. Well I turned into quite a bear and Jessie and I quickly went to a restaurant for dinner.
We were told that The Little Corner was a great restaurant with cheap food… great! Well, it’s not so great when you have to wait over an hour for your food. Jessie knew I was about ready to explode. By this time, she was getting a little grumpy herself.
In this area, there seem to be a lot of German tourists. The nice fact about this is that they serve German food in some of the restaurants. Because it’s been so long since I’ve been home, the German menu really appealed to me. I ordered a chicken schnitzel with boiled potatoes and a salad. Although it took FOREVER to come out, when it arrived I was ϋber happy! Jessie was more adventurous and ordered a Filipino noodle dish called Pancit. It was also very tasty.
On the way home from dinner last night, the sky had turned dark and we had umbrellas with us because it had been raining beforehand. Thankfully the rain had stopped but there were still huge puddles on the ground.
We were on our way home, which is about a 15 walk away, when all of the sudden, the power in the entire area went out. We were surrounded by complete darkness. Jessie had the bright idea to illuminate the way with her camera and it worked well to insure that we weren’t stepping in deep holes, but it did nothing to help us know where we were.
At one point we were between a large shrub and metal fence that we didn’t recognize. It was then that I noticed a large man standing in the doorway. I was a bit frightened but I asked if he knew where our resort was and he was very friendly. He used a flash light to guide us to our resort and it turned out that we had walked right past our cabin door without realizing where we were. We both laughed at how our sense of direction goes out the window when we can’t see.
About 15 minutes later the power came back on and we spent a while on Skype before going to bed. All in all, a great day.
Photos of the falls can be viewed at: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10100194955999637.2436156.122610647&type=1&l=e13329fa89
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