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Paolo and the World "You're off to great places. Today is your day. Your mountain is waiting. So get on your way." -Dr. Seuss

Pahungaw: A Roadless Travel

PHILIPPINES | Wednesday, 18 May 2011 | Views [1003]

To the Rapids

 

I was really looking for some kind of an outdoor adventure in Borongan City this past summer. So, I decided to join my cousins and their friends to go to a waterfall deep in the heart of the forest of Borongan. Borongan has a very large territory. It contains a forest even though it's a city. The name of the waterfall is Pahungaw Falls.

My journey to the Pahungaw Falls started at 6:00 am. I left my grandfathers place and headed to my cousins home. We cooked rice and packed some food. At about 8:00 am, we rode a tricycle to Barangay Maypangdan(This Baranagay was about twenty minutes from the  heart of the city.). The tricycle dropped us near the Bridge of Maypangdan. I then asked my cousin why were we dropped off near the bridge. He explained to me that there's a little port  under the Bridge of Barangay Maypangdan. We're to ride a boat to Barangay San Pablo. You see, before we can trek to the falls we needed to ride a one-hour boat ride to Barangay San Pablo. It's just an hour walk to the Falls from there. The boat ride was really an easier way to the falls. A hike to through the forest and to the falls without the boat ride would be about four hours. 

It was sunny when we left the small port of Barangay Maypangdan. In fact, it was too sunny. The weather was scorching hot. To make things worse, our small boat doesn't have a roof. My skin was absorbing all the UV rays the sun has to offer. I was under the sun for an hour. 

We reached Barangay San Pablo at about 9:30 am. The skies suddenly turned gray. A couple of minutes later it began to rain very hard. We have to wait inside the Barangay Hall for about an hour. Rain during a camping day is a bad situation. The trek gets really muddy and slippery.  Anyway, no turning back. We have to go through it to reach the falls.

The rain stopped and we left the comforts of the Barangay Hall. The trek to the falls was hell. It was so slippery. I fell a couple of times. My bag got muddy because this. The trek also offered a number of creepy creatures. I saw millipedes that were about five inches long, caterpillars that were really fat, and other gigantic bugs. Our guide also told me that I should be careful because snakes are all so in the area. I was really watching my steps all the time. After an hour of walking and falling, we finally reached our destination. It is one of the most beautiful place I have ever visited in this country. There's four waterfalls in one place. I just forgot all my problems when we were here. 

We swam for about two hours. Before we left, I tried something I never imagine doing. I jump off the waterfall. It was quite an amazing experience. I felt so free. 

Tags: falls trekking borongan

 

 

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