Friday, March 23, 2012

My Ditumabo Falls Experience


BLAG.

I don't know what really happened during that day. I was sleeping the whole duration of the tricycle trip when suddenly, I woke up from a loud noise. I thought we hit something hard, but the driver ignored it. I thought it was nothing. But, we didn't slow down and we continued our ascent to the jump-off point.

The trail leading to the jump-off point was very rough. It seemed that a madman poured a lot of sharp stones on the whole length of the trail making the ride more difficult and more dangerous. The metallic part of the tricycle screamed like a wild banshee as the stones started to scratch its surface; it was too painful to hear.

Finally, we arrived at the jump-off point. It was such a traumatic ride for me since I kept on holding the metallic bar of the tricycle. Anyway, we still need to hike at least 40 minutes in order to reach the Mother Falls.

And the 'fun' does not stop there.

To reach the falls, one must cross the streams not just once, not twice, not even thrice, but many times! But wait, there's more! The strong current of the stream plus its freezing temperature made the hike even more challenging. The boulders also posed a great danger to us since some of them were slippery. Almost all of us slid on our way to the falls. I even had to secure my camera bag and my brother's expensive slippers. Mahirap na 'pag inanod ang mga 'to.



Beautiful butterflies.

Flora.

Documentation. With Jerome and Robbie.

Temple Run!


So after forty minutes (comes with 40 bruises and thousands of photos) of hiking, we finally reached Ditumabo Falls, the Mother Falls.

The view was spectacular and the hike was all worth it. The lagoon was not that deep and its topographical features were all similar to Camiguin's Katibawasan Falls.

Our butts literally froze as we swam and braved the cold. After more or less 20 minutes of laughing, camwhoring and swimming, we decided to leave the place because our bodies started to feel numb and it was already five in the afternoon.

Going back to the jump-off point was even more challenging. Since we were all exhausted from last night's trip, some of us slid as we climbed the big boulders, including me. I swear I was so careful that time when all of the sudden, I slid all the way down to the cold stream. During my epic show, I instinctively raised my left arm where I held my camera bag. I may looked funny but it was a frightening experience! My heart skipped a beat and everything went in slow motion.

"Reeeeeeeeeeeenz.......!!!", some of my friends screamed (in deep voice, kasi nga slo-mo eh). I thought they were all concerned about my situation... or so I thought. 
"Ang camera moooooooooo!" 
OK. Thanks for the support, friends. I love y'all daw sabi ng camera ko.

But seriously, I got wet but my camera bag didn't. Thank God.

Despite the number of bruises that we've acquired, Ditumabo Falls is still worth visiting. It's my fifth falls and it truly exceeded my expectations.

Ditumabo Falls Aurora


Ditumabo Falls or The Mother Falls, as what the locals aptly call is located in the quiet town of San Luis, Aurora. The most convenient way to get there from Baler, Aurora is to hire a tricycle. Fare costs around Php 150, depending on your haggling skills.

22 comments:

  1. Hello Renz. I don't know why ngayon ko lang nakita blog mo. Si mama pa talaga nagsabi sa akin about dito :) Baka gichikka ng mom mo. Haha. Well anyway, just dropping by. Backreading and followed you too.

    www.forest-doll.blogspot.com

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  2. I will never forget that moment when you slid all the way to the stream with semi sharp rocks. I got bruises too. I thought I was never gonna slide apparently , I was the last person to arrive. Parang amazing race lang bwahaha. But tell you what, Ditumabo falls is so beautiful. I guess our trip to the mother falls ang pinakahighlight ng baler trip natin and ofcourse yung sa luksolukso islets. Halos lahat naman ata.

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    1. No Chino, you were the highlight of the trip! BWAHHAHAAHAHAHA

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  3. Ganda talaga ng mga pics mo Renz pang desktop wallpaper! And I agree! Si Chino ang highlight ng trip na ito nyahaha!

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    1. Thanks Drew! :D

      Oonga si Chino ang highlight, like hindi siya nauubusan ng mga hirit! GRABE WINNER!

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  4. Namiss ko tuloy ang mga waterfalls ng hometown CATEEL ko... Huhuhu...

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    1. Tour mo kami sa Cateel, Kuya Olan! Team building again mga officers dira! HAHAHA

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  5. the rough tricycle experience reminded me of the same experience in kapurpurawan. i think on areas like this habal is still the best option. but with that it still makes the trip unforgettable and in the end seeing the falls becomes the reward.

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    1. IKR Dad! Kahit dumami yung mga pasa namin sa binti, when we reached the falls, worth it pa rin!

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  6. Hahaha... I think all traveler/photographer will save the camera first kahit malublob or masugatan pa.

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    1. HAHAHAHA I KNOW RIGHT! Mas importante pa ang camera kesa sa sariling buhay. Talking about altruism. =))

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  7. Lahat naman tayo ata mas alaga sa mga dala nating camera eh. Although priority ko nun ang sarili ko kaya buti na lang meron akong dry bag for my camera :D

    Kahit gusto nating tumagal sa falls parang di rin natin magagawa dahil sobrang lamig. Hahaha.

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  8. ang kulit. hahaha! Sa ngalan ng camera, di bale ng mabasag ang muka. hahah! Ibang level talaga pag usaping SLR. Kaya nga ba mahal na mahal ko si Canon D10. Keri na yun. Natuwa ako sa temple run trail. Totoo nga.

    Yung documentation part with Robbie and Jerome, dyan ba nakunan yung sensational "PUTANG INA BITIWAN NYO KO" pose? hahahaha!

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  9. i love the yellow butterflies photo! grabeh ha, ang bilis nyo mag blog! haha

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    1. HUHUHUHU GAIL! Olats na ako! Dami ko pang ipublish about Baler! =))

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  10. hahaha..that was funny..:) i remembered when my hubby slid also in Eden.He got all the bruises but the camera was safe..LOL

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  11. ganda....kala ko sa ibang bansa, dito pala!

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  12. And I think Im being a good friend to you when I was more concerned about your camera than you getting all bruised up. HAHA

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  13. Excellent job Renz!!! I'm from Baler, and proud to be a Baleriano............God bless you...

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