Crossing Borders

After taking our late breakfast, we drove all the way to the Municipality of Alegria. The town is a short drive from Badian. We reached Alegria at around 10 in the morning. However, we still had to travel for another 20 minutes to get to this little village where we could leave the van. The small village sits at the foot of a mountain where Manang’s parents live. By the way, Manang is Randy’s trusty and loving yaya. Hehehe. She couldn’t come with us because she had to do something really important.

Anyways, when we reached the village, we left some stuff in the van to make sure that our trek would be as relaxing as possible. Hahahaha. (Okay, I just found the word ‘relaxing’ really funny. Hahahaha.) We also changed into our SSC-Cebu shirts (which was kinda stupid because the shirt was black and we did this mind-boggling activity at noon! Hahahaha.)

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The Great Alegria-Badian Traverse. I still couldn’t believe we survived it!

This was the last time they smiled. Hahahaha.

A neighbor (lady in orange) was kind enough to guide us to Manang’s parent’s house. It was a good mile-long walk through thick bushes, rivers, and corn fields. And I almost blacked out. LOL.

A young carabao. Bow.

This is just the beginning, Harry. Hahahaha.

The black entourage. LOL.

Going up this time.

We want more! Hahahaha.

Nice flowers. A short break before walking the plank again. Hahaha.

Now, I couldn’t keep up. Hahaha.

This spot was so tricky because of the loose gravel. I almost slipped.

I can’t feel my legs! Hahaha.

We finally reached Manang’s family home. I think we lost a bottle of sweat. Each. LOL. Our guide, however, was just smiling. Wow!

Kapoy, Jan? Hahaha.

After resting for a few minutes, we were all back on track. Our new guide was Biriw, Manang’s brother.

Going up, up, up!

The mountains of Alegria. Awesome!

That cute house is Biriw’s house. The house is awesome!  And the view is magnificent.

Jan in action.

Jan shooting the mountains of Badian and Alegria.

Biriw’s tuba! Awesome!

Harry is flying. Not.

Back on the road.

One hour, two bruises (I was wearing slippers. LOL), and countless ice cream hallucinations later, we heard the rewarding sound of fresh water! Thank God! There it is! I cam see it!

The ‘source’ of Kawasan Falls. Lovely! They call this Station 3.

So inviting. Kalami i-dive! Hahaha.

Just gorgeous! Wow!

Posing gyud Harry!

All-natural! Way makalupig!

View from the other side.

On our way to Station 2.

Wow. Crystal clear.

A small dam.

Crossing a small wooden bridge.

The dam from another angle.

Pathway to Station 2.

Nice. Gorgeous.

View of Station 2. There were way too many cottages. Too crowded. We also noticed newly-constructed concrete rooms.

A newly-built grotto near the falls.

Station 2. I hope it stays this way forever. Such a lovely sight.

A cottage on top of a smaller falls. What a bad idea. It totally destroyed the view.

More tourist accommodation being built.

Vandals!

A sign put up presumably after the death of a Korean national.

Walkway to Station 1 almost being completely blocked by a concrete structure.

Prrrt!

The dilapidated structure blocking the walkway.

Natural rock formations being cleared for tourists.

Station 1. I’m glad it’s still gorgeous. We stayed in the area for a while to interview a few people and take more pictures. Afterwards, we went back to Station 3 for a quick swim before (guess what?) going to back Manang’s parent’s house. Oh no! Hahaha.

A caucasian couple enjoying Kawasan. Hehehe.

We barely talked on our way back. We were very hungry and tired. I almost gave up, actually. My legs were so sore and my mind just didn’t function well anymore. Hahaha. Good thing Biriw was always nice. He gave us encouraging words. LOL. I hope you guys still have the energy. LOL. Good luck!

We all started smiling again when we reached Biriw’s house. We’re almost there!!!!

When we reached Manang’s parent’s house, we got the best surprised ever! They’ve prepared mais and tinolang manok binisaya for us! Awesome! Look at the smile on Redjie’s face. Hahahaha.

Hay, It was just awesome!

Chicken with kamunggay. Kalami!

No one said a word. LOL.

After the storm. LOL.

Sleepy now, huh? Hahaha.

Thanks so much for the food! It was awesome!

I fell asleep as soon as the van started moving. I woke up when we were already in Pardo.

Awesome trip, guys! We should do it again! 😀 

22 thoughts on “Crossing Borders

  1. Pagkalami palandungon the manok bisaya ug kamunggay, really miss those. Unya ug duna untay hipon with manggang hilaw, we are in heaven.
    Great trek report Ley, keep it coming. Kawasan has definitely changed the way it used to be when there was nothing there years ago. I was with COA and we did an audit in those towns there in the ’80s and found Kawasan which is why I made sure my parents and cousins saw it so I arranged a separate family trip then. I hope and pray they still preserve it that way and will not be carried away with so much construction around it.

  2. what an adventure! makasuya…. ug makagutom ang tinolang manok bisaya nga gisagulan sa kamunggay. unya nangaon pa gyud sa lantay. hahay!!!

  3. Nice trip – we did the same – only we stopped at Station 1 and had fun – I stayed under the main falls for a awhile – it felt like someone was beating up…. in a good way… weird 😀

    “vacation-cebu.com – it’s community driven, and I gotta tell you, it’s much cheaper than a tour guide – it costs nothing!!!

  4. wow bisayang manok ,gikamunggayan!
    mao ning sekreto sa kusog ni Pacquiao 😉

    Nindot mga hulagway…mora pod tag gasunod sunod og lakaw 😉

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