Traversing a  muddy trail for two hours  just to see the beauty of Palati Falls in Libertad is more than worth it. It was only a week ago when we hiked to Palati Falls, but I have to hike there again for the second time around on July 28th.

A second hike was planned and organized by one of the members of RBM after he failed to come home early from Manila and wasn’t able to hike with us, so I have informed my cousins and neighbors about the hike. They have asked me when will be our group returning to Palati Falls hence they were interested to come with us upon seeing the photos I have uploaded in my Facebook account.

Unfortunately, they were not able to go because it is a workday, but my younger first cousin was very interested that he keeps asking for the event time, so I told him to be ready at 5:30 in the morning because the group will leave at 7 o’clock from the meeting point in town.  I didn’t take him seriously because I thought he was just kidding, and that night I accidentally trampled in the hollow-blocks while feeding my cats resulting to laceration in one of my toes so I really have no plan to hike again to Palati Falls, but my cousin showed up early in the morning with his swollen eyes while I am still asleep, I am about to tell him that we are not going but my mother and sister says, I gave my cousin hope last night so I shouldn’t cancel it, so I told him to get ready because we are leaving soon, I just have to prepare my bag and I have to bath.

Well, I could easily tell my cousin that I can’t go, but I feel bad about it. He doesn’t feel good and he isn’t looking good, it was last night when he passed by our yard going to their house crying like crazy, my Uncle or his father told us that his son’s girlfriend broke up with him without apparent reason, according to some chit-chat outside the girl found another guy.

Anyway, he patiently waited for me with his father, whom I think very much concerned for his well-being. We went to town using their motorcycle, I have to buy food in town for my lunch since I wasn’t prepared for this hike.  We waited a bit for other interested hikers before heading to Sitio Boliganay in Panique.

The road to Boliganay wasn’t that muddy like a week ago since it didn’t rain frequently anymore, we used the same trail. If we are 18 hikers a week ago, this time we are only 7 people making our pace quicker. My cousin was already feeling tired when we started going upward the hill,  he keeps stopping and drinking his bottled water. I wasn’t able to ask him to take photos of me because he keeps complaining he is too tired to do it (lol).

Unlike my previous hike where I felt too tired and slow, on my second hike the trail was already easy for me, I am able to run upward without getting tired, I wonder if it is because I used different bag and shoes. My hiking bag was too heavy to carry so I have used a school bag making everything lighter, I took my shoes off when we are already in the stream heading to the falls, and I jump along the large rocks like a frog.

The wound in my toe was hurting especially when we are going down the slope because it is hitting against the wall of my shoes, but I have no time to complaint nor cry about it.

There was a clearing, the sky wasn’t gloomy and within less than two hours, we are able to reach Palati Falls but it was a downer because there were no twin falls, there was only one falls.  We took some photos, create a vlog, ate our lunch and rested a bit before going down, we traversed the same path again last week, we headed to the stream to find our way home.

One of my mountaineering friends (RJ) shared an event on Facebook and it caught my interest because RBM already went over there and unfortunately I wasn’t able to go because of the bad weather.

Well, I was caught in between which event should I go with, because my training class (Tourism Promotion Services or TPS)  had planned to do round Tablas on the same day (July 21th), but I got help from above when Sir Gab had a prior commitment in the morning so the whole plan of TPS will not materialize.

As planned, the group meets up at Children Paradise at 6:00 AM. I was a late comer, but they waited for me and while preparing to hit the road, a classmate and friend (MJ) from TPS went near me, it turns out she went to the training center, but it was closed and she happened to see me, so I asked her if she wanted to go with us. She’d like to, so I informed RJ about it, and they find someone from the group for her to back ride.

Brgy. Libertad is subdivided into four sitios, and one of them is Palati, which was my destination the day after my TPS group visited Mainit Falls, it is the most interior part of the Barangay and its name means second growth forest. Palati Falls is located in Libertad, but our jump-off was in Sitio Boliganay of Brgy.  Panique, a barangay after Libertad if you are coming from the town. The road to Boliganay is under-construction so as expected, it is muddy during the rainy season, if you don’t want to be stuck in the mud you really need to drive carefully.

When we arrived at the jump-off, we did only a short prayer and there was no stretching because the young guys were saying not to stretch anymore. We started walking up hill, gladly MJ went with me or else I have to walk a little bit slower to walk with the sweeper who’s accompanying the hikers that were a bit slow.

The trail was muddy, it is combined of uphill and downhill. There was no clearing so you can’t appreciate the view that much, the sky is gloomy. Nevertheless, all of us enjoyed the abundance of water in the streams, as well as the presence of guavas along the way.

MJ and I were in the middle together with two highschool students who are just a few meters away from us, ahead of us were my fellow RBM members.  We reached the point where we are not able to see the first group, we have waited a bit where the two highschool students met us, and since MJ and I were  both impatient waiting for the last group so we head on and followed the trail leaving behind the two young girls.

(MJ #feelingtired)

We reached a place where there are three houses, where we have asked where to go, the woman in the last house informed us that there was a path going to Palati Falls behind the smokehouse, so we did and I carefully examined the mud, and I was sure it was the right path since I am seeing fresh footprints of shoes in the soil and when we climb upwards, it was all grass and the footprints were gone, I looked around and found an almost hidden path behind the thick cogon grasses. We traversed it and we both realized where moving away from the sound of swift flowing water, we end up to a small shaft with a pig tied in the yard and dogs barking at us.  We called out, but no one is answering so we decided to return to the smokehouse, and there we found two paths. One is going to the left and the other one is going upward, but we are sure when we passed by at that point that there was no other path other than the path we took. You know, what is bothering me, when we passed by a coconut leaf fell from the tree on the left side, I don’t know what does it mean. If someone tried to warn us that we are heading to a wrong path or someone blocked the left path so we will choose the path upward?

Anyway, we decided to try the left path and we end up in a rocky stream, I have told MJ that maybe if we follow the stream we will not be lost, since the water will be surely coming from the falls. Maybe due to fear and excitement, I slid on the rocks not just once, but twice, and the second one was almost fatal because I slid into the water with my phone.  It scares the hell out of me because I don’t know how deep the water was, as we continue to walk the rocky stream I have seen people ahead of us, giving us a relief that we are on the right path to the falls.

When we are nearing RJ meet us half-way, he said they just arrived as well and he is about to look for us because he didn’t see us around. I have told him, we got lost.  The first group ahead of us were sorry that they left us when I told them we are just behind them, they also said they also almost get lost and they asked one of them to check the path upward if it is the right path or not, I didn’t inform them anymore about the coconut leaf that fell because my mind is not on its proper place, I was feeling scared, nervous and unwell for my phone. It is the second Asus Selfie phone I accidentally dropped in the water, the first one died after it swam in the salt water when it was not a year old yet and this second one is just less than two months old and it swam in the water too.

We reached Palati Falls for about over two hours, including the time where MJ and I got lost. If you walk faster you can reach Palati Falls in one and one half hours.

Palati Falls was on its beauty when we decided to visit it, there was a lot of water because of non-stop rain on the past few days. We rested a bit and decided to eat our lunch together, afterwards endless photo shoots.  We stayed for about an hour and descended together. We took a different trail going home, we traversed the river heading to the dam site where heavy rain fell on us, making us all soak.

Palati Falls isn’t for the frail of heart, but seeing  it with  your own eyes is very fulfilling so you must see it once in your life .  You can hire a motorcycle from downtown town and it is up to you to haggle, but ₱40-₱50.00 is enough to reach the Barangay Hall of Libertad, where you can ask for help or guide, or if you need someone to guide you, don’t hesitate to contact me I can maybe help you to find one depending on the availability of my fellow mountaineers. The jump-off is located at Sitio, Boliganay of Brgy. Panique, Odiongan, Romblon. You must remember that hiking to Palati Falls takes about two hours,  the trail is slippery when raining so wear proper shoes to avoid meeting an accident.

It has been over ten days since the training for Tourism Promotion Services has started, a lot of things had happened and I have learned a few things from it. A few, because being a traveler and a blogger I knew most of our topics.

At the end of our training, we are required to create an output as a solo or as a group. I choose the group despite that I knew I will be just the one who will do the technical work. We have to create a video or a magazine style or pamphlet promoting tourist destination in our town.

One of the tourist destinations I or we included in our output is the Mainit Falls in our barangay.  We went there as a group on July 20th, with the help of my younger cousin as a guide, it was a bit struggle to cross the river because it has been raining for a week and the rain has just stopped that afternoon.

Mainit Falls is about 40 minutes from the main road, the falls have been popular because of its warm water.  When we arrived there were kids enjoying the water, they are still wearing their uniforms and have their bags with them. It looks like they decided to swim at the falls before heading home.

We only took pictures and videos for our documentation and head home, I went nearby the water falls to have my photo taken that’s why I got soaked, I have expected a good picture, but when I check my phone, my classmate whom I have asked to take my photo zoomed it out, getting only me and not the waterfalls as the background (lol). Gladly, I have asked another classmate to take another photo of me which is seen above.

Mainit Falls isn’t that hard to reach, all you have to do is get/hire a motorcycle in town, you can find them in front of Children Paradise or  just across the Odiongan Tourist Information Center beside the Odiongan Town Plaza.   Fare isn’t costly,  ₱20.00 per person and if you are alone ₱30-50.00 will already make the driver smile.  Tell the driver to bring you to Brgy. Pato-o, Sitio Mainit or you can directly tell them  that you are going to Mainit Falls. Mainit Falls is just 40 minutes walk from the main road.  If you don’t know where to start your trek you can either ask a local or go directly to Barangay Hall of Pato-o so they can help you out.

Today, is Independence day so it was a holiday. We decided to visit nearby town, but wanting to see more and breathe some more air we did a Round Tablas again. We started from Odiongan to Looc, Ferrol and to Alcantara then to Sta. Maria where we had our stop over to take some pictures, then to San Agustin, Calatrava to San Andres and back to Odiongan where came from.

There was of lot of progress in the municipality of Sta. Maria, the construction of the highway was already completed, the road became spacious and larger.

We really didn’t take long because we still need to return to Odiongan, we didn’t start our road trip early, so we don’t have an ample time to do dilly dallying so we continued our journey to the municipality of San Agustin, we stopped over at their town to buy some snacks, my mother loves their siopao so much eh.

Along the way, I was surprised to see that there was already kiosk along the highway, it was a good spot to see and admire the beauty of Mt. Payaopao. My sister then told me that they already saw it when they went with us in the jump-off when we did the anniversary climb, and since it was my first time seeing it,I requested her to stop so I can take pictures.

My mother feeling stressed asked my sister if she can drive us to town, we left and when we are halfway there our mother realized she forgot to wear a jacket so we’ve returned home to get one, and that’s where we decided to do a night trip to the nearby town of Looc, making it possible my mother asked one of our cousins again to go with us, my father can’t go because he is already tipsy.

My sister and his boyfriend weren’t in good terms but she still asked him if he want to go with us when we saw him sitting in his friend’s house, he did.  It took us about one hour to reach the town of Looc, everything was closed so we decided to visit Bantigue Resort,  which rise in popularity in 2015 because of the well lighted Eiffel tower (replica), the famous landmark was made of bamboo and to add more attraction, a well lit Big Ben was added.

When we arrived, nobody welcomed us making us adamant to go inside. I have to ask where to go and what to do and that’s where someone from the bar finally asked us, if we are only going to take pictures or are we going to make an order.  I asked for their closing time since it was already 9 o’clock in the evening, was told they closed at 10 o’clock and since we still have one hour before closing time, I replied we are going to eat and we are five people. The woman guided us below the Eiffel tower replica, we look and order first from their menu before taking our time taking photos around the resort.

Well, since we are so giddy yup taking photos around, we didn’t realize that our food was served after 30 minutes. I have already seen the majestic Eiffel Tower in Paris and seeing the replica doesn’t excite a lot.

We have ordered rice, pork sisig, milk fish sisig, canton, mixed vegetables, extra rice and a glass of mango milkshake for me. Their food comes in good servings in affordable price. As expected, my cousin and my sister’s boyfriend ate like a cat, that if you brought them to an eat all you can restaurant the owner will be happy. Yap, we are not able to finish the sisig’s so we mixed them together and asked to wrap it for us.

We pay our bill and drove back to Odiongan in hurry because it was already late in the evening. We arrived in our house before 12 midnight.

Bantigue Resort is a private residence turned to a resort. The creativity of the owners show in every corner of the house. The collection of bonsai is relaxing to the eyes during the day, highlighting the huge Eiffel Tower replica at the forefront of the property. Bantigue Resort is open for swimming, Family Gatherings, Parties, Reunion and other Special Events! – asiatravel.com

BANTIGUE RESORT
Brgy. Punta, Looc, Romblon
Facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/pages/biz/Bantigue-Resort-760704667473655/
Mobile No. – 0948 748 0724

Disclosure: This is NOT a sponsored post. Above written post was my own personal opinion and experience and might be different from yours.

One lazy afternoon, my mother told us to get ready and since I have thought we are just going to town, I replied, I am ready.  She asked if I am sure because I am just wearing a house dress, so I asked back if where we are going.  Well, it turns out, she is bored and she has something in her mind.

It was been a long time we are planning to visit the Bamboo Farm in San Andres, so that’s where we went together with our cousins, it was a good thing we brought them because if we didn’t we maybe lost our way. We made a right turn to the Sunflower Farm but it turns out it was a wrong turn, it should be next one.

We reached a point, where there are two roads and we don’t know which one to take. Gladly, the people were helpful and they told us to go on the road going upward, my sister driving the big bike asked our cousin to interchange since it was too big for her and she can’t reach the ground just in case something happened along the way.

Unexpected, but the road is concreted. It has been just a  challenge that is going upward, the view along the way is astonishing because you can see things below, the sea, houses and the streets.  We really don’t know where to stop, but gladly we found a group of people ahead of us, they are taking photos in the bushes which looks like bamboo to us.

It was disappointing because the bamboo farm wasn’t the way it looks to be in photos, it wasn’t cared of.  I think we visited in a wrong time of the year, we should not visit in summer.

Nothing much to do, we left the farm and went to downtown San Andres to feel cool by eating Halo-halo for ₱25.00 only. It  is a popular Filipino dessert with a mixture of shaved ice and evaporated milk to which various ingredients are added, including boiled sweet beans, young corn, coconut, camote, banana plantain, ripe jackfruit, sago, gulaman, fruits, leche plan and yam ice cream. It is served in a tall bowl.

My mother been infected with “wandering virus”, she is always the first one who will tell us to do road tripping, if she found something new to visit around our island she will surely be the first one to get ready. My father had been telling us not to wander alone because he worries that we might meet bad people or accident along the way and there will be no one to help us. To ease this worry, my mother decided to asked our second cousins to travel with us so in case we have  a flat tire along the way there will be someone to help us find a vulcanizing shop so we let them used our other bike.

Our destination? The beach resort that went trending in Facebook because of the long bridge going to the ocean which is  made of bamboo. Yes, it is Loveland Beach Resort in the Municipality of Ferrol, a private residence, but however people are welcome to visit the beach and the pier.

It took us less than one hour from Odiongan, the road going to the resort isn’t concreted, it is mixed of rocks and mud, it will be a bumpy ride but it will be worth it.  When we arrived there were men working, we asked them, where to go, if there will be an entrance fee or sort of things to do, but it looks like there were none because they just tell us to go.

At the entrance, you’ll read Pier 68 and a welcome sign. You will pass along the mangroves before seeing the beautiful view of the ocean and the sturdy bridge. It looks like Libertad Mangrove Forest was inspired from Loveland Beach Resort.

There are two men busy working along the bridge, they are changing the old bamboos to a new one.  Nearing the end of the bridge there are two shades that could be used for swimming haven and when we visited there are a set of kids who swam like fish and a foreigner enjoying the water.

When you walked farther, you will end up in a closed door, but behind that door was like a private hall that could be used for a barbecue party, there was also some boats in docked.  We really didn’t take long, we just snap some photos and walked back to the entrance, it was scorching hot because we visited the place mid-afternoon.

We have been planning to visit Loveland Beach Resort but it was bit far from our town so when we found out about the mangrove forest nearby, we head on to Brgy. Libertad without knowing where it was, all we know there should be a tarpaulin alongside the road, a landmark that the mangrove forest was in that place.

We easily found the place,  before we can call out for someone, an elderly woman came out and I have asked if we are on the right place, we are indeed. We are asked to write in the logbook and paid for the entrance fee that cost ten pesos per person.

There was a cute bridge made of unknown wood at the middle of the healthy mangrove trees, it was heading to a place that looks like a fish pond where there is a turf with TV and if you will continue walking you will be heading to the sea, there was a shade on each side.

Nothing much to see, it was a good place to unwind and escape the busy life in downtown. We stayed a  bit, and I went down the salty water for my photo to be taken and I think it was a bad decision because I maybe disturbed unknown being there because when we are nearing the turf with a TV my sister calls me to take her photo and when I went to her, my android phone jump into the salt water, I immediately went down and I still wasn’t  able to save it, it dies.

Starving, we went to Jollibee Odiongan to eat snacks and it was so forgetful of me to bring my phone at a repair shop, so they can drain the water. It was saddening because it wasn’t cheap and it wasn’t easy to buy. If I would known, what will happen I didn’t go to Libertad Mangrove Forest that day.

Every time we (my family) do road tripping around the island and every time we passed by at the Municipality of San Agustin I always felt amazing looking at Mt. Payaopao from a distance. The mountain looks so majestic to me, it was surrounded by water and a community on one side. It was my dream to reach the summit one day and see things below, so when I saw a newly establish mountaineering group in Facebook conquering Mt. Payaopao, I immediately joined them.

[Taken a few years ago during our family road trip]

Romblon Baktas Mountaineer planned a revenge climb to Mt. Payaopao since a lot of new members wasn’t able to climb the summit, but due to bad circumstances (bad weather) I wasn’t able to go with them, we are told it was really slippery when they climb due to frequent raining days before the scheduled climb.

On the group first anniversary, another climb was made to Mt. Payaopao (April 15, 2018), since the group was created during their first climb at the said mountain, this time no matter what, I did sure I can climb with them.  Since the municipality of San Agustin is about two hours drive from our town and my family doesn’t want to wait very long for me in the town, they asked my younger cousins (second cousin and a cousin in-law) to be my driver and go hiking with me, which they did.

Mt. Payaopao (also known as Tablas Summit on old maps) at the northeastern extremity of the island, is the highest peak on the island at 2,182 feet (665 m) high and the second highest in the province (after Mount Guiting-Guiting).

Just like before, we all assembled in town and just like before it was Filipino time, we all agreed to meet at 4:30 in the morning, but as expected most of the joiners came late, imagine how long we waited in town. Anyway, my mother and sister went with us at the jump-off and they left when we started walking to the trail. Unlike any other mountains we have climbed, we started climbing through concrete steps which I think almost 200 of them, I lost count eh.

Climbing Mt. Payaopao is harder than our last climb, it was all going up, flat plains were not a normal occurrence. I felt so tired within minutes, especially I am carrying a heavy backpack, my cousins wanted to carry my bag, but I declined to their offer, well that’s me I seldom asked for help. I will do things on my own until I can do it.  My hiking buddy Anna wasn’t able to go because her mother didn’t allow her,  she sounds sick as well when we called her on her phone.

The trail wasn’t that bushy, it has been just  slippery when you are nearing the summit maybe because of the fog during early morning, it was a good thing there are ropes that serves as a guide or help when going up. We reached the summit after two hours and 30 minutes, the summit wasn’t that spacious for many of us. We rested for a bit, ate some snacks, take photos and chit chatting, and then as expected, we introduced each other again and saying the reason why we climb, this is for the benefit of the new joiners.

We’ve been resting for a bit when I can’t find my younger cousins, I have asked someone and I was told they were at the other end so I went looking for them and that’s where I found that they are looking in a mesmerizing scenery. It was very beautiful, so astonishing, I think other hears me exclaiming or they got curious what to see at the other end, they follow and that’s where we took so long taking photos of each other. It turns out, it was the firs time they saw the view even it was their second or third time at the summit, because it was just this time that there was a clearing and the guides clean the bushes in the summit.

We spend a lot of time, waiting for a clearing because we can’t see the view when clouds are on the way. Our group president already called us many times to go down, because the first group whom wasn’t able to see the view we saw already descended to the guide’s house.

We hurriedly went down the peak it is past lunch already, the first group who descended might get bored waiting for us and eat lunch ahead of us. Adrenaline rush, everyone is rushing especially one of the guide which is left to us, a young boy who threw himself between the trees like a monkey.  It took us one hour to reach the guide house, it was planned to have a boodle fight, but it was quite hot to eat in an open space, we ate in groups and afterwards have a customary group photo with the anniversary cake, which others have fun wiping the icing to each other.

Within minutes we reached the jump-off, where we found a few of us got lost and wasn’t able to reach the guide’s house so they have been starved waiting for us to descend, and since we are the first one to descend we waited for a bit to the others and since it is getting late in the afternoon and we still need to travel back to Odiongan a few of us left already after asking permission and bidding goodbye to others.

And before we went out the national road I have asked my cousins to go to the port to have a photo of Mt. Payaopao in a distance just like how the first photo above was taken. I am surprised to see that the port was already improved after which, we decided to take another route, round Tablas passing other municipalities going home.

Two years passed, my older cousin and her own family went home again for vacation but this time they are with her husband who just went out from the army,  they have been living far away from the clan since her husband was assigned to his province and days before their vacation ended they organized a family outing.  It was also two years ago when she came home with her kids, after the death of our old aunt that there was a family outing at Sato Beach Resort.

For a change, the family outing was made possible at Mountain Spring Resort when it should be at Mablaran Falls, my family went so I did, but instead of leaving together with them we just followed, we went to town market to buy some stuff because I don’t think it is nice to show up at the resort without bringing anything with us.

Mountain Spring Resort was located in Brgy. Rizal, Odiongan Romblon just a few minutes away from the downtown. A lot of things changed at the resort, way back in College when our institute held the Acquaintance party there was only one small pool then and the place wasn’t big and spacious like today.

Today, there are three pools. The old one, the kids pool and the larger pool for adults complete with slides. The cottage near the kids pool was rented by the clan and since the place wasn’t rented exclusively, aside from us there are also families, group of friends and kids who enjoyed the pool.

Me, not knowing how to swim stays in a corner but most of the time I am in the kids pool, playing with my second cousins (1x) removed, teaching them how to swim (according to me, hahaha). But when the water in the kids pool became so itchy, I decided to say in the bigger pool. I guess the kids started to pee in the pool without leaving out of the water.

Mountain Spring Resort is a hectare of land converted into a farm resort for tourists who are looking for a peaceful place to relax and unwind. It has also a large hall that can be used for seminars, birthday and even wedding celebration. They have a karaoke machine for people who’d like to sing between dipping in at the pool, they have shower rooms and plenty of cottages scattered around and their parking lot was spacious too. They also offered catering for any occasions and have a few rooms for guest who wanted to do overnight stay.

MOUNTAIN SPRING RESORT
Brgy. Rizal, Odiongan, Romblon
Facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/Mountain-Spring-Resort-607164986084372/
Mobile No. – 0917 808 5982

Disclosure: This is NOT a sponsored post. Above written post was my own personal experience and opinion and might be different from yours.