After a lovely encounter with Ambon-ambon Falls, I have put Buntot Palos on my go-to list (like forever). The trip was originally planned for my brother's birthday, but the month elapsed (because life always gets in the way). I scoured a few blogs and guides but missed important notes. My familiarity to the area preceded me (like how it could breed contempt!).
We came under prepared (It's my 3rd visit to Pangil, afterall).
At 6:30AM, we were on board the jeepney to Siniloan in front of Big-R, Cainta. It left at 7AM. The two-hour, full-load seat capacity jeep trip was butt-burning, hip straining (pain calling for the love of gerunds). Road music was the only interesting thing happening on the winding road〰 the tire grinding and biting on mostly fading asphalt road (not as cool as Rd. 67 though). Still, I found the sound comforting and pleasing. This route never bore me (But again, it hurts me). The road at Mabitac, full of twists and turns, could get nauseous (at that time, I thought I should keep this in mind for Bonamine reasons).
Memories are deceiving (maybe just my memory). I remembered the previous itinerary in half actual times (half hour for an hour, beginner for intermediate). We made it at Kagawad's house around 9AM. We made a quick stopover at the Ecopark and we're told it was no longer offered thru them (some political lore here).
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| The trail recorded from Garmin watch |
At 9:30AM, we started our ascent. In the first few minutes, I had a minor headache acclimatizing. The path was an agricultural trail constantly reshaped by passage of carabaos and horses, and maybe some hikers, too. Since we were hiking at farm hours, we encountered a horse descending at the difficult part of the trail (insert horse quote here!). Hardworking animals carry heavy agricultural produce especially wood furniture for the nearby town (Paete is waving).
Horse-cinderella left a shoe on one of the stones along the road. Wild mushrooms were prevalent probably due to the recent rain and fertilizing animals (A.K.A. dung dung dung…). There were wild flowers in bloom. Lianas along the way, I did a Tarzan test on the baging vines while carefully avoiding the thorny rattan vines.
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| The Life of Horse |
We had a quick stop at the koprahan, and replenished our thirst with buko, freshly harvested by our guide Kuya Raul (for FREE).
One of the best parts of hiking for a waterfall is the sound! When the sound gets closer and closer then louder, it gives the sense of relief (Say "Geronimo"! Say!). We're near our destination (final destination, nooo).
The fall was magnificent as I imagined, taller actually than I previously thought (sublime, exquisite). And, there's only us! The water is clear and our guide boasts its high level of cleanness in comparison to other falls in Laguna. And that's because there were no permanent residents on the higher portions of the mountains (the hike has been long, no wonder no one lives up there).
On the lower side of the falls, a water pipe is bursting potable water. We refill our tiny 500ml disposable bottles (a definition of lightness with a tinge of max unpreparedness). (At the beginning of our climb, we were informed that water was available along the trail so we only brought a bottle of water for each one of us.) We really hiked in the comfort of travel light (too light) with the water source available on the trail.
At least six other hikers and another guide arrived a little later upon our arrival. I lied down, floating on shallow water, looking up at the waterfalls falling on its might (dramatic moment here). It was so peaceful in the company of trees, the surrounding forests and the tiny quiet crowd. For such a long commute and hike, this moment only lasted quite shortly.
We wanted to stay longer, but leaving was always needed (as they say, absence makes fondness). We didn't bring lunch, and we were guilty of starving our guide. We only shared him 2 oat bars on the way. He reduced our worry by saying that he actually prefers light snacks than travelers who carry too much food and expect them to become pseudo porters. It was already around 1PM when we decided to go back. The traverse (forward trail) was shorter and easier, but the hungrier it became.
We again refilled our water bottles on what they call the "stop-over" spring. We then passed under the hydro plant's overhead power line towers, the one we saw at the beginning of our hike (I call it a POV transition).
On descent, we crossed a river which already passed the ecopark. The water likely originated from Buntot Palos (no CR at the waterfall, no). I dipped my sandals this time because I was tired of removing them again. There was a really thick crowd of people soaking (swimming, eating) on the river due to the power outage. It looked like a fiesta by the river, an irony to the almost empty swimming area near the falls.
We washed up at our guide's house. While waiting for my turn, I had a quick political chat with our guide and his wife. It was a nice friendly conversation despite differences on political choices (the couple actually have different political bets).
On our commute back, we were determined to take the bus for a more comfortable travel seat. We got misled to Famy terminal and had to revert our direction to Siniloan again. Thankfully, (fully, deep breathing...) An aircon mini-bus bound to Cainta was just filling-up passengers.
Loud OPM music is our vibe. A child vomited at Mabitac's winding road, it splattered (almost near our shoes). The conductor was scratching his head as the culprit passengers dropped off right after the smelly deed (and left him with his own cleaning devices). We took a nap. Then, more passengers came in as we're closer to the end of the ride. The sun sets, we made fun of the sky's color for something bleeding in horror (Weird, yeah weird).
I arrived home past 7:30PM, extremely famished, carrying my to-go wonton pares. It was tasty like my trip〰 a savor-your-day moment.
Total Spent: 700 PESOS
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