Pampam Falls of Kalubihon

There is more to Iligan than Tinago and Ma. Christina Falls. Believe it or not, in this tiny city of Northern Mindanao lie 23 waterfalls. Although not originally an Iliganon, I grew up here. I thought this was my turf, but I realized that there are a lot of things that I had actually missed.

Only Tinago and Ma. Christina are the most-visited waterfalls in the city. I have been there, of course. I have been to Mimbalot Falls too, though it's already developed now so I suppose it would not be long enough before people would crowd themselves at the place. Somehow, seeing the well-known waterfalls didn't satisfy me enough, rather it was like being starved for weeks and only managed to scavenge a small loaf of bread to eat. Yes, I was still hungry.

Last night, I scanned through my classmate's photos and was delighted to find this folder of photos of us during our trip to the hidden Pampam Falls. This waterfall is located at Kalubihon, a barangay just before Dalipuga and believe it or not, it is much more beautiful than the other waterfalls I had seen around the city. I am not exaggerating. Maybe it's because nobody had plans of developing the waterfall, I do not know.

We had to ride motorcycles that could fit five persons just because jeepneys were scarce in this area of the city. It was Nikko, an acquaintance, who became our tour guide as he had been to the place a couple of times before. He lives at Kalubihon so getting lost never haunted us.

This is me getting behind on the tracks. How could they walk so fast? I was literally panting like a dog when we reached the destination. It was like a five-kilometer walk, I think, from the rocky road (hmm, ice cream!) to the waterfall. Although the trail in the photo seems too easy to walk on, trust me, I had the worst experiences trying to catch up with my swift-footed classmates.

YAY! Looks like I did catch up!

This is dry land. You could just imagine how large the blisters on my foot were after I slipped a couple of times at the muddy area. Do you know how much I wanted to cry and just go home? But I remembered I was a big girl already so I sucked it up and acted brave and strong. Woop!

At last we arrived at our destination. As you can see, the water is beyond clear. It's actually better in person, but whatever. It is certainly beautiful.

Enchanting, isn't it?

Lewey here couldn't wait and quickly took off his shirt and dove for the water. I couldn't blame the guy, though. The water was remedy to the scorching heat of the sun.

Here I am again, who after several minutes, decided to wade in. I didn't bring clothes with me thinking the place wasn't worth a swim, but I realized how wrong I had been. Thank you, Kenneth and Paul for lending me shirts. They're still with me after several months. You don't think they're better off with me, do you?

I reminded myself to always stay close to the edge. There were deep parts that I couldn't even feel the floor, and for those who do not know, I do not now how to swim. You could just imagine how scared I was trying to wade to the other side of the waterfall. I kept on imagining diwatas hiding underwater, waiting to take advantage of my weakness.

Nah, I was only kidding. I did not imagine those mythical creatures, but I was still kind of scared of how deep the water was. I remembered when I jumped off a boulder and my bottom landed on a large rock hard. I think it remained bruised for a whole week.

Ninja-ninja in the water. I love this game. I believe I won here too :D:D Oh, look at my pose, I could be a real ninja. LOL.

If you think Tarzan and Jane were only in the deep jungle, think again. We took turns swinging with that flexible branch I'm grasping on the photo for a whole two hours, I think, I felt like I was this generation's Jane, but only in an over-sized shirt and denim shorts. Yes, this was when my bottom landed on an invisible rock below the water. Ouch.

 A quick shot of Paul and I with our obnoxious Miss Universe poses before we headed back to Nikko's house.

This my friends, is Pampam Falls. It's amazing how God could create majestic spots such as this. Nobody else could have made anything as beautiful as this. Although the walk back and forth the waterfall nearly killed me (I was wheezing!), I did not regret visiting the place. The experience was priceless, and it felt like I had been transported to a different world. Yes, I felt like Jane -- left behind and unaware of the real earth.

Will I go back to the waterfall?

Certainly! But only if someone is willing to carry me on his/her back. Haha. I guess since nobody is willing to, I think I should just resort to working out with my cardio. Yes, walks really are agonizing when you're a girl with an exercise-deprived body.

Next stop, I think, would be the highest waterfall in the Philippines, Limunsudan Falls, of Rogongon. If you want to know what it looks like, here it is:

I read somewhere that Limunsudan Falls is harder to reach than Pampam, but I still want to go there. I just hope I could actually take a swim here, not that I know how. If all else fails, though, it's okay. I heard Rogongon has a lot more less violent waterfalls, so I don't think the future trip would really be in vain.

I know this is a long post...again, but I hope it's okay. I missed posting entries with a lot of photos, so please bear with me. :)

Sawat di khaa, Aine.  GOD bless you. <3