Initao Nostalgia

Hmm... 2004 was a great year for me. There had been several opportunities for travel and well, some sports activities. One that made the most impression was that Initao roadtrip we took on June 11-13, 2004. Actually, we also went to Iligan and explored a bit of Cagayan de Oro City but I guess, the Initao leg proved the most fun that is why I always refer to that entire experience as "the" Initao trip.

It was one of the most "satisfying" roadtrip I've ever had. Satisfying in that, it was a pretty "full" experience. It had a little bit of everything -- waterfalls (there two of them!), caves, beach -- typical sand, sun and fun... We did a bit of everything too -- city-hopping, "museum" touring, taking a dip in one great waterfall, and jumping off a cliff to get into the sea (This one though I did not dare hehe I couldn't even do some decent rappelling, much more jump from a cliff huh?) We did some sunset viewing too and some spelunking -- at night! (a first!) The fact that I was also able to take some good pictures was an even added bonus. But the greatest part of it was really that we did all that in the company of some really good friends.

Boarding the Bus

The whole week before that particular weekend I had been at Tupi in South Cotabato for a project. 'Been scaling the foot of Mt. Matutum (on a habal-habal), to and from some sitios there for an assessment we're making. Taking that Initao trip meant me, having to take a 3 and a half hour bus ride home to Davao only to take another 9 hour ride to Iligan. I was thinking I'd be too exhausted to enjoy the weekend. Boy oh boy, how wrong I was. I'm glad =)

Suzette, Bambie, Luciano and Choy2x. It's Bolo's head right there in the corner,

trying desperately to duck while I took this shot hehe.

It rained shortly after I arrived in Davao. So we were practically wet and cold when we boarded the bus at 10:00 P.M. For a speedier trip, we took the aircon bus. We took some pictures, talked a little then I slept for the most part of the trip. Been traveling that whole week and I needed to regain my energy for the weekend ahead. At one point, it grew so cold inside the bus that Bolo had to dig up his sleeping bag to wrap himself with. The others would have to settle with their shawl. Luckily, I brought two jackets with me

Arriving in Iligan City

Quite typical of us, we were unsure as to where to go next when we arrived in Iligan City at 6:30 in the morning. We couldn't quite decide whether we'd go straight to where there is "ukay-ukay" (hehe) or to that outdoor shop someone else recommended. But given the time, we decided against it. For a while we were quite at a loss, not quite knowing what to do. The funny thing is, thanks to the very conspicuous “life jackets” Luciano and Choy2x were carrying with them and the “kundoktors” of the local jeepneys in the terminal decided the matter for us. They called on to us to board the jeep for Timoga. They told us, it was pretty obvious that that is where we’re headed. Haha! =)

Upon arriving at Timoga, we checked out the resorts there. We would have wanted to spent the night there but as usual, we changed our minds. We decided to have breakfast first before proceeding to Tinago Waterfalls which is just up ahead.

Tinago Waterfalls!

It took awhile before we were able to reach Tinago. We had to walk for some time. Then, upon reaching the junction that leads to where the falls is, we had to stall for sometime trying to decide whether we’ll walk the whole way through or hire a “habal-habal.” When we have finally opted for the latter, we again opted to wait for jeepneys that ply the route since the locals there charged us an unreasonable amount for the “habal-habal” ride. Huh! Well, it was quite a trip alright. Luckily, it was all smooth-sailing from then on.

Since we could no longer wait, we hired one of the jeepneys that happen to pass us by in the highway. It turned out to be a good decision since that jeep was instrumental in getting us into Initao. But that is getting ahead of the story.

While we are heading towards the resort where Tinago is, we were glad we have decided to hire a jeep than walk. It was quite a distance. Upon reaching the resort, we headed towards the stairs since we had to descend a plight of stairs first to reach the waterfalls. And they were quite slippery huh!

Going Down Tinago. Fresh from breakfast, assembling at the foot of the stairs that would take us down to the waterfalls. Good thing we had breakfast first since it was quite a long way down the falls.

This was the scene that greeted us upon reaching the bottom of the stairs:


The Waterfalls.

I've seen several pictures of Tinago from travel magazines and those of friends who had already been to the place. The water from those pictures were bluer than what we were looking at. But the waterfall was still very much as great. Huge. Beautiful.

Getting ready for a swim.

We spent some time at the falls, swimming and taking pictures. For fun, we gamely posed like models. This particular picture (see below) is the most "sanitized" of them all. Hehe. Notice the life jackets hastily discarded at the bottom-left of the picture. To get to that part of the waterfalls, we swam across the entire breadth of that "lake" at the foot of the walls. It was quite a feat for me, considering I don't know how to swim. The funny thing is, prior to my taking this trip, I've already been told how deep this "lake" is. And I was thinking I'd probably just be at its sidelines. Sidelines, huh? I crossed it's entire breadth! Nice!

Strike a pose.


Taking a dip. Me, desperately holding onto the raft knowing full well I don't know how to swim


Venturing further. "Look Ma, no hands!"

After spending some time in the water, I started to relax. The above photo shows Bolo with a pleased look on his face while looking at me momentarily forgetting my fear of the water.


Simply Beautiful. Tinago Basin. This was the last shot I took of the waterfalls. Choy2x swimming in the water provided a good perspective - showed off the real size of the waterfalls.

After swimming, we eagerly changed into dry clothes, eager to start the trek up. We were already looking forward to the other places we wanted to see. We have hired the services of the same jeepney that brought us to Tinago to take us around town. It was already waiting for us when we emerged from the resort.

Next Stop: Macaraeg-Macapagal House

I'm not sure if everyone knew that part of President GMA's childhood was spent in her paternal grandparents' house in Iligan. This is the reason why she knows a bit of the Visayan language. This ancestral house is now open to the public and serves as some kind of a museum housing several memorabilia's of the Father (Pres. Diosdado Macapagal) and Daughter (GMA) presidents of this country. It was quite interesting to be able to see their stuff and their rooms. It gave one a peek of how they must have lived at that time.

Macaraeg-Macapagal Ancestral Home signange


The Lady President and Her Court. Posing beneath GMA's portrait: Luciano, Bambie, Sansan, Renee, Suzette, Myself, Bolo, Tita, Mama Ocampo, Gary.

Stairs leading to the second floor


The Master's Bedroom


GMA's Room


Before-(Bolo)-and-After-(Me)-look, infront of GMA's magic dresser. See the transformation? Amazing huh?


GMA's portrait as a little girl. Renee and Gary, her "not-so-little"bodyguards, standing by.


The President then and now. Pres. Diosdado Macapagal with PGMA as a little girl depicted in this "sculpture" within the Mansion's grounds. Presidential "assistant," Bolo, "assisting" in the background
Visiting Beautiful Ma. Cristina

A visit to Iligan City would never be complete without passing by the Ma. Cristina Hydro Plant. The complex is located just before Timoga if you're heading towards Linamon or Kolambugan. And we did! It was quite an experience looking at her knowing she's responsible for providing "power" to most (if not the whole) of Mindanao.

Beautiful Ma. Cristina Falls


At another angle


Taking a breather just outside the Ma. Cristina Hydro Plant.

We had the above picture taken after we had been to the view deck of the falls. We have already decided to spend the night in Initao, notwithstanding neither of us have ever been to the place yet. A friend recommended it though and a phone call assured us we could set up camp there. Having made up our minds on that, we decided to take a brief tour of Iligan downtown to buy some "pasalubongs" (Cheding's peanuts and the famous "pinakurat" chilly vinegar) and to buy lunch also. We also made a brief stopover at the outdoor shop there. Renee and Suzette bought some slippers there with Bolo's reluctant consent hehe -- theirs was not the Sandugo brand and a lot cheaper. To save time, we ate our lunch inside the jeep while we are heading towards Initao. It was quite tricky having to take care not to spill the sauces of our viands (Chowking take-outs).

Finally, Initao!

Since neither of us had been to the place yet, we encountered a little difficulty locating the place. Yeah, again hehe. The only information we had is that it is just along the highway and that it is a forest reserve by the DENR. Hmm... that's not too difficult. A forrest reserve eh? Well, with that in mind, we kept looking to the "right side" of the highway (we are heading towards Cagayan de Oro). We could see the sea at our left so we readily assumed the forest would be where the mountains are -- at the right side of the highway. Boy, were we wrong! hehe We had to double back when we reached the northern border of Initao and still we did not see any forest reserve. Then lo and behold, there it was, the entrance to the DENR facility.

Since we did not bring any food with us except for some chips, Luciano and Gary volunteered to go to the market and buy us our dinner -- pork and fish for grilling and the rice. When they left we set up camp and rested a bit. When they arrived, we were pleased to find out that they bought some chips too (There were plenty of them) and a liter of Royal True Orange hehe. The caretaker of the facility also paid us a visit. He informed us that he could also serve as a guide should we decide to go caving that night. Caving at night?! Huh?! It would definitely be a first though we’ve been to quite a number of caves already.

I felt some kind of trepidation at the thought. Then it was pointed out to us that it would hardly make any difference anyway since whether by day or night, caves would always be dark inside. Hmm… it made sense, still, I guess it’s a lot more comforting knowing it’ll be bright again once you stepped out of the cave if the spelunking is done during the daytime. And don’t most animals that live inside caves feed at night? Hehe

Renee and Suzet resting a bit while we were preparing our dinner.

With that in mind, we immediately went about preparing our dinner. The above picture is just beside a grilling set-up provided by the facility. There is water in the place too and some serviceable comfort rooms. Actually there are cottages in the place though they were obviously very much in need of repairs and maintenance.

It was almost sundown when we were preparing our dinner. The DENR facility is just off the highway and overlooking a great sea. The view was really great. We were all looking forward to some sunset viewing and we were not disappointed.

The beginnings of a sunset


Nice silhouettes. Myself, Suzette, Renee and Bambie looking at the sunset


Looking away momentarily to pose for apicture.


Then it turned orange...

We were already having our dinner when the horizon really turned orange. We had to stop eating just to take some pictures. I had a few moments of retrospection for myself while gazing at the fading sunset. For a while I wished I had a pen in hand other than the camera I was holding.

we have just finished cleaning up what was left of our dinner and were just chatting when the caretaker of the facility arrived for our "spelunking appointment." My trepidation returned. It was already really dark at the time. The fact that we are the only persons there and that we are surrounded by big trees and a few dilapidated cottages only added to my fear. In my mind, it has the makings of a perfect horror movie set-up. Nyay! :-{}

We immediately changed into our "caving clothes." Since caving was never anticipated for this trip, we were not able to bring any appropriate clothing for it so we just changed into the same ones we used for swimming back at Tinago. We didnt even have shoes! But we managed it just the same as the caves were not exactly that technical or big.

Spelunking at night. It was definitely a first, even though with been into a lot of caves already. It sure was a different experience. For me, personally, spelunking at night heightened my senses. The element of fear and uncertainty only added to the drama and excitement. And the fear was definitely there considering the caves were located at some distance from each other. This meant we had to walk in the dark, amidst tall, towering trees with just a few headlamps providing illumination. Some animal chirping, clicking sounds completed the ambiance. In my head, I could almost hear the "Friday the 13th" soundtrack playing in the backgroud. But I kept all thoughts to myself lest I might influence the others. But there were definitely some teasing and taunting going on which somewhat helped eased the tension.

At one point we thought we saw a snake. Fortunately, it turned out to be just skin. There's little comfort in that though. It only confirmed there is indeed a snake lurking somewhere inside the cave. We also saw some nests and swallow fledglings, a very peculiar-looking insect and an interesting crab.

Cave 1 Interiors.


Chow Yun Fat and the Crouching Tigers


Walk like a duck
Day 2: Day Tour!

Good Morning Sunshine. Bambie, Suzette, Myself, Renee -- waking up the following morning


The fellowship of the ring partaking gambas for breakfast. Really!

We shared a loaf of bread and a small packet of sandwhich spread for breakfast. Luckily I bought some tea with me so we had that too. Having had little breakfast, we decided that we had to leave soon but that does not mean we'll forego altogether exploring the facility in broad daylight. And so we did.

On to the beach!

One of the caves during the day. It leads to the sea. It was such a cozy hole. I could almost picture myself being cooped up just outside its opening that's facing the sea with a book in hand or a pen and paper...

The cave's other opening that leads right into the sea below it


Hey! I'm being sucked into the cave! Help!

One of the highlights of the morning's activity was the cliff-jumping thriller the bravehearted in the group did. Unfortunately, I wasn't one of them :( Oh, I am full of heart but just isn't brave enough when confronted by something like this hehe

A few feet away where we had set camp (which was on a ledge) was a portion of the cliff that jutted right out to the sea. It was a perfect diving board and the sea below really looked quite inviting. Shown below is a picture of Renee jumping right in. The other "fearless" individuals who did this were Luciano, Bolo, Gary and Bambie. Suzette and I would have wanted to do the same but they said they were already going back up so... hehe yeah right! Suzette is fine with the height-thing but she doesn't know how to swim. As for me, i could brave wading in the middle of the sea (with a life jacket on) even if I don't know how to swim. But heights? That's an entirely different matter. hehe =)

Literally, Taking the plunge.

Another worth mentioning is that a group of senior citizens of a local tribe arrived that morning. They settled right next to where we had set camp. After a while, they changed into their native garb. They performed some kind of a ritual. I wanted to take a few pictures but my politeness prevailed. I wasn't quite sure if that is allowed at all. One of them, who must be their leader approached us and talked to us. He told us he was happy upon seeing fresh, young faces having so much fun. Maybe we had "connected" somewhat with him that a kind of relationship was established. Luciano was kind enough to give him his jacket. He made us all afix our signatures in its inside lapels and so we did. When we finally left, he cried and extended an invitation to visit him in Opol, Misamis Oriental. He even prayed over us, gave us a blessing of sorts. It was a pretty weird experience but it left quite an impression. As for me, I felt grateful to have been able to accomplish quite a lot while I am still young. It again made me realize that life is indeed just short and so it shouldn't be wasted.

Cagayan de Oro: The Malasag Adventure!

To be continued... :)