It was almost midday when we decided to have a bit of rest from shooting. We didn’t bring any food, so it was either we walk back to the road to check out the carinderias there or just slug it out ‘til we found Wawa Dam’s waterfalls. Good thing we found a third alternative, a sari-sari store beside the Wawa River.

We inquired if they have rice meals, but they unfortunately don’t. I spied some canned goods at their shelves and asked if they can cook them for us, we’ll just pay extra. The friendly storekeeper readily agreed and we paired the guisadong corned beef with their soft monay (they would have cooked rice for us but that would take too long). These should keep our tummies in check while we search for the supposed waterfalls in the area.

 
We asked the storeowners a bit regarding the falls; they gave us the general direction of where we should hike and even offered to let one of their sons to accompany us. We gracefully declined since it was a schoolday and we really didn’t want their kid getting too tired for the next day’s classes. We said our thanks and went our way.

We crossed the river and started on a bamboo-lined path. The forest floor was quite rocky and it was hard trekking with my already worn slippers.

A few minutes on the way and we met a kid on his way home from school. We chatted with him and he agreed to guide us to the falls, which he said was just near their home, lucky kid.

The youngster said that the first waterfall was just a few minutes away and true enough, it really was just a few minutes from where we met him. I was a bit puzzled as I cannot hear any sound of water cascading down, but upon turning the bend towards the falls I understood why. The supposed waterfall was just a trickle of water onto an almost dry pond. It was so weak and small that we can hardly call it a waterfall.

We asked our diminutive guide if that was it, and he said that there’s a bigger one ahead.

We passed a few more small (very, very small) falls before arriving on something that looked substantial and might pass for a waterfall of sort. Its cascading water, unlike the previous ones we passed was gushing quite well but was only about three feet tall (or small). Its catch basin however was serious business. The deep green pool looked to be more than 10 feet deep and we dared not dip in its waters.
 
We rested a while, unsure if we still want to pursue the trek since it was getting a bit late and my companion needs to be back in Manila before nightfall. A coal porter going down the mountain went pass and we promptly asked him how long the trek to the big waterfalls would take. Thirty minutes he said, to which our mind calculated to be more than an hour considering our pace.

We rested a bit more, tried out my new infrared filter, and decided to head back down. The sky seemed to be threatening of rain, we’ll hunt that elusive falls next time.

PS.
While having our final soda at one of the many stores at the mouth of the dam, the storekeeper told us that it would take at least two and a half hours to reach the said mother falls (which they also don’t know the name of).

 

    

 

Wawa Falls
Address: Rodriguez (formerly Montalban), Rizal, Calabarzon
Entrance Fee: None 

        How to get to Wawa Dam via Public Transport
        Board an FX (Php45.00) at the Farmer’s Plaza Cubao (Terminal is in front of Jollibee)
        Alight at Eastwood, Rizal (Ask the driver to drop you where you can board a jeep to Wawa)
        Board a Wawa jeep (Php8.00) and alight at the terminal which is at Wawa Dam already.