We went back to our hostel after we had dinner at County Chicken. A Vietnamese friend once commented "Filipinos must love chicken, I've seen friend chicken sold in every corner." And you'll know the best ones if you see people patiently waiting and standing in line. After dinner I was craving fro pastry, luckily I found a bakeshop that sold a moist chocolate cake. For 20 pesos a slice, that satisfied my cravings. I kept reminding myself I'm not at home so don't expect too much, probably a wisdom I learned from couple of days.
The hostel was neat. The beds were comfortable. The receptionist was kind to give me extra pillow. I needed a good rest. The toilet was clean. The room got TV and cable, yay! On screen was National Geographic featuring the hostage crisis in Manila last 2010 until I dozed. There are only 2 bus schedules going to Davao from Mangagoy, 6:00AM and 12:00PM. We opted for the early morning ride since we still had to go to Cateel for Aliwagwag Falls and that would take another 2 and a half hours. So if we'll take the 12:00PM, we wouldn't have time to see the falls since the only trip from Cateel to Davao was scheduled at 3:00PM. Time was important we couldn't afford to miss the bus or we would end up missing our flight back home or cutting some places to visit. In as much as I wanted to feel the sheets longer I woke up as my alarm rang.
August 24, 2013 @ 6:00AM
With only a cup of coffee as breakfast, we bade goodbye to Surigao del Sur and welcomed Davao Oriental.
The town of Cateel was one of the areas that were greatly affected by typhoon Pablo last Dec 2011. They were surprised by the storm as they rarely get hit by tropical typhoons compared to the rest of the country. It is a coastal town with mountain ranges on their west border and the pacific ocean on their east. As we descended from the north border, we saw the whole town and it was picturesque as the pacific ocean glistened. Ironically, it was a poor community. After several months have passed they haven't recovered from the typhoon. You can still see shanties with donated tarps as their temporary roofs. Several, headless coconut trees scattered in the area served as evident how dreadful the storm was. Roofless abandoned buildings. Several piles of destroyed house materials. Just can see how progress was very slow to think several months have passed. Blessed with natural resources but lived poorly. What have our government been doing? I was disheartened by the sight of it.
When we arrived we were on our own, their local tourist offices were not as active as in Surigao del Sur. The people were not as friendly. Their faces tell a story perhaps about the tragedy that made me hesitant to ask around.
After late breakfast, we took another bumpy habalhabal ride to the falls, roughly an hour ride. Magically, this site healed me.
It was so huge that you can visibly see it using Google map satellite imaging.
Water is my element so I practiced my water bending skills. (haha)
Believe me the water can make you dance like a swan.
Whatever you're thinking the water always meets the sea at the end. Just open your channels to keep the water flowing. Let go of negative vibes, once it builds up, it can destroy you. Your friends are there to help you!
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