The Magic of Igbaras
09/12/2015

Featuring: Nasadjan Falls Igbaras
Location: Brgy. Passi, Igbaras, Iloilo

About an hour and a half away from the city of Iloilo is the quiet town of Igbaras. You'll know you're there because you'll feel like you have entered some sort of a time warp. If you've ever seen Fernando Amorsolo's Afternoon meal of the rice workers, 1951, oil on canvas painting. of a rural place with mountains and wide stretch of rice paddies, the town of Igbaras looks like it was the inspiration of it.

The people of Igbaras are warm and friendly and doesn't seem to shy from outsiders, they are proud of their town and take really good care of it. The perfect example is their public market. The cleanliness and how orderly people were inside will surprise you.There is no foul smell and even though it is a wet market, everything in sight is dry. You can do your last minute shopping (for food) here without hassle.

 From Igbaras plaza it would take you another 30 mins to get to Brgy Passi.

 The road during rainy season is not as friendly as it is on dry season so a 4x4 vehicle or a single motorcycle is your best bet when it comes to transportation.

On the way, you'd get to pass this bridge and this will be your first indication that you are near.

 Next will be this path. The Tangyan River in Sitio Sonsongon. You'll have to be very careful when crossing this road, when the water overflows the current will be too strong, strong enough to carry your vehicle. Not to scare you or anything but in 2006 an overloaded jeepney met a fatal accident here when the driver decided to cross the road even though the water was overflowing. 22 died and 21 missing up to this day including 2 infants. See full report of the incident here:
To give you a little ghost story, for those who like scary adventures, people in the brgy will hear babies crying here at night. The Songsongon overflow is believed to be some sort of a cross road to the other side.

We continued our journey, but passing through this very spot where the jeepney was swept away, it does give you a little grim feeling.

 Arriving at the "Tourist Center" which is just a small table beside a small "tyangge" from there it would be a 45 min trek to the main attraction which is the Nasadjan Falls. The Brgy. Captain of Brgy. Passi would greet you with a warm smile and sometimes may offer that you rest in his home. The home is a beautiful log cabin that was made by the Brgy. Captain himself.  You'd be amazed by the craftmanship and wood work, a sign that the captain built the house with love and dedication.

We initially planned on setting up our tent and go camping, but because we visited on September, which is on a rainy season, there was a heavy downpour in the afternoon and so the brgy captain insisted that we sleep in his lovely log cabin.

We started trekking to the waterfalls around 9 in the morning, it usually takes 30-45 minutes but our journey was close to about an hour because we chose a different, less taken path which was more difficult to trek.

The objective? It was so  we could climb this beauty.

 The view at the top is worth it.

We climbed down and continued our journey towards the Big one. Because we visited on a rainy month, the current was so strong at times we have doubts if we can cross the rapids. But, for the love of adventure we pushed on. Normally the peak season where there will  be a lot of tourist is during April to May because the water won't be as strong but there will be hardly any water at all and the forest won't be as cool and green.

The pictures that I have will not give justice to how beautiful this place is when visited in its full glory, We know because we went back last april and the vegetation was dead and the water was about just an ankle deep and the trek was easy even a 5 year old (our daughter) can handle it.

But during the rainy season, you will have to crawl, climb, slip and splash on really cold water.

Finally, the Big one

Nasadjan falls got its name because you won't be able to see the waterfalls because your view will be blocked by a big boulder, In local dialect Nasadjan (Nasiradhan) means "being blocked" or being "closed off". Keep in mind that the photos I have did not give even the slightest justice to the beauty of this place, but I gave you the raw and unfiltered shot that my camera phone can provide.

Beside the waterfall, as if a constant admirer is a century old Balete tree.

During Summer, when the water isn't that strong you'll have a chance to dip in a mini pool of water right below the waterfalls, but during rainy season you'd have to be content to dip on another mini pool below that boulder.
During my trek, I picked up plastics along the way and cleaned up the mess some tourist leave in the area. If you plan to come here, please do the same :) If you can't then just take your trash with you.

If you're feeling super adventurous, try the Kipot Cave which is about  1-2 hours of trek from here. I dont have pictures of the kipot cave because you literally have to climb a vertical wall on the side of the mountain to get there. The typical buwis-buhay stunt. But Kipot Cave is 10x worth the trek. You just have to be really brave. Enjoy the experience, respect nature and live the moment.


"Leave nothing but footprints. Take nothing but pictures. Burn nothing but calories. Keep nothing but memories. Kill nothing but time"

5 years later

5 years later
09/01/2016


It's weird to put the title on this post. It feels like there had been some sort of hibernation or that of a total disconnection to life. That wasn't really the case of course. Instead it was more of undergoing a process of renovation, of breaking down and building up.
In my 25 years of existence, I thought I had my life planned out. I will graduate college by 21, get myself employed immediately (a day after my graduation in fact) and be a useful citizen of this country. The social goal was to not add up to the burden that my mother land was enduring, to not be another mouth to feed by my "Average in economic status" family and to set a good example to my cousins who looks up to me and I love dearly.
I then thought of stepping it up by being a woman of science, a doctor. So I went to med school only to be met by financial constraints and seeing that that did not go with the plan of not being a burden, I dropped med school. I promised myself that when I am able I will go back, it was my way of proving to myself I did it and that I wasn't a failure. 

A year later my father died.

My father's death was my ultimate awakening. I started recognizing the inner screams I have in my soul. What matters most to me is my family, they are the reason I wanted to be someone of value. When I was a child I said i'd like to be a doctor so I can cure the sick, but if I really listened to the scream, it was because I wanted to be able to do something should anything happen to my family. On my father's death, I held on to his hand, the screams in my soul louder than I ever heard it, the truth was forced on me that I could not do anything to stop it.Even if I was a doctor back then, there was nothing I could do. I dropped Med School completely.

It took a while to pick myself up. It's not that there wasn't any direction where to go, it's just that I could envision  the pointing arrows and contemplate if it was worth following it. I must admit, I did pretty good for a lost child. I did not do anything stupid. I was just there, like an observer of the world I feel I did not belong to. The sea was my comfort and I settled myself in the familiar grounds, I did not welcome any change. I was content with the familiarity of my home, my friends and my solace.
Until something unplanned happened, something that turned my world upside down. Completely unexpected as there were no arrows or warnings that I would go that path at that point of my life
.I gave birth to my daughter.
All of a sudden my world changed, and I'm not saying this to romanticize the event. I was forced to confront my fears, I wasn't ready but I wasn't backing down either. It was just not in my imprint to back down, but the whole thing took over my life I was left speechless.
At this point, I speak up, 5 years later and coming out as someone new, even to me. I am, for the first time in my life, a stranger to myself. So I take baby steps while my daughter takes her own, almost as if I was reborn with her. I took my milestone after milestone until I  developed a different understanding of the world. Learning to understand words and its meaning in a different perspective. I have a brighter sunshine in me than I ever had before along with a whole new darkness. 
I finally understood and that was when I let go of the control and learned to just flow.
It wasn't easy, it still isn't, but the 5 years that had passed gave me more than the 25 years before it. 
I no longer walk my path alone for there is another soul about to discover life and I am her chosen guide. 
30 years before and onwards.