….TK Fiesta…Laurel, Katimo and Payapa…..

……Fiesta’s in the barrios of Tagkawayan is fun, surely there will be dancing, drinking, eating, games, pageants and other contest.  Meeting other people as well as getting to know their place….

Laurel

……A day before the actual fiesta we went there to support our friend Kim who joined Miss Gay Laurel 2011 but unfortunately Kim lost to a much taller and much wittier Ferdi….While watching the pageant most of us really wanted some drinks, Mar got the table and chairs while others gave their share on the drinks which is Emperador Light, palamig and of course with pulutan……

…..The pageant ended a little early and so we stayed and continue partying….At around 2am we left Laurel and head home….Before we left Mar invited us to the actual fiesta and we agreed….Mar Laurel is the son of Mang Clarito Laurel who happens to be the son of Don Gregorio Laurel who developed and improved the place hence the name Baranggay Laurel…….

…….We arrive at noon in Laurel, we ate and toured their compound visiting their own cemetery, the groto and the beautiful houses in the compound. The Laurel compound looks like a resort with manicured gardens. Then at 4pm we went to the barrio chapel and sat in the big open ground.  We just sat there chatting and people watching…..Watching the kids play makes us smile and some of my friends cannot resist joining the fun…After  that we went home….

Laurel Train Station

Katimo

…..The pageant in Laurel gave me the opportunity to meet other people from Katimo and we became friends namely Johnry and SK Mark. They invited us to their victory ball and fiesta…..

.........I don’t remember the last time I have been to Katimo. We went there to attend the victory ball arriving  past 9 in the evening. We received a cold welcome from some of our friends who were there. Dissapointed we wanted to packed up and go home. But suddenly our friends in from Katimo welcomed us  by providing chairs, table and a bottle of liquor …so we stayed…….We were responsibly drinking and dancing the whole night before going home….

.......We arrived noon and head straight to the house of our friend Miswa..This is the feast day celebration of Katimo. We ate at Miswas’ place then we head to another house and ate again….I was so full that I didn’t ate much in the second house…After that we rested for a while before heading back to Miswas’ place. Then my friend Johnry invited me to his home and there a bottle of Matador Brandy is waiting for me…..We drank the whole afternoon and I am getting a bit tipsy…After the drinking session at Johnry’s  place  we head back to Miswas’ place and continued drinking……I must admit that I got drunk and sleepy. I slept for an hour or hour and a half before waking up.  Waking up to the sound of the videoke machine was terrible. I saw my friends having fun and I joined them.  After a few hours of singing we went home.  Tired from partying in Katimo I was able to sleep soundly that night.

Payapa

.........I have been to Payapa a couple of times attending fiesta and a family reunion. One my closest friend’s family is from here. And so we went there at noon on a motorcycle. The tuklong or barrio chapel was our first stop then after that Tata Pito’s house where we ate our lunch. After a delicious  lunch at Tata Pito we head for another house. The view in Payapa is beautiful we took photos of it and then we rested for a while preparing for our next meal….After eating we rested again while Ray is busy putting on make-up on his cousins. After that we went home on the same mode of transpo but this time I wasn’t seating at the back I was literally in the front. It was scary but fun….I called it a day and rested....

Barrio Payapa chapel

Pacqiuao

…balagbag falls……tk…...first attempt ..…

.......Fresh from the Bayabas River excursion I saw a picture of a waterfall on facebook and much to my surprise it is only in Tagkawayan…..The caption of the photo reads…Balagbag Falls in Brgy. Mapulot….I was ecstatic when I read it and immediately informed TKT about it….This is the first time I heard Balagbag Falls….i don’t have a clue as to where Balagbag Falls is……so as usual we wanted to go there and assess it……

….There were only three of us when we went to Mapulot around 3pm….and from there we headed for Balagbag Falls…..we are having a smooth ride when suddenly we are confronted by a slippery,muddy and rocky road…we asked some locals if we are still on the right track and they said  "oo pero baka hindi na kyo aabot dun baka gabihin lang kau"…

Mapulot

……Paolo parked the motorcycle beside the ulingan because it will be of no use and from there we head for Balagbag Falls on foot…walking the path makes you feel like you are in Quezon National Forest……because of the lush greenery that we saw….i am totally impressed considering that we only started walking a few yards from the ulingan….after a few minutes of walking uphill we saw a small pathway to the forest…and from where we are standing I can already hear the sound of flowing water….we took the small path curious about the sound…

……..Paolo asked to stay and so Bibong and I went through the forest…..the path lead us down the mountain…as the sound of the water nears we became more excited and we found a river with big rocks…it has little waterfalls created by the big rocks…we trekked the river heading north….from the river literally we are not able to see the surrounding mountains because the trees almost covered the river….it is so beautiful….It is getting a bit late so we decided to go back…it is very tiring because of the ups and downs of the path plus the mud which is very slippery…..it is already getting dark inside the forest…

……..We came back to the crossroad and there Paolo is waiting for us….while waiting for us Paolo asked some folks about Balagbag Falls and they answered…"gagabihin na kayo dun, malayo pa yun"….certainly we don’t want to be there when nightfall comes so we decided to try exploring Balagbag Falls some other time….in short we failed but it wasn’t dissapointing……

…..bayabas river……….tk……….

......I never heard of this place it was in fact a suggestion from one of our friends who happens to live in Brgy. Tabason which is a couple of minutes from Bayabas River….and since we have no idea of the place we thought that it is best that someone must go there first….and we did….Bibong,Untong,Pao and I lead the assessment team…

......I was honestly unsure of how the place looks but some say that it is beautiful…..We went first to Tabason then head to Sto. Tomas there we found out that the path leading to Bayabas River is more or less two hours and the easy way to go there is through Tabason….so head back to Tabason…the locals said that the way to Bayabas River through the road that leads to Bosigon….hay it is kinda confusing….But against all odds we head on…once in a while we ask some locals and they keep telling us to go straight ahead…..we crossed a small bridge but that is not the place the locals told us the second bridge is the Bayabas River…..Finally we arrived in Bayabas River….looked around and assessed it….The river meet our standards…..We informed our TKT members about the place…..

Assessment Team

.......After a day or two we prepared our things and head to Bayabas River…..there were two modes of transportation we used tricycle and a motorcycle……Joey, Reynor, Maya, and Kaye-tricycle while Paolo, Bibong and I-motorcycle….it was indeed a bumpy ride…we were the first to arrive in Bayabas River followed by the tricycle after just a few minutes……First on our agenda was to eat….I am so hungry because I did not ate my breakfast….after eating I explored the river and headed north of the river…

.......Bayabas River is shallow and deep in some parts it also has a mix of sharp rocks and rounded rocks…..either side of the river is covered in trees and other vegetation….i noticed the driftwoods in both sides of the river…..i also noticed the lumot in the shallow parts of the river which makes it a bit difficult to walked on….if you are not careful there will be pain…hehehe……According to the locals there are two spots in the river, one is up north the river and one is south of the river….

Bayabas River

.......I am not sure what to find north of the river but my gut instinct tells me there is something there…..i reached a deep lagoon with a cliff on one side and a tall tree on the other side with a very long bagin….i catapulted myself into the river using the bagin….and it is indeed deep…..i hurriedly went back to our base camp which is the spillway and told my friends about what I saw…and right away they wanted to go there…the river is a challenge for some of the TKT members who aren’t that tall….but with the help of others we are able to get there…

Flying Kick 101

Tarzan or Jane...???

KABLOOOOOOOOMMMM

.......We were all happy about the spot…it is indeed beautiful and calm…aside from the loud mouths such as I we can only hear the sounds of chirping birds….The bagin was used by most of us except Kaye and Maya….we enjoyed the cool water of the river the whole afternoon…there we times that we rested while chatting after that it is Tarzan time…..

Bayabas River Sunset

.......We went back to our base camp a little early…..and went home….on our way home I cannot help but noticed the freshly cut pile of trees on a truck and jeep…….i thought to myself that they are doing something illegal……I remembered watching the news that there is an indefinite log ban across the country…..but why it is happening here……I felt disgusted by what I saw….Someone is not doing his/her job……and I cannot believed that the people from that area are not doing anything as well……that is one of the saddest thing I ever felt in a long time…..

.......We reached the town proper and I keep thinking about what I saw….This is my way of informing about this illegal activities happening in our own backyard….