The sky was the color of mud, raindrops pelting us sideways, and the wind growing stronger by the minute. All we could hear was the rambling of the hardly visible river. Our guide told us what we had expected to hear the moment we arrived at the brook’s edge: “Negative, the water is too strong, we cannot ride the boats,” he told us in Tagalog. Nobody protested at the obviously correct call of our guide. While there was an ounce of disappointment, I simply chalked this place up in my ‘see you next time’ list despite the uncertainty of my future travel schedules.
Second Time’s a Charm at Governor’s Rapids
Lo and behold: two years later, I got another crack at cruising the vigorous stream of Governor’s Rapids. This time, though, we came under a canopy of bright blue skies exposing the green waters of the river as it cut a path through the lush foliage of the Sierra Madre mountain range.
Governor's Rapids—named after a Japanese Governor-General who disappeared in these waters during World War II—is a picturesque tributary of the mighty Rio Grande River of Cagayan that slices through the gravelly knolls of Maddela in Quirino Province.
Limestone cliffs edging both sides of the river are known for hiding a system of caves and waterfalls, as well as dwelling sites of our indigenous Dumagat and Agta brothers and sisters. We wasted no time as our small party boarded two colorful canoes and immediately proceeded to tackle a few rapids en route to a giant boulder island for our first pit stop.
Cliff Jumping
Because we opted to cruise only a short length of the river, we passed by only a few rapids, but we made up for it by spending more than an hour taking turns cliff jumping into the clear waters. We docked our canoes at one of the biggest rocky mounds in the middle of the river and climbed over it to around 15–20 feet high.
The second time was indeed a charm, as there was no way I would have experienced this during my first trip to Governor’s Rapids. At that time, I was also with Ferdz and Kara among a group of more than ten travel bloggers. This time around, the three of us returned with another group. It was a good thing that we finally got to explore and enjoy the gifts bestowed by Mother Nature on this adventure attraction in Quirino Province.
Cave Falls
Before we headed back, I heard our guide telling us about another side trip we shouldn't miss. Locals simply refer to it as 'Cave Falls'. Listening to our guide describe it injected me with another dose of excitement. Even though I’ve seen the spectacular natural pools inside numerous caves in Sagada and Samar, this was the first time I would venture inside a cave with an actual waterfall.
After a few minutes of a canoe ride from the cliff-diving spot, our guide motioned for our team to disembark at the side of another massive limestone wall. A few steps away was a narrow pathway leading inside a cave. After entering the passageway, I immediately heard the sound of rushing water like a beast growling inside a cage. Following a few moments of squeezing my body through slender openings, an expansive space like the inside of a cathedral with high rocky ceilings greeted me.
There it was: a waterfall 12 meters high streaming cold fresh water into a basin wide enough for all ten of us to swim. With only a few minutes to spare, I jumped right into the cold pool and frolicked like a kid again. If it weren’t for the falling dusk, we would have stayed a bit longer.
As darkness started biting off the remaining sheen of sunlight, we hurriedly trekked back to our canoes. Drenched and freezing, I came out of the cave just in time as night crept in. Back in our canoes, we took a leisurely cruise toward the dock at the jump-off point in Maddela. The deafening sound of the river’s calm waters echoed the peaceful, Zen state of mind I was having—fully at peace and finally able to witness the full grandeur of Governor’s Rapids.
