The sky was the color of
mud, raindrops pelting us sideways and the wind growing stronger. 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 obvious
correct call of our guide. While there was an ounce of disappointment, I just chalked
this place in my ‘see you next time’ list
despite the uncertainty of my travel schedules.
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 Sierra
Madre.
Governor's Rapids—named
after a Japanese Governor General who disappeared on 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 is known for hiding a system of caves and waterfalls as
well as some dwelling sites of our Dumagat and Agtas
brothers and sisters. We wasted no time as our small party boarded two colorful
canoes and immediately proceeded to tackle on 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 only passed by 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 mound on the middle of
the river and climbed over it at around 15-20 feet high.
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| Photo courtesy of the Great Ferdz Decena |
The second time’s
indeed a charm as there’s no way I would experience 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 to this
adventure attraction in Quirino Province.
Cave Falls
Before we head 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 in Samar,
this is the first time I would venture inside a cave with a waterfalls.
After a few minutes of canoe
ride from the cliff diving spot, our guide motioned to our team to disembark at
the side of another massive limestone wall. A few steps away is a
narrow pathway leading inside a cave. After entering the passageway, I immediately
heard the sound of water like a beast growling inside a cage. Following a few moments of struggle inserting my body through slender openings, an expansive space like the inside of a cathedral with
high rocky ceilings greeted me.
There it was, a waterfalls 12 meters high streaming cold fresh water into a basin wide enough for
all of us (ten people) 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 of dusk, we would
have stayed a bit longer.
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| My ever reliable BaseKamp aqua shoes |
As darkness starts biting
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 towards the dock at the jump-off
place in Maddela. The deafening sound of the river’s still waters echoing the
peaceful Zen state of mind I’m having—fully at peace at finally able to see the
grandeur of Governor’s Rapids.
