Monday Musings: Mambukal Resort and It's 7 Falls

I still remember that day we went to Mambukal Resort. The team planned to trek the 7 falls. I said I'd go, but planned to cover only the first three falls since I heard getting to the 7th was hard. Little did I know the guide decided to switch the hike. We started from top to bottom.

As expected I trudged on slowly. A few friends stayed behind to keep me company. By the time I reached the area of the 7th waterfall I was too tired to move. I just hung out a shed with Dana until we decided to head back down.

I thought it would be easier to go down. It wasn't! The trek down had us removing our shoes to cross a river. We hang on tree branches for dear life. Slowly go through an area where there were bees swarming. I could barely walk by the time we reached fall number 3 and I had to rest a bit. I let my friends move ahead since lunch was about to be served.

I took my sweet time going back down since my thighs were already frozen. Because I was left behind I had time to take as many photos as I wanted and I had a ready photographer -- the guide! Hahaha. I may not have planned to see all the 7 waterfalls, but I did! And that was a huge achievement for me. I paid for it for a week! That's what you get from hiking without any practice!

What's your most memorable hike? 

CB//112 #StuckAtHomeDay/142 #WFH81  #StayHome #BeKind

Achievement Unlocked: Mambukal

So it's my birthday/work anniversary month once again. I celebrated the last day of July by having this delicious cake at Calea -

August snuck up on me since I was in Bacolod for work when it rolled-in. I ended up spending most of the day indoors working and I realized that I hadn't recovered from the trip to Iloilo just a few days before heading to Bacolod, so spending time alone was a rare treat (would've been better if connectivity was better). I had a nice lunch by myself where I got to read since the rains affected connecting to the internet (perennial telco problem). Anyway I enjoyed being disconnected for awhile since I haven't had any me time for a long time.

The next day I had a #yolo moment and went to Mambukal with my colleagues. Mambukal is a popular tourist destination an hour away from Bacolod City. It boasts of 7 waterfalls (they say there's an eight but it's high up the mountains). Franz said that his grandparents managed to get around waterfalls 1-6 with no problem, so I thought it would be okay since I had been doing a lot of walking in Singapore.

I forgot about my 5 Ps.
*Proper planning prevents poor performance

I should've read more about Mambukal. I didn't know that it was a a huge park that required hiking. I told myself I would just take a look at the first and second waterfall and then head down so I don't push my body too hard. The guides though reversed the route and started with waterfall #7 (I didn't have a clue). Two minutes heading up the mountain the whole team already had left me behind so I ended up huffing and puffing up the trail with the guide and Jerome. The guide eventually relented and found a shortcut for me so we rode a habal habal to reach the area of the seventh waterfall and that's where we caught up with the rest of the group.

They only had stairs from #1 and #2.

It had rained the previous day so the trail was slippery and I saw a number of colleagues had already slipped. I'm flat footed so that meant I had to be extra careful. My guide though was an angel and made sure I was okay throughout the trek especially when we had to cross the river. I was really nervous, but I still managed to appreciate the beautiful falls. Waterfall #6 as really interesting since it had a cliff where you can jump to take a dip in the pool (sorry I didn't jump). People took turns to jump so it was quite fun cheering them on.

The dipping pool at waterfall #6.

Part of #6, make sure to try out the yummy cassava by Manang.

On the way down to the fifth waterfall we encountered a huge beehive. There were a gazillion bees in the area. My guide made me walk faster so we would avoid getting bitten. A colleague got bitten and 2 kids walking behind me got bitten. It was scary having to rush down the area but the reward was seeing another beautiful waterfall.

It was an amazing day. It was a huge achievement for me to survive the trek. I missed out enjoying the company of my companions since I couldn't keep up with them, but I realized since the trek up Borubodur last year very few people understand what it means to have my condition. I still couldn't walk properly and it's been 5 days since the trek, but I'm happy to say that the adventure did not affect my heart. Lesson learned though, do more research before doing a #yolo moment coz it will save you a lot of muscle pain.

Good thing my guide liked taking photos! GoPro is a bit hard to figure out though.

Special thanks to my guide (I was too shy to ask his name) and Kuya Raul for making sure I made it back (and to Jerjer for being there on the way up)!