Kawasan Falls

On 21st December we went to Mactan Island, Cebu as were going to spend Christmas with Kyle's family. The photo shows the pool at our resort, which was always a welcome relief at the end of the day.


Kyle took us to Kawasan Falls, which is a four-hour drive from Mactan Island. These consist of a series of three falls, with crystal-clear warm water and fascinating rock outcrops and jungle overgrowth. Although developed for tourism, this has been done in a sensitive and non-obtrusive way with grass and bamboo structures along with other local material. We walked for about half an hour along a rocky path to the first waterfall, pictured on the right. Here we ate local squid and a Filipino sour soup, along with the ubiquitous rice.

We then walked along another, rockier path, passing innumerable rapids and small waterfalls, like the one on the left. I thought about my rafting experience on the Bhote Kosi and how impossible it would be to raft this river.

We reached the second falls and again went for a delightful swin. The photo shows Kyle in front of part of the falls. Kyle and Lyndal attempted to climb up one of the falls - it was great fun to watch, and they eventually made it with some assistance from the locals.


We then walked to the third set of falls and Kyle caught a baby goat for Lyndal, which she was thrilled about. I think that Kyle may have been planning to eat it, but Lyndal just wanted to cuddle it.


We finally made it to the third set of falls, which have a so-called 'natural jacuzzi', which is pictured. We swam, drank coconut milk from freshly-cut coconuts and then headed on the long walk back to the road.


On the way back down, as we passed the river which flows from the falls, we found local children doing their own form of white-water rafting, in large rubber inner-tubes. They were having a lot of fun!


We eventually made it back down, and then went to a local 'wet market', where raw fish and meat are sold. Kyle's friend Gino, who was with us, politely asked Lyndal and I not to stand near him, since it reduced his ability to haggle over the price. As soon as they saw he was associated with foreigners, the fish sellers automatically assumed that he must have access to a lot money, and they offered him very high prices. So we wandered away and listened to a tin-drum band of sorts, playing an instrument made of metal and accepting donations as they went. Shopping in the Philippines is different from Canberra! :-)

That night Gino cooked us a great meal of, you guessed it, fish and rice. It was all prepared over two small fires made from coconut and bamboo we had collected. We slept in an abandoned resort, in the best rooms - the ones that had a roof and four walls. As there was no glass in the windows, we were lulled to sleep by the sound of waves crashing on the shore. Bliss.

The next day we headed back to Mactan Island to prepare for Christmas.