Discovering Pinas

I was invited by my cousin Bing to this church outing in Batangas on Labor Day. I said, ‘why not?’ I haven’t left the metro for like 9 months and I don’t include going to Dasmarinas, Cavite monthly as a roadtrip since my aunt has a house there and I treat it as my second home. So when this opportunity came by, I grabbed it immediately.

My cousin said that we were gonna meet in the church at 5am so I didn’t bother sleeping the night before because I always sleep very late like 3am! When we got there, we were the first to arrive. We knew there were people staying/sleeping in the church so we knocked on the door hoping somebody is already awake. The door opened at like 6am and the people who pledged to be there at 5am sharp were not there yet. Another hour has passed then we were asked to go down because the car is ready and we just need to wait for another car to arrive so we can go. That’s another hour of waiting in the car. The church minister, Bro. Jun suggested that we’d just go to the nearest falls because if we were gonna pursue our original plan to Batangas, we might not have enough time to enjoy the beach and other stuff when we get there. He suggested that we go to Amadeo, Cavite because they have Balite falls there.

We were driving on the coastal road when I dozed off. I woke up about an hour later and the sceneries weren’t familiar to me anymore. Based on the store signboards along the road, we were already in Gen. Trias, Cavite. After that town, it’s already Amadeo. On the welcome sign of Amadeo, it says it’s the coffee town of the Philippines. The Balite falls in Amadeo is just an hour and a half away from the metro. The entrance fee to the falls is 75pesos. Parking space has a separate charge and cottages as well.

There are two falls of Balite. The first one on top is smaller compared to the falls below it. The water in the bigger falls is 18 feet deep. A lot of people dive onto the deep water. I wish I had the courage to do what they did but I’m terribly afraid of deep water. I only stay on 5 feet or less. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the green scenery of Balite Falls. They say that the water in Balite falls has healing effects. Maybe because it’s pristine, pure and free of inorganic materials. The management don’t permit the guests to even use soap or shampoo when taking a bath in the falls.

I was glad to go with the church people that day because I have discovered another tourist spot near the Metro Manila. Why don’t you go and visit Balite falls before summer ends. It’s just an hour and a half away.