The spellbinding Magkawas Falls

WHEN somebody raved to me the

marvels of the Magkawas Falls, the

newest must-go this side of Caraga, I

gave her the smallest shrug. Like, I

was blasi with what nature can offer, having seen some of the

best.

Boy, was I wrong!

The expedition was a last-minute proposal from Babes, who felt

we all needed a tune-up after a grueling week. Everybody

lapped it up.

Backpacking with some officemates and friends that sunny

Saturday morning, I didn't have much expectations. What

sustained me throughout the one-hour jeepney ride from

Tandag to Sitio Cagmino in Lanuza, Surigao del Sur, was the

prospect of pigging out on Jhunnie's broiled blue marlin in

homemade sauce, Tata's languid crabs in pure coco milk, and

Dee's chocolate cake in sinful frosting.

From the highway where we got off, a billboard screamed:

Lanuza Magkawas Falls and Green Paradise, a mountain resort

eco-destination. A mouthful of hype, I told myself. I just let it

pass not wanting to lose my disposition too early on.

As we entered a wooden gate, the gatekeeper promptly told us

that each child and adult would be charged an entrance fee of

P5 and P10, respectively. He also told us to follow the

duranta-lined foot path, as the falls was still a 15-minute walk

away.

We immediately started hiking on a terrain that was not so

rugged but impossible for any form of transport to negotiate.

Reaching the point where trees started to thicken, we climbed a

55-rung stair that was carved from a mound. As I savored the

view from the top like Simba, I had rivulets of sweat. But by

then, I already had a growing sense that I'd like what I'd see.

After going downhill, we walked under a foliage that was so

thick and cool it was like being inside a cocoon and the chirping

of the birds was but a faint echo of an insensitive world.

The Magkawas Falls doesn't grab you by the neck because it is

not as majestic as other falls. But its starkness has a soothing

quality of quiet to it that gives an exhilarating sense of moment.

As Dee aptly put it, the beauty of the Magkawas Falls is not

visual but spiritual. Because it reaffirms, time and again, that

indeed there is a God.

There are two bathing areas whose varying depths made them

suitable for all types of bathers. They are separated by ripraps

whose jutting stones made them look so natural. The water

flows beautifully over them creating miniature cascades that are

postcard-perfect.

Near the catch basin (the size of a basketball court), there is a

flat rock formation where one could poise a dive into the

inviting waters that mirror graphically everything above it.

Inspite of its visual and spatial limitations, the Magkawas Falls

is a striking showcase of how a small place can be so beautiful.

It is also an excellent study of basic architecture. Landscaping

was tops and structures were built with fastidious attention to

details that they fused seamlessly with nature.

Cottages are made of round timber. They are built in such a way

that they look like they are chiseled out from a cliff, overlooking

the falls.

They are connected by stairs whose handrails are either

naturally wrought branches or enormous crazy vines. The

anahaw thatch has an intricate pattern that creates a dazzling

illusion of scalloped brocade. Tarzan and Jane couldn't have

asked for a much better dwelling.

But what really caught my fancy were the stone vignettes amid

exotic flora. Arranged in circles, stone slabs serve as dining sets

with a vantage view of the falls. I never enjoyed eating before as

much as I enjoyed it there.

The Magkawas Falls spins a practical magic that held me

spellbound. I would have completely transported myself back to

that pristine place and time of yore had it not been for the jolting

presence of signages and billboards.

They are annoyingly everywhere that they somehow spoil the

whole ambience and mystique that the Magkawas Falls

effortlessly creates.

Which brings me to a digression. Why are we so fixated on

signages and billboards? Is ours a hopeless generation that we

always have to be told what not to do?

Signboard mania to me is the worst affliction of the '90s that

there ought to be a statute of limitation on it, given our

predilection to overdo things and trash grammar.

It is to the infinite credit of Mayor Algerico Irrizarri who

transformed this hitherto hidden beauty into an emerging tourist

destination by involving the whole community.

Every Friday, he initiates a linis bayan to prepare the

Magkawas Falls for weekend tourists. A few months from now,

flowers will be abloom. And as I see things, the Magkawas Falls

may after all, live up to its claim of being a green paradise.

Mayor Irrizarri told me he still has a lot of plans for the

Magkawas Falls, especially now that he has received a lot of

glowing comments for it, most notably from the few foreigners

who had visited the site.

I suggested for him not to succumb to the common pitfall of

having concrete structures built within the perimeter of the

Magkawas Falls as they have a way of vandalizing the thematic

concept of nature.

If I have learned something from my visit, it's this: With nature,

nobody is past surprise.