The rain pitter-pattered on the roof top, waking me up. It was only the second day and the weather has not shown any mercy. As soon as I opened the door, I was greeted with relentlessness rain beating down mercilessly. We had plans to visit Kawasan falls for a canyoneering today, but the typhoon was in the way.

Milo was provided free-of-charge at the hostel and I requested for one from the hostel staff. It felt great, a cup of hot chocolate in this chilly weather, but where was I again? It’s supposed to be sunny!

Paul finally appeared out of nowhere, still groggy from his (lack of) sleep. There was nothing we could do, the rain didn’t seem to be subsiding so we decided to search for accommodation for our second night instead.

If you read the post on us doing the sardine run, you’d find this a familiar sight. We simply had to take a flight of stairs down and jump into the water and we’ll find ourselves surrounded by a million sardines.

I strongly recommend not booking your accommodation online. Prior to our trip, I found it really difficult to get a decent place because there’s so little choices available! Instead, you’ll find plenty of affordable rooms as you walk down the streets for 1000 pesos a night.

And if you’re wondering if the rain had stopped, it’s not difficult to guess. Instead of moping around, we decided to head out for our plans. Armed with our jackets and motorbike helmets and a failing iPhone for Google maps, we sped our way down to Kawasan falls as raindrops continued hitting down on us harshly.

Mid way, we dropped by for a quick lunch but we were already soaked even before entering the water! There were no other tourists around and everyone was just staring at us.

The trip to Kawansan takes approximately 40 minutes. Even before you reach the church, you’d find many shops offering canyoneering packages but we decided to give it a miss as this was my second overseas trip since my last adventure with a broken foot.

I also read on some blogs that we were supposed to pay 50 pesos for parking, but nobody approached us so we simply parked our motorbike in front of the sign and trekked right in.

And finally, after 15 minutes, we reached the first waterfall!

There were sooooo many people. Tables and rafts were available for rent but it felt silly to be paying for something like that so we moved on to the second waterfall.

This is my favourite thing to do here at Kawasan falls other than swimming – Playing tarzan. In fact, it was so fun I went up at least three times because I was able to unleash my inner monkey!

And the highlight? Checking out the falls up close!

We sat under the falls in silence as water continued falling from so high above. It was the trip we envisioned, one that gave us peace away from city life.

And with this, I end my post. It was such a brilliant experience swimming in the water as we witnessed the power of nature unfold right in front of our eyes. Of course, it would have been a perfect experience if the weather was sunny, but I am thankful for this nonetheless.

Love,

Olivia L.