Mambukal Getaway

Last Saturday, Me, Augustine, Cathy and Erik went to Mambukal. It was Cathy’s second time there but for the three of us, it was our first time in there.

We took the 9 am ferry going to Bacolod and headed straight to SM for our groceries. We ate our lunch at Manokan Country and got a jeep to the Mambucal Bus Station. After an hour or so, we arrived at Minoyan, Murcia but it was fully booked. It was a good thing that there was this guy who told us about a place outside Mambukal where we could stay. We paid 1200 for a room with 2 beds, a fan and a CR.

After that, we headed straight to the resort and paid our entrance fee of 50 pesos each. We explored the place but when we got the area where hiking at the falls is being done, we decided to grab the opportunity as the sun will set in 4 hours or so. We wrote our names, bought water and asked help from Manong Lando, our guide.

The first falls was easy. There was a guard station and there were a lot of people in that area. Bathing however is not allowed on this falls. In getting to the second falls, you have to climb steep stones, again bathing is not allowed. The third falls also require trekking in stone and no bathing still. The fourth falls was damaged by a typhoon so it was gone. The fifth falls has a no bathing policy too.

We were targeting the 6th falls as bathing in there is allowed. They also have a sari sari store there so we could take a short rest and buy more water. It is in this part of the trek where we met the child guides. At first, we thought they were just playing along with us as they have nothing to do anyway but little did I know that they were also guiding and at the end of the day, they would also ask for tips. There were two girls and three boys. They were neighbours. They were helpful but they are not as good as our adult guide.

We bathe in the sixth falls, talked to the children there and after a while, headed straight to the seventh falls. The seventh falls is out of the way but getting there means passing by wild sunflowers, houses and such. It was more flat and therefore easier to trek.

We also bathed in the cool water of the falls. After that, we went back via the “short cut”, the kids are still with us. We saw a few rice terraces, Bacolod from afar and so on. We reached a point where the kids said they can’t go from there. I wanted to give them 20 pesos each as there were 5 of them but Erik Cathy and Augustine protested.

After that, we were left with our original guide, Nong Lando. We passed by this house where we saw a 5 year old kid asking for money and holding a lit cigarette. We were shocked by it but our guide told us that it’s natural for people in that area to have different behaviours. He even told us that our children guides were smokers and gamblers too.

We went to the Dipping pool but before that, we paid Nong Lando 250 pesos. The dipping pool has a lot of people. You need to dip yourself slowly as possible as it would be too hot to jump into the pool right away. Entrance fee for the dipping pool is 50 pesos. I felt rejuvenated and relaxed on its waters. The 7 falls trek was nothing; I could do it again and again if and only if there is a dipping pool escapade in the end.

After that we went back to our place and ate dinner. I was not able to sleep the night before so I slept from 8 pm to 8 am. In the morning, we headed to the playground, the boating lagoon. Cathy and Erik took the Zipline. We took their photos as we did not bother with the Zipline.

After that we bought softdrinks, swam at the pool and packed our bags to catch our 5:15 boat ride back to Iloilo. It was a good thing that the place that we are staying in is just a few steps away from the bus terminal. We arrived in Bacolod city at around 2 pm and went straight to the Wharf via a Tricycle to get back to Iloilo before 6 p.m..