We left for Real when the New Year was only 10 days and 20 hours old.
We arrived at 4:17, Saturday morning -would’ve probably gotten there sooner if Waze didn’t keep lying to us (Sterero siya!) Next time we’ll print out a map.
The cottage owners were still asleep (rental opens at 6am and closes at 10pm), so we found shelter in the form of a coconut hut while waiting for them and the sun to rise. Jim, Harry and Bea did the smart thing and took power naps. But Tommy and I were more interested in capturing images of the sky getting dressed. The boats watched with us.
We were only interested in seeing which colors the sky would choose to wear that day. But the local sky guardians mistook our intentions as perverse and went to investigate our actions. They came in the form of dogs, which made me panic. So Tommy had to come to my rescue and distract them with sticks.
After appeasing the guardians we bumped into some of Harry’s friends -who came to Real after an inuman down South. We woke the others and followed our new comrades to a yellow house by the sea.
We didn’t bring any food with us. Only alcohol for my friends and a bottle of water for me. But there was a palengke full of freshly caught sea creatures nearby, as well as a local woman who happened to have pro-ihaw skillz.
And just two tumblings away from our cottage was a treehouse tindahan with snacks and Cola.
We had no worries.
…Except when we were making our way to Mt. Balagbag (where the waterfalls hide). Harry drove his City across the countryside -which was under construction. But even in its unraveled state, the countryside was so terrific the City couldn’t help but quiver. It trembled and shook so much we were afraid it wouldn’t be able to keep itself together. But the City survived and we made it to the falls. We even found the most hipster rock place ever along the way.
There was so much beauty there. So much life in the endless ocean crashing up against great black rocks. I bet those boulders were sleeping giants in disguise.
Wonderland (my camera) was pooped by the time we got to Balagbag. And so were we. Still, we paid the Php 20 entrance fee and trekked on. So worth it. Wonderland managed to stay awake until after we got a few shots of the falls, but fell asleep shortly after. A few shots were all we needed anyway.
We left Quezon a few hours later -making our way back to Muntinlupa after charging our phones and bodies with naps and electrical sockets. We were lost for most of the way going home, but following Jollibee signs helped us get back to civilization.
Whattatrip!
{Breakdown of Expenses}
There were five of us, and we each had to pitch in:
Php 500 Gas
Php 300 Palengke money
Php 400 Place to stay
What else I spent on: Php 350 for food and water. The rest spent a lot more because they bought alak.
Expect to spend about Php 1550 each for the trip if you’re in a group of five. Php 2000 if you drink or if you want to go surfing/skim boarding (board rentals are Php 200). And Php 2500 if you want to eat somewhere fancy after..
The End.
GIS DO IT! 