It was July 2008 when I first set foot in Montalban,
Rizal. A friend accompanied me to
explore Wawa dam because he happened to know the way and a bit of the place as
well.
We met at the town of Marikina and boarded a jeepney bound
to the terminal in Montalban near the dam itself. The trip was pleasant because it was a
weekend and the weather was perfect for an outdoor activity.
By 9am, we arrived at the jeepney terminal in
Montalban. To our left, I noticed right
away the river that is full of white large boulders of rocks. And after a few minutes of walking, the
famous Montalban landscape comes into a full view.
During my elementary days, I used to read different folklores
and one of them was the tale of Bernardo Carpio. It never occurred in my mind that one day I
will set foot in the setting of his story.
And there it is, the two mountains separated by a river in the middle
which Bernardo Carpio tried to push them apart.
Aside from the folklore of Bernardo Carpio, I learned that
there are so many real things about this place. This place is a favorite destination of
excursionists during summer. The
abandoned dam was built in the early 1900’s by the Americans. The caves on the side of the mountain were
used by the Japanese as their hiding place during World War II and can now be
explored by spelunkers. The mountain
itself is used as a training ground of people who love to climb the mountain
and rappel. And the upstream is used as
a faster means of transportation and for transporting their goods as well.
There are several stalls on the foot of the mountain. This place turned into a good commercial spot
because both locals and tourists will pass this area either going up or coming
down from the mountain. Since it was
July when we came here, there were only few visitors to this place.
Even if you are new to this place, you will not get
lost. There is only one trail that leads
to the dam. As we followed the trail,
there are shanties on both sides of the path.
Along with the presence of shanties near the river come some concerns
about sanitation and cleanliness. Let us
hope that the people who are living here will take good care of their place and
the nearby environment because they are the ones who will benefit from
the influx of tourists.
Anyway, as we followed the path that leads to the dam, there
are so many huge boulders within the river.
I guess these rocks were part of the mountains. It is also a wonder that these rocks exhibit
gray and white colors in contrast with the green environment.
On the other hand, the path that we were tracing was etched
from the side of the mountain. Large protruding
rock formation can be seen along the way.
The trail is good enough for two persons with not much baggage with
them. But if someone is carrying a heavy
load, like the one we saw earlier who carried three sacks of charcoal on his
head and back, the other party must lean against the side of the mountain in
order to let him pass first. And the
moment we reached the upper part of the trail, I could feel the rapid beating
of my heart because we were several meters high and right down below us is the
river. What made me cautious and
somewhat nervous was the open side of the path because one will readily fall to
the cliff once pushed or lost his footing.
Aside from being open and dangerous, the path was wet
also because of the dripping water coming from the mountain. If there are appropriate signs for this
place, they could be slippery when wet, dangerous curves, and high cliff below
your feet. I really took my sweet time walking
on the side of the mountain and praying that it will be over soon. Then we reached the bridge made of metal
sheets and my fear was intensified.
Upon reaching the bridge, it was a funny move on my part
because for a couple of steps I tried to test if the bridge is sturdy. My fear
of heights got into me first without first realizing that the bridge is the
only access of the people in and out of this place. Somehow, with each careful step, I managed to
cross the bridge and the full view of the dam greeted me afterwards.
It was unfortunate, though, that our exploration of the
place was cut short due to some pressing matter. An old woman had lost her way
and her mental condition was not right.
My friend, Christian, felt obliged to accompany her to the proper
authorities in order to ensure her safety.
Since the barangay hall was closed that time, the police station is located in the town proper and it would take more than a couple of hours traveling back and forth.
Well, there is always a next time.
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