Colayo's cool waters and majestic mountains

HAPPY WEEKEND

Gina Dizon

(Last of three parts)

PASIL, Kalinga -- The sunny day was meant for a trek  to  Tumuyok Falls so we went up the  village  around 8 a.m. and found  men, women and children sitting up at the front yards  for the morning sunrise or because they  sent get well wishes to an old woman who was carried to  Balatoc  then via vehicular transport to Tabuk  hospital  for treatment.

           

The old woman was carried in a blanket  with both sides  tied to a  pole. This scene was  Sagada in the early  1900s to the 60s when  vehicles were rare such that sick people  were carried to the  hospital that way.

           

I came to  know she was the mother of  James Yao a   schoolmate  from Colayo  who studied  at Saint Mary’s School in Sagada  in the 80’s.  Recently I came to know her mother  went  to the Great Beyond  last week. May she rest in peace amongst the roaring  Pasil River and the towering  mountains of  Colayo where she was born and  grew up in.

           

The trek to Tumuyok Falls  began passing through the  village and on  to the  rice terraces and  the steep climb to Mt  Tippi . The climb was an 80  degree angle  till we reached the top overlooking the village.

           

The  charming village perched  from the snaking river is a  mesmerizing sight to behold.  Smoke  from some hearth billowed out  amidst  rusty colored  GI sheet-roofs.  

           

Towering mountains embraced the  village, living guardians demanding that these be preserved and protected from  fires. Such a sight to  behold an unassuming  village rich in watersheds,  hydropower energy roaring through the  rivers,  copper and  geothermal  energy  from underneath the village. I wished the village will stay the way it was even if  there will be  roads that will be opened in the very near  future.   

           

A trek down  Tippi  mountain  on the other side of the peak  passed through rocky and gravelly pathways overlooking  Maan-anibut  Creek. Going down the  mountain slope was  each careful step lest one went down the river over  rocks and gravelly slopes.

           

The pathways were filled with tube-like plants I don’t know what names these were.  Pink flowers  grew  profusely along the gravelly slopes I had to stop and marvel at the  gifts of nature while my two companions are way down the picnic grounds  along the  bank of the river.

           

Maan-anibut creek was virginal  with fresh waters  straights from the  watersheds of   Mosimos  and Patang.   The river shone with glimmering rocks  shaped by the  slapping  force of the river’s  silvery waters.  

           

We found three boys who already arrived at the river bank  and who were supposed to be our guides. We left  them at the river bank and off we went to  Tumuyok falls and crossed the cool river. I wished to  submerge my feet  for a longer time.  The other side of the river  was perfect for  a picnic  ground. Found  three cornered  stones used  in cooking. Looked like the place was frequented by  trekking and wandering  souls and  hunter- villagers   who  stopped by for a rest and a meal.

           

Maananibut Creek was as marvelous as it looksed --  swimming pools,  gushing  white waters,  big rocks. The creek was magically  coy and trying our patience.  Took us thrice to  cross over  the river.  I came to know from  Jaime Guyang later that day that Ma-an anibut creek was named as it came around the  bend and disappeared again. Sounded similar to a Sagada  word  ‘lumlumbot”, meaning appearing and disappearing.

           

We reached what seemed to be the end of the river wondering where the Falls were. It’s was 2 p.m. with no sight yet of   Tumuyok Falls. Samuel followed the river to find Tumuyok falls.

           

I took pictures of the rocks and the waters  and the fauna and the flora around me, jotted some notes, and got bored waiting.  Nearly an hour passed which got me thinking  our guide  must have  gone to nearby Abra.

           

Samuel  came back with still shots and video clips of Tumuyok Falls-  greenish waters that reflected thick  foliage. The  pool was inviting  enough and  reflected  forever a paradisic  moment  of  nature’s  beauty.  I felt bad having  trekked all the way from Balatoc  and not  taking a dip of  Tumuyok  Falls.  

           

This  classmate of mine  from Colayo  in all in his lifetime  never visited  the Falls of his homeplace until the very  day that  the three of us went.