The Philippine Diaries – Day Ten

I didn’t get a great sleep. There were packs of dogs in the area and roosters and pigs next door, which made for a noisy night, however, I felt well rested.

A tarsier

Breakfast was included in the cost of the room, so I went out around 7:30AM to order some food. My plan for the day was to go to the Philippine Tarsier Sanctuary. I didn’t get my fill of tarsiers at the last place nor was I able to get any clear shots. I wanted to enjoy them one more time, as they are neat little creatures. 

The sanctuary opened at 9:00AM so I left my guesthouse around 8:15AM. When I got to the Philippine Tarsier Sanctuary, it was already open though it wasn’t yet 9:00AM. There were a ton of tourist vans in the parking lot already. 

The entry fee was 60PHP. A small group of us went for a briefing to learn a bit about the tarsiers. After, we had a guide who pointed out where the tarsiers were. We got to see about five or six. The sanctuary didn’t have any fences like the last place so I was able to get a bit closer for photos though they still turned out a tad blurry. I used my iPhone 7+.

It took about twenty minutes to go through the sanctuary. When the tour was done, I drove northwest to check out some waterfalls. I didn’t have service on my phone and stupidly forgot to take screenshots of the area. I did have an idea of where I was going and I was able to get a location point on Google Maps. I stopped one or two places to ask for help as well. Thankfully most people speak English here and are very friendly!

The first waterfall I came across was called Camugao Falls. I almost drove past the turnoff road because the name of the falls was spray painted in red above another sign. The road was rocky and bumpy and went on for kilometers. I asked someone who was working on their land if there was a waterfall and they waved their hand as if to tell me to keep on going.

Camugao Falls

There was a 25PHP charge for the falls and a 20PHP fee to park my scooter. There were people near the trailhead selling fruit, snacks and drinks. I didn’t buy anything but made my way on the path to the waterfall. It was a lovely fifteen-minute walk in the forest to get to the falls. I luckily had the place all to myself! It was a gorgeous area with a huge swimming hole!

After floating for some time, others showed up. I decided to make my way to the next waterfall. I asked the folks at the Camugao Falls for directions. The other falls I was looking for were called Kawasan Falls. I found them without any trouble. There was a 20PHP entry fee but it was hardly worth it. There was very little water. I thought maybe I was missing something because there are lovely photos online of an awesome swimming hole and comments about it being one of the best waterfalls on the island.

The two men who took my entry fee didn’t speak any English but a young kid used some English words like, water, no, irrigation, off. I found it slightly amusing that he couldn’t speak English yet knew the word irrigation. The waterfall was disappointing but the first one made up for it. It was worth the trip.

I contemplated going back to the first waterfall to hang out for the day but I also wanted to head back to the river to relax for the afternoon. On my way back, I stopped at a restaurant around the corner from my guesthouse. It was called the Lodge Restaurant and Bar. It sits right over the river and serves western style food. I ordered a delicious hamburger and fries and a cold beer. (495PHP)

I headed back to my place and spent a few hours fiddling around with my computer. I discovered that my GoPro wasn’t uploading photos to my computer. I wondered if it was because my computer wasn’t up to date. I updated my software but still had no luck. 

I downloaded GoPro Quik onto my computer but it also wasn’t uploading the images. It did inform me that my GoPro needed to be updated so I did that but still no luck. It must be the cord as it’s finicky when I try to charge my GoPro. A bit sucky that that it decided to happen on my vacation. Oh, well. I was able to download the images onto the GoPro app on my iPhone via Wi-Fi. It’s kind of a pain but at least there is a way to get them onto my computer. 

Around 5:00PM, I was still very full from my late lunch. I went to the 7-11 and picked up a bag of chips and a couple of beers. I went back to my room and watched three episodes of ‘This is Us’ before turning out my lights for the night and thinking about what I'd like to do the following day.