So today was a “do nothing day” compared to my usual filled to the brim days. Instead of going to the beach to snorkel, my tour had to be changed because of high surf warnings and heavy undertow. As a result, the tour company suggested a trip to Hidden Valley Springs, an area filled with hot, warm and cool natural springs as well as some nature walks.
With no alternatives, I agreed so at 6:45 a.m., my guide, Andrei, picked me up and we drove approximately 1 ½ hours to Laguna County where we exited the freeway and took a road past more food stalls and jeepneys than I could count. Shortly before 8:30, we turned off onto a narrow road and wound our way through a small town before being waved through a checkpoint and driving through a forested area to reach Hidden Valley Springs.
Once I received my orientation, I set off on the 1 km walk from the entrance along a lovely paved path to the springs area. Along the way, I passed the restaurant where I would have lunch and some kind of pool where an “Alligator Gar” resides. This thing looked like a fish until it turned and then the face and teeth looked just like an alligator. Weird looking whatever it was.
Anyway, I eventually passed the hot pool and reached the changing rooms. I ended up storing my things in a locker and then took off past the warm pool for the nature walk to the Hidden Valley Springs waterfall. I figured I might as well do that first as opposed to taking the walk while I was dripping wet. In addition, it was
still early morning so the heat and humidity was not at its peak.
So the walk took me down a flight of stairs and then up another flight of stairs before the ground leveled off. About 5 minutes into the hike, I passed the cool pool and at this point I had to walk over a bamboo bridge of sorts and then continue the hike along paver stones. I was surrounded by huge palm trees and lots of green bushes as I walked. At one point, I passed a pool filled with waterlilies and spotted some birds playing in the water. I ended up with a decent picture of what turned out to be a white breasted waterhen.
After another 10 minutes, I reached a set of about 40 stairs and walked down those and at the bottom, one of the guys who appeared to be a maintenance person told me it was about another 5 minutes to the falls, but that with the recent rains, it was pretty slick. He offered to help me over the stones and pavers to reach the falls and I readily accepted. So 5 minutes later, after passing rocks weeping water and almost slipping on a number of stones, the young man helped me across a number of large boulders so that I could see the waterfall. Now as waterfalls go, it was not that big, but it was nevertheless lovely.
So after a few pictures, I started the trek back and was immediately faced with the hike back up the 40 stairs. Now normally that is not a problem, but in this heat and humidity, I was sweating profusely by the time I reached the top. From here, it seemed rather easy to hike back and reach the main pools.
After I arrived back at the main area, I went back to the locker room, changed into my swimsuit and immediately hopped into the warm pool. I needed to cool down a bit and the warm pool was perfect. Once I was cooled down, I walked back up the stairs and headed over to the hot pool. Now this pool was somewhat hot, but certainly not the same level of hot that I experienced at the hot springs on Flores Island in Indonesia.
I ended up lounging around the two different pools (I did not feel a need to go to the cool pool) and finally figured I had enough about 2 hours later. I then found an empty cabana and pulled up a couple pillows and dozed for the next hour. By 1:00, I figured it was time for lunch so I headed over to the restaurant for what turned out to be a fabulous buffet lunch. Roasted squash soup, singapore noodles, barbecued chicken, lots of cut veggies and pineapple and jelly coconut for desert.
By 2:00, I was headed back to the main gate area where I met Andrei for our trip back to Manila. On the way, we stopped for buko juice, which Andrei insisted I had to try. Turns out it was just coconut water with some coconut cut up in the juice. Buko is apparently the word for coconut.
After the brief stop, we continued on back to Manila, passing the magnificent Mt. Makaling along the way and finally getting caught up in a rainstorm. (The weather forecast called for rain the last two days, but it was actually sunny and dry yesterday and most of today). The storm slowed us a bit, but I was still back in Manila by 3:45. Tomorrow, I have a tour of the old town in the morning and in the evening, I have a drive around old Manila to see the lights and to visit a night market. (Oh and I found a Philippine Christmas ornament. Still haven’t been shut out! Also found one in Papua New Guinea but that sucker is going to be buried in the back of the tree.)