Bato Falls in Barangay Mara-o

November 11, 2012

I found out there was another place to swim with a waterfall about seven miles further upriver, in barangay Mara-o. Anita went with Mark and me in a tricycle as far as the barangay hall where Mark’s friend Liza joined us.

 

Anita went back home to help with preparations for Sheryl’s birthday dinner. Before she left she hooked us up with a couple of guides, the barangay treasurer and friend who were very nice.

 

With machetes they hacked the trail down as we worked our way through the jungle and along the river for a half mile to the falls.

This was great. I could hear lots of birds although I didn’t see them. The jungle is thick and lush with ferns, bamboo, palms and all sorts of vines; a perfect location for Tarzan, Jane and Cheetah.

 

Oh my gosh. Is this paradise or what.

The guys lit a little coconut husk fire to ward off mosquitoes and proceeded to share the gallon of tuba, homemade coconut wine, we’d brought along. BTW tuba is very much to my liking unless its excessively bitter from too much mangrove leaf flavoring.

Mark and Lisa slid off this rock a hundred times.

The falls aren't huge or tall but very beautiful with the water running over and through solid rock that over time has been smoothed. The pool's about ten feet deep, the water clear and looking turquoise with overhanging ferns,moss and liverwort. We saw only one species of fish; the same guys we saw downstream, fewer of them, but Mark said he saw one a foot long.

Looking upstream and downstream

We had the place to ourselves for a while but soon I think because word got out we were there, eight teenage boys showed up and had a great time jumping off the highest rocks, climbimg up the waterfall, sitting behind the waterfall and basically showing me how to have the most possible fun there.

Liverwort thalamus and reproductive 'umbrellas'

looks alot like home

These ferns look like baby cedars

I'm told there's was a cave further up. This region has many limestone caves with big bats and voracious mosquitos. With the mountains rising up so near the sea, there are many waterfalls close by to visit.

This millipede was about eight inches long