A month after our Maculot hike, we found ourselves at the foot of Mt. Romelo located in the depths of Siniloan, Laguna to chase some waterfalls. Mt. Romelo is the home to seven waterfalls. However, due to time constraints we aimed only for two waterfalls: Buruwisan falls and Lanzones falls. 

It has a refreshing contrast to the warm beachy climate we have at our hometown. Gloomy weather, cool breeze, and afternoon drizzles. Somehow reminded me of our fieldwork days in Mt. Makiling and Mt. Cristobal. All those morning hikes, data gatherings and rewarding waterfall jumps. Ahh, nostalgic.

Compared to the mountains that I have dared to conquer, Mt. Romelo thus far has the most confusing trail. There’s just so many diverging paths. Really, the mountain is like a buffet of forks. Ha-ha. Confusing, yes, but advantageous as well. Forks and or alternative trails can be  efficient trail traffic minimizers and time savers. If you know what I mean.  i.e  When we went, more or less a hundred high school students were also off to the falls that day, so as to avoid traffic, we used an alternative trail.

I'm not sure, though, which trail is easier and and or shorter,theirs or ours. Kuya Paul, our climb coordinator, said that we had a good pacing. Could it be that we took a shortcut? I didn't thought of asking our guide. Or perhaps we were just that excited? Ha-ha.

The trail, in general, is muddy beyond belief. If you've read other entries or heard rants about Mt. Romelo being extremely muddy, believe them, they're not exaggerating. I was fascinated how the mud easily built up on my soles. A few steps and  it already felt like I'm on heels. My companions had to stop once in a while and scrape the mud off their soles but personally I could use some additional weight  so I left my soles as muddy as they are.  The mud would eventually come off on their own anyway when it gets too thick. Also, donkeys serve as porters here so just a friendly reminder, watch your steps. Some poops might be camouflaging on the mud. Haha. I didn't know donkeys to be good hikers.

We assumed that the other hikers would root for Buruwisan falls first so we opted to visit its humble neighbor first, Lanzones falls. Its a small waterfall in a corner of a stone wall. This two-storey high waterfall has a small and shallow catch basin. We had the falls to ourselves. It's like having your own personalized waterfall pool. We had our early lunch here as we watched the falls and allowed the gushing waters so soothe our ears.

Next up is the main event --- Buruwisan Falls. Surprisingly, there weren't anyone there but us. We took our time admiring the surroundings and taking pictures. The place is enchanting! We were all in awe and for a moment thought that we're in another realm. Until the others arrived and ruined the silence. They were all shouting and laughing like they own the place and they looked drunk. Good thing they didn't stayed for long. He-he.

The summit wasn't originally part of our itinerary but since we're still way ahead of it, we decided to go for the summit. It doesn't look as elevated as a summit should and there wasn't much to see but overlooking such a lush vegetation was refreshing to the eyes.

Once again, kudos to the Barefoot Travels team for making this day hike possible. This was Kate and I’s second time to join their day hike and also the second time to be in their pioneer team. As expected, another awesome experience with them. I’m looking forward for more awesome trips with Barefoot Travels. Hopefully, next time will be a camping trip. He-he. 

P.S Try the buko ice candy in the mountain store and the halo-halo  by the registration office, they're soo good. Credits to Ms. My and Aisha for the group photos. :)


 xxx