JODELYN MAE S.

CANGREJO GRADE 12- WISDOM

I LEFT MY HEART IN ASIK-ASIK FALLS

The Philippines own numerous stunning and impressive waterfalls all

throughout its islands. One of the most eye-catcher among these waterfalls
that I’m blessed to have discovered and visited is the Asik-Asik Falls of North
Cotabato. I have spectated several waterfalls in my life but never have I seen
yet one as peculiar as Asik-Asik Falls.
I am a half-Ilongga, half-Cebuana and the word Asik-Asik isn’t a mystery
to me. The Karay-a people, an ethnolinguistic group with origins from Antique
province which dominates the area, popularized the term which means
sprinkles in English. Kinaray-a, an Austronesian language spoken by the
Karay-a people who settled in Alamada in the first half of the century, is the
mother tongue of Ilonggo. Residents of Sitio (sub-village) Dulao in Alamada’s
Barangay (village) Upper Dado call the natural wonder “asik-asik” because
water from rocks on the cliff sprinkle the river beside it, creating gossamer
curtains. “Asik” in Hiligaynon language, means “sprinkle.”
Asik-Asik Falls, situated in the remote sub-village of Dulao in Barangay
Upper Dado, Alamada town, North Cotabato Philippines but what is unique
about Asik-Asik Falls is that it comes out of a cliff at the edge of a flattened hill,
which is not even a stream or a canal. Water raining down from the falls is so
cold and clean that visitors can drink from it. Other locals even claim the water
from the falls could heal some illnesses.
Its water source has remained a mystery. The area surrounding the falls
is a dry agricultural upland, planted mostly with corn and a number of other
upland crops. The nearest body of water, Lake Baranibud, is approximately 10
kilometers from the site toward the boundary of North Cotabato and Lanao del
Sur. Its discovery was also accidental. Residents that live and come to North
Cotabato Philippines have known that water is flowing from that side of the hill
but were not quite sure of its form, as the area was covered by thick vegetation.
Alamada Mayor Bartolome Lataza reported that a series of events led to
the discovery of the hidden treasure, starting with a fire that razed some of the
vegetation covering of the area followed by a landslide that carved out part of
the hill and uprooted some trees, bamboos, and a large “balete” tree.
In December 2010, Jun Miranda, a village councillor, visited the area
and discovered the falls.
 “I found this very beautiful and amazing view, which I immediately
reported to the barangay council,” Miranda said, “which led the village council
to conduct a site inspection.”
The beauty of the Asik-Asik waterfalls in Alamada town in North
Cotabato had remained hidden from the public eye until its photo went viral on
the Internet. Thanks to Facebook and other social networks, blogging by some
enthusiasts, and a report by a national TV network, Asik-Asik Falls has
become a sensation.
I as a netizen also found out about this together with my mom so we told
dad about it hoping we’ll be able to go there since the location is familiar. Dad
wasn’t showing any interest that day so I and my mom just forgot about it.
It was a gloomy morning on May 17th in the year 2016 as we woke up
before the dawn of the night broke. The mist is clinging on my skin as I open
the windows and letting the air enter our house to refresh the suffocated
sleeping souls. The darkness slowly faded as the sun started to rise so I took a
deep breath and suddenly my father announced a sudden change of events
“Jody, Pack up and get ready! Our destination for today is at Asik-Asik Falls!”.
My unconscious mind and soul suddenly attracted a lot of excitement currents
that overflowed inside me as I immediately packed up my bag with my things
together with my parents’ stuff. Later, Dad activated the motorcycle engine and
blowed the horn like an alarm clock that tells us that we’re ready to go. Me and
my Mom bid goodbye to our sweet home and hopped up to the passenger seat.
When the first ray of light have shone from the east, we hitted the road
immediately and Dad activated the speakers we were carrying and had it play
Rock Medleys and Electronic Music since the three of us are fans of music.
The road heading to Asik-Asik Falls arrival area required more than just
an hour of motorcycle ride. Good thing we started early in the morning that the
sun has not released its fiery rays yet. Riding up the unpaved roads, the tires
crashing as my heart beats excitedly. We passed through extremely rough and
bumpy ride by the off-road trails as well as sets of buttery ride along the
concrete roads. As my hair danced along with the wind I traverse through the
agricultural fields of Midsayap, Libungan, and Alamada that gave me a
refreshing view of the rural scene of the region. The endless view of the valley
bordered by the mountains of the nearby provinces kept me entertained and
amused during the trip. I enjoyed the rustic views especially when we were
already traversing the hills of Alamada that overlooks the valleys of Cotabato.
More than an hour sitting and balancing at the passenger seat of the
motorcycle numbed my butt. There are challenging roads along the way and to
be specific there are switchback roads and undulate roads that are sometimes
too ascending that dad couldn’t handle that made him say “Let’s take a break.”
that suddenly became a moment of #Fambam picture taking since we are
surrounded by beautiful mountainscapes. The vastness of these mountains will
surely entertain the heart of a wanderlust soul.
It was a very long ride. This, however, tested us to prove worthy of seeing
this wonder of Cotabato. Asik Asik Falls looks so easy to reach coming from a
still picture and who’d never imagine that this Mindanao jewel was the real
dare devil. The road was cruel that the travel itself would break your spirit
coming to this place. But everything was paid-off at the last part of the trip. As
we got nearer to our destination, the cold air started blowing on my face as we
get to see the vast landscape and mountains of Alamada.
After almost a thousand of bumps and humps from the motorcycle ride,
we made it safely to the jump off area and managed to disembark, we logged on
to the visitor’s log book and paid the fees. The rush of my blood wavered my
hands as I wrote my name on the visitors’ log book. The cold fresh air of the
mountains awakened my senses as it dominated the whole atmosphere that
gave chilling sensation to our nasals. An early morning scene in this remote
place felt exclusive.
“Ahhh! It’s also been a while since I heard the loud sound of silence.” I
whispered to myself. After appreciating the area, we had a heartful breakfast
at the nearby karenderya (food stall) that offer something like packed lunch,
traditional style. Rice with shredded native chicken meat wrapped in banana
leaves. They call it "pastel" and is available at P10-P30 and since our stomachs
are aching we stopped by and satisfy our cravings. After eating, we immediately
asked for directions and we followed.
At one of the houses in the village lies a small garden where we bought
our personally picked strawberries where they also sell key chains that made
my materialistic soul pull back and made me bought one of those key chains
that is a wood with a carving that says “We were there at Asik-asik Falls”. After
being distracted by temptations, we started our trek down the ridge to the
waterfalls. The downhill trek is easy because of the cemented staircase which is
approximately 700 steps. There are shaded rest stops along the way but it is
more often used during the uphill trek back. One would not notice the
descending footsteps down the trail because your eyes will be treated with a
panoramic view of Alamada's mountain farmlands and I can finally hear the
sound of the water like a voice of an angelic choir. What seemed to be dragging
footsteps suddenly turned like the stomps of galloping horses. Screams of
amazement echoed across the whole place. Suddenly we became kids again.
Each step taken is a one step closer to this mysterious falls and as the
stairs begin to decrease in numbers an entrance made by wild vine plants
would welcome you and will make you feel more magical and romantic. For a
brief moment, I was in awe at the grandiosity of Asik-Asik Falls. We could not
wipe away the smiles from our lips and the twinkle in our eyes when we first
saw it in full view. I was dumbfounded with its enchanting beauty that I
wondered how such a natural wonder was kept hidden from the world for a
long time. I breathed in its beauty while enjoying the warmth of the sun and
the gentle trickles of mist on my skin. It was worth enjoying the moment first
before doing anything and there I forgot about my stressful road experience.
The warmth of the morning sun embraced my skin as I grabbed a
moment to take in the magnificence that was in front of me. The view was
bizarre. My mind cannot find a more appropriate word to define the beauty of
the curtain of water cascading on a rock face with green vegetation. Asik-Asik's
beauty is also clouded with mystery. The water that cascades onto the wall
surface emanates from a spring beneath its walls unlike other waterfalls where
its water comes from a water source upstream. I have seen it in pictures and,
now that I am standing in front of it, the mystery behind Asik-Asik Falls begin
to deepen.
I immediately borrowed my mother’s phone and started to take hundreds
of pictures. After a few moments, I stopped taking pictures with my camera
when the water brought out its alluring melody accompanied by the
choreographed smiles of my parents and other tourists. I couldn’t help but to
dip-in and enjoy the cold water of Asik-Asik Falls. Facing the unusual facade of
the waterfall made me realize how colossal the waterfall is.
The water is really cold that would leave you freezing. But despite of how
cold it is it doesn’t really matter when my adventurous soul is craving for an
experience. Later, dad directly poured water inside a water bottle and drank it
so I tried it as well and the water really tastes like spring water that had just
been taken out from a fridge since it is really freezing.
Later, while I and my mother are taking pictures and enjoying our time
while we are there, my father followed the trail to where the river is heading
and surprisingly, he spotted a cave so he called us to go there. There are a lot
of rocks so you are not free to run freely since you may slip and hurt yourself.
We entered a small cave and it was also mysterious itself since the water also
pours from above like a shower that left my mind in wonder but it really feels
comfortable inside that cave with fresh spring water coming out that wash the
sands on my shoulder away. When my parents decided to go back I looked
back to the cave hoping one day I could return back there.
The place is really too beautiful and ethereal not to be seized and
enjoyed. A little sacrifice for a piece of heaven, I believe, is more than its worth.
I just couldn't help myself but to be mesmerized with this wonder of nature
that is seldom reached by the general public.
 The evening is calling and we weren’t able to stay for too long. I wish we
could have stayed a bit longer but night time is a dangerous time of the day so
it’s better to just let it be.
Traversing back the trail turned me to a mess. Never did I realized how
steep it was not until it was time for us to get back to the jump-off area. What
made it worse was the scorching heat of the descending sun. A piece of heaven
really deserves a hellish price. Nevertheless, there are shaded rest stops so we
are free to rest whenever we like.
In every shaded rest stops we stop by I notice there would always be
markers and carvings with names written on it so I decided to carve something
too that says “We were there at Asik-Asik Falls 05-17-2016 CANGREJO
FAMILY” and headed off immediately. Later, when we were almost at the jump-
off area and we were so tired but we approached a horse with it’s owner. We
asked for a fare but it was too expensive so we just took a picture with it and
paid P50 and we continued the trail until we made it to the jump-off area
before nightfall.
Going home wasn’t really hard since the road just keeps on descending I
keep on looking back because I felt like my adventurous soul is dissatisfied but
I keep on telling myself that someday, I’ll be returning to this wonderful,
mysterious and alluring Asik-Asik Falls. I looked back one last time and bid a
sweet farewell carrying a heart filled with happiness and satisfaction. That’s
more than enough to bid temporary goodbye to one of the most gorgeous falls
I’ve ever seen.
Asik-Asik Falls is a beauty worth the sacrifice like a lady a normal
bachelor could afford to have. It can be a frontier to the country’s tourism. But
hopefully, together with the country and the municipality’s tourism
progression, so will the drive towards the place’s preservation and protection
intensify. Asik-Asik Falls is so beautiful to be ruined and discarded so we must
take action even in small ways.