Paete's Mt. Humarap (Tatlong Krus), Matabungka Falls and Church of Paete
by: anakngkidlat
To continue with the 3 waterfalls, 2 churches 1 day, from Daranak and Batlag Falls, we went back to the market of Tanay to commute to our next destination, Paete, Laguna. it was about lunch time so we did filled our stomachs first.
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| Lunchtime! |
With stomachs full and energy revitalized, we went to our next stop and rode a jeep for a 2 hour drive.
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| lost? |
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| our ride |
Just a little trivia about the place. Paete is one of the municipalities of Laguna and is most famous for wooden sculptures. These are not just plain sculptures, they are very detailed and can be very minute or huge. Remember from my previous post that this part of the trip was something I
haven't expected. Well Brian didn't said that we were about to go up a mountain. He was simply pointing at 3 little crosses way up the mountain. He also said that we would simply go for about an hour or so. What I'm talking about is Mt. Humarap and just part of is Tatlong Krus, which is literally 3 huge crosses standing side to side which is found a few meters near the top of the mountain. So ok, he got me right there. Although I have endured long walks starting way back in high school and up till now I still do walk for long distances after work everyday, there is one obvious difference, This is a hike and not a walk.
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| Towards one of the many stops we've made |
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| Break time! |
After a grueling hike (not to mention some stops here and then) we finally made it to the top. While climbing, i ask myself "Why am I doing this? I could just be sleeping in my soft bed, or play games on my pc the whole day but here I am sweating heavily and totally exhausted!" Coming to the top answered that.
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| Finally! Tatlong Krus!! |
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| That's were we started |
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| Middle Cross |
And of course, we wouldn't leave Tatlong Krus without taking some pics, and we have found some interesting subjects.
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| Admiring Tatlong Krus |
When we started to descend, I felt my knees shake maybe due to the exhaustion of going up. But before we eventually went back to town, we went to Matabungka Falls which was our 3rd waterfall. Mission Accomplished for 3 waterfalls!
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| Matabungka falls |
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| Souvenir pic! |
It was almost night time when we got back to the town. We ate heartily at a restaurant named Benga's but we did not took pictures because were so tired and so hungry that we forgot. And to cap off our trip, we went to the Church of Paete. The church which is also known as St. James the Apostle Church was first built in 1646 and went through reconstruction due to earthquakes. I didn't had the luxury of time to take a lot of shots due to the time and there was a mass ongoing and didn't want to interrupt it.
It was a very exhausting trip but it was all worth it!
Memo to me: I'll prepare a lot on my next trip, and don't forget to ask Brian if there would be surprises (specifically long hikes!)
