This is it?

One thing I learned about tourism research is that you have to actually see it before you believe it. This principle made me walk numerous kilometers inside forests and coconut plantations and lots of hours on banca rides. Sometimes, the stories of local people on potential tourist attractions were so inspiring that we felt we must visit the site. One instance that I could never forget was the claim of a farmer in Atimonan, Quezon.

He said that there was a huge waterfall inside the forest. Its sound could make one’s heart beat faster and its height would really amaze its visitor. There was only one thing though; we had to walk for about two hours inside the forest. My companion, Myrna Zara of the provincial tourism office, and I readily prepared ourselves for the walk. So over sweat, mud and fallen trees, we finally reached a spot where the farmer stopped. ‘At last’, I said to myself, ‘I can rest for a while’.

Myrna asked the farmer whether we were near the waterfall as everything there seemed quiet. We could not hear any river sound or the heart-throbbing pounding splash of the water falling from great heights. To our -__\+º, the farmer looked at the wet limestone wall nearby that was no higher than ten feet and with a soft and slow flow of water dripping at its edge. He then said that it was the waterfall he was talking about. A water what!? (drip, drip…)

He then added that the last time it rained, there was a waterfall then.

It was a lesson I would forever hold dear in my heart.