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It would be easy to take this analogy too far, but there's something
almost Alpian about Vintar's Surong Valley. It's not the towering,
rocky peaks -- there aren't any of those. There isn't an Alpian skier to be
seen and the place is certifiably skier-free. These are the tropics after all.
But somehow, driving up
the rocky road at the Eastern banks of the Bislak River, cresting past the
barrios of Visaya, Dipilat, Tamdagan and Canaam and looking down on a
village of Gubang that's tucked in between two mountain ranges and craddled by
greeny hilltops, you can just barely imagine you've entered some
hidden Alpian enclave -- Shangri-La with the blessings of heaven.
It's about two hours of sometimes curlicue driving from Bucana,
and there's a we-finally-made-it isolation to the place that makes
us feel we have gotten somewhere really remote. "VISAYA" So, last December we decided to pay a visit to Gubang which I may say I have been achingly looking forward to the trip. Once we crossed Bucana and headed north through Visaya, along the Eastern bank of the Bislak River we were greeted with a quiet and tranquil atmosphere of green rice fields as far as your eyesight can reach, which gives you a touch of Matisee with wild flowers on the foreground and the Western mountain range as a back drop that accompanied us through our journey. You see, the river as I found out later on is sandwiched by these mountain ranges with green rice fields on both banks. There's a symmetry to the landscape, like a canyon running through gorges. Although, it is not quite the same because there's a wide span of land between the mountain ranges, it nevertheless, evokes a sense of awe and wonderment, as if 'Shangrila' is at the end of the road.
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"KALAWAAN" And, so with great anticipation, our jeep chugged along the narrow dirt road and went by Dipilat without making a stop, until we reached a place called, 'Kalawaan', meaning the widest place. This is the meeting place of all the tributaries to form the Bislak River. Click on Image for larger View.
"KALAWAAN" It is easy to understand why it is called the widest place. During the rainy season, this mighty place becomes a sea of ranging waters, as tributaries race to dump their loads, churning, agitating, foaming, as they gather speed and strength and twines into one explosive current, then bursts openly into flood proportions as it races towards the town proper. The size of rocks and boulders that litter the dry bottom, tell a story of a powerful water turbulence that pushes, rattles and grinds these rocks into rounded objects. It now becomes a 'kapanagan' and we lingered a bit to admire the piles of rocks and stones strewn neatly, as if we were watching our sons and daugthers learning to walk, learning to run, and learning to breath and watch them grow to become rounded persons. Click on Image for larger View.
"TAMDAGAN BRIDGE" So, suddenly we were at the bridge of Tamdagan. This was my first time to be anywhere north of Bucana, yet I could have sworn that I have seen this bridge before. I tried to place it in my mind, but to no avail, until my son said, "It looks like a Lego." On closer inspection, the bridge is modular in construction. And, just like a Lego, you can put its seperate parts together according to the building block principle, and viola you have a bridge that spans the river. I found out later that it is a Waagner-Biro Modular Bridge, a company in Austria that specializes in modular bridges for Third world countries. Click on Image for larger View.
"TAMDAGAN BRIDGE" The east side of the bridge shows a river meandering in and around little islands. Further upstream is a silhoutte of the eastern mountain range of Gubang, our destination. The west side is quite wider with sand bars on its banks. At the background is the denuded Western mountain ranges. We crossed the bridge with little fanfare and got to Tamdagan proper. Click on Image for larger View.
"VINTAR NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL" We stopped at a couple of landmarks, the Vintar National High School, and the Vintar District Hospital. Since, it was the holidays, the place was vacated, and no one showed us around. Click on Image for larger View.
"VINTAR NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL"
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"HANGING BRIDGE" We could have proceeded towards the east to Gubang, but we wanted to see the hanging bridge of Oangagan and Suricao. This hanging bridge is made of ropes, attached to steel cables that is anchored by concrete pillars on both end of the bridge. It is about 20 m length above one of the Bislak River tributaries. Just like what my son said, "We went on the bridge that rocked and shook. We ran and jumped on the bridge. It was fun because the bridge swayed back and forth. It was neat and cool." Click on Image for larger View.
"HANGING BRIDGE"
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"TOWARDS GUBANG" We turned back and proceeded east, crossing more green rice fields. Beyond the road, we could see the eastern mountain range that we have to climb to get to our destination, Gubang. The road up the mountain is a mini-Bagiuo zig-zag narrow road that thrilled us nervously. Little did we know the surprise we'll get when we got to the top of the mountain road. WOW! Awesome! Click on Image for larger View.
"ON TOP OF THE ROAD" The sheer surrealism of the valley below us was overwhelming. The normally brown walls and terraces of the clay hills in the valley are now etched in green rice fields and wild white flowers, giving the terrain the appearance of an Austrian spring. Clusters of elephant grass with their strangely shaped white flower hangs on the hill sides like a vision from Dr. Seuss. Green-colored shrubs are entwined in what appears to be screaming-orange-colored silly string. And at the foot of the massive rippled Western mountain range, (it must have been sculpted by a massive earthquake) is Alsem. The hills are dotted with houses that appears to be white in a palette full of green. Then there's the river. It appears, then disappears. It looks more like a huge salamander winding through the valley. Being cradled by these two mountain ranges, with green rice fields on its banks, it evokes a Matisse like canvas in early December. Awesome! Click on Image for larger View.
"GUBANG" We descended into Gubang as we rode over crimson red clay on the road. I suspect the soil is red/yellow in colour because they are rich in iron and aluminum oxides, which cannot be broken down. Yet, there's still a rich growth of trees and vegetation all around the area. As we rounded the last bend to the left, Gubang showed itself in front of us. A school building with thatched galvanized roof and bamboo fence greeted us with the Philippine flag plastered on its outside wall. Seing mangoes, papaya and palm trees gave me a tropical feeling that I just wandered right in my own backyard. Click on Image for larger View.
"GUBANG" Strolling the sitio of Gubang is about as down-to-earth as you can get. And entirely spectacular. The sitio is cradled by two mountain ranges; east and west. The north side is the towering Cordillera mountains and over the eastern hills is the Gubang river. Click on Image for larger View.
"GUBANG" At the bottom of the hills, east side of the sitio is a putty-colored rice fileds, strewn with black colored boulders and rocks washed down from surrounding hilltops. Right smack at the middle of this land is a creek that cuts down the earth over six feet down and empties south to the Gubang River. Houses are build along this creek, and it is not difficult to imagine that the creek is a source of water for cultivation and consumption. Click on Image for larger View.
"CATCH of the DAY" We were so lucky enough to see these native animals: "UGSA", "SUNGO" and wild birds. The presence of these wild animlas, indicate that there is still hope to save the rainforest above and around the village. Click on Image for larger View.
"GUBANG KIDS" This wide open space at the middle of the village is actually a basketball court, which also serve as a mini plaza for gathering during festive occasions. We were served a snack of native, "TUPIG" that was baked inside a bamboo tube. Click on Image for larger View.
"GUBANG KIDS" You can liken Gubang to that secret place in that dusty old childhood book found hidden away in the attic: Gubang, Oz, Wonderland or any otherworldly place. Looking at these kids faces - they have something magical about them, perhaps enhanced by the remoteness of the village. Click on Image for larger View.
"GUBANG RIVER" The miraculous quality of water of the Gubang river is nowhere so apparent as in the mountains. Sparkling currents, a spectacular blue green color, clear as crystal-this is the river as it rumbles down through Gubang Canyon and into the Tamdagan River. The river is full of rock formations that were deposited on it's path during rainy seasons. As these rocks harden and congregate, they generate fascinating formations and dams the river, resulting in the creation of many natural pools and shallow forks that gurgle. Click on Image for larger View.
"GUBANG RIVER" As if to defy the laws of physics, the bottom sparkles because the mid-noon sun penetrates through the water and hits the multi-colored rocks which in turn radiates upward to the surface. Click on Image for larger View.
"GUBANG RIVER" If you think your bottled drinking mineral water is the purest in this world, well think again, because these waters of the Gubang River really boogles the imagination, a champagne like crystal clear that surely is the water from and for the gods. Click on Image for larger View.
"GUBANG RIVER" And, here we are, the tour group. We lounged and had lunch at the Western banks of the Gubang River. We skinny dipped as we watched the highland's sun cross the mid-day sky into the horizon with the sounds of gurgling water all around us. Click on Image for larger View.
"GUBANG RIVER" For the ultimate day experience, combining the serenity of Gubang and the grandeur of the mountain ranges... Vintar's highland is very spectacular indeed. This is a personal experience to cherish over a lifetime !!! Click on Image for larger View.
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