the waterfalls of Tago

Waterfalls provide a lovely panorama. And it’s easy to get hooked on these natural marvels as they drop from towering heights with stunning power.

Tago, a 2nd class municipality in the central part of Surigao del Sur, has many waterfalls. And three of these---Sola Gratia, Cagpangi, and Green Falls--- are now attracting tourists who seek out the sublime beauty of water in motion.

Set apart in a span of 15 kilometers and located just meters away from the paved highway, these cascades are configured differently they’re worth the special trip.

Sola Gratia Falls

Sola Gratia is a waterfall stowed in a pocket forest that exudes all notions of things primitive: vine-curtained trees, massive boulders and flat rock formations, and vibrant wild flowers strewn everywhere. Its area may be limited but its contour provides added challenge to daring thrill seekers.

The Sola Gratia falls discharges itself into a creek that snakes all the way to Tago River. A resort has been established along this watery path, featuring a kiddie and adult swimming pools that utilize the ever flowing, fresh, and clean emerald water of the falls. Sola Gratia in Pamugsukan, Gamut is about 7 kilometers from Tago.



Cagpangi Falls

Cagpangi Falls is small by any standards. And it doesn’t roar. But as it flows in whispers, it mesmerizes with its quiet charm and watery grace. Comparing it with another of Surigao del Sur's iconic falls using a musical analogy, Tinuy-an Falls in Bislig City is hard rock while Cagpangi Falls is rhythm and blues.

Like all other falls, Cagpangi is seasonal: at times it gushes; other times it trickles. And because it’s not lofty, it is not obscured by mists rising in vast clouds even when flowing at full volume. The better for tourists to have clearer selfies.

Canopied by a thick foliage that blows a cold mountain air, Cagpangi Falls, no matter how subdued, is a natural cocoon for restive souls. About 12 kilometers from Sola Gratia, it’s part of an inland resort that still evokes an old world charm even after it has fused natural and man-made attractions.



Green Falls

Secreted away in the lush interior of a primeval forest, Green Falls overflows with frothy waters as though a fairy brewing beer from an unseen giant vat forgot about it as she was busy twitting her “eyeball” with the firefly-man the night before last.

The water that leaps invitingly into the deep plunge pool will leave anyone with no choice but to get a free hydro massage. And the pressure is extremely soothing to the back it puts to shame the ministrations of masseurs in the best of urban spas.

Green Falls is composed of seven falls with the main being a ledge. The other six are mostly horsetails that come in multiple variations: slide, ribbon, chute, and fan.Green Falls offers limitless adventures. If lucky, a tourist may touch a dazzling rainbow forming in the spray at the bottom of the falls. Or he may send his adrenaline to orbit by clambering then crawling to the edge of the precipitous overhang and looking down at the roaring curtain. At the tiers where the other falls gush, shallow streams that mirror the skies flow over rock shelves. Small pools that could accommodate a number of tourists at a time dot the area framed by towering trees and crazy vines. It is here where tourists can take all the photos they want for Facebook and Instagram. Green Falls is located in Cabangahan and is about 3 kilometers from Cagpangi Falls.



Land of Waterfalls

Tago offers no claim for its waterfalls to be the highest, the heaviest or the most spectacular. A true tourist after all doesn’t chase waterfalls for labels and statistics, or for the tremendous roar of the rushing water, or for the luck of snapping a selfie beside a rainbow that hovers above the ground of the waterfall’s gorge. A real tourist visits waterfalls simply because they are sparkling visions of nature at its best.

The Local Government Unit of Tago is positioning itself as the “Land of Waterfalls”. And it is embarking on a reconnaissance project to discover more falls to develop and promote. But because the three banner falls can already hold their own, Tago is poised to launch “The Cascades Tour” this year.

Now, pray tell: Is there an adventure more exciting than visiting three separate waterfalls in just one go?

[Note: The Philippine Daily Inquirer published this article on 26 January 2014 under the title, "Tago, a land of falls". Here's the link: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/569403/tago-a-land-of-falls ]

how articulate and expressive we have become with Facebook

Wikipedia says that social media refers to interaction among people in which they create, share, and/or exchange information and ideas in virtual communities and networks. Based on that definition, yes, we create information; yes, we share information; yes, we exchange information; yes, we share ideas. But are these information and ideas discussed and expanded? No, I’m not talking about discourse here, just a simple discussion carried like a casual conversation.

Not too long ago, a friend lamented on the slow death of face-to-face conversation. Thanks to Facebook, she said.

But how articulate and expressive have we become with Facebook?

We “like”.

We “share”.

We “tag”.

That’s how articulate and expressive we have become with Facebook!

An FB buddy posts a photo or a quoted line. And what do we do? “Like,” of course!

Now, imagine if you were that FB buddy who posted a photo or a quoted line and all you see on your wall are 75 “likes” with zero comment, how would you feel? Happy, of course, right? Seventy-five "likes" is after all 75 "likes". But imagine if you have 74 “likes” and one comment that said “nice!”, how would you feel?

I don’t know about you, but surely I would be happier. One word and an exclamation mark could spell a world of difference in conversation, written or otherwise.

It’s the irony of all ironies that Facebook, as technology-propelled platform for self-expression, sets us back in the way we converse. And it has brought to the fore our dark side. The same friend told me that she doesn’t like looking at the walls of most of her FB buddies because they contain nothing but rants and hatred. Sickening, she said.

There’s no stopping technology from killing traditional conversation as we know and love it. But we don’t have to concede easily, right?

I don’t need FB friends who do nothing but “like”. They get unfriended eventually. I like my friends to talk, to converse, to speak up on FB as though we’re having face-to face conversation. Yes, I know, talk-converse-speak up are synonyms. That is just my way of stressing my point.

I know some are afraid to carry a conversation with me here on Facebook or elsewhere. But here’s a declaration: I don’t look consciously for intelligent conversation; what I like are small talks big on laughs.

Then and now, life is nothing but a warm small talk. Let's make our life beautiful. Even if only on Facebook.

Tago, Surigao del Sur: A Destination of Choice for 2014

surigao del sur's green falls

Nothing prepared me for the awesomeness of Green Falls.

I once visited this cascade in the early 90s, when we had our pictorial for Mutya ng Tago. That time it was unspoiled, undiscovered, untouched. If not for my feet that ached from miles of trekking the rugged terrain of a virgin forest, I would have explored the falls [to be taken here as singular] and appreciate its small but striking details. But then I was sweating and sore; and all I could recall was that I sat on a flat rock formation, watching Mambobot instruct the swimsuit-clad candidates to mount one after the other the raft made still by the pole of a brawny boatman in thongs.

Fast forward to December 2013. The Green Falls was overflowing with frothy waters as though a fairy brewing beer from an unseen giant vat forgot about it because she was busy either posting selfies on Instagram or twitting about the eyeball she had with the firefly man the night before last.

It was that awesome!



The water was jumping invitingly into the pool, leaving me with no choice but to get a free hydro massage. The pressure was so hard and soothing to my back it put to shame Joyna’s ministrations each time I get her services to ward off the flu.

We climbed the second tier of Green Falls and the view took my breath away. It evoked a feeling of being on top of the world: exhilarating, liberating, empowering. Moses must have felt the same way as he came down from Mt. Sinai carrying those tablets of stone.

Flowing waters that mirrored the skies coated a bed of stone slabs. Small pools dotted the area framed by tall trees and hanging vines. Tarzan and Jane would love it here, I thought to myself.



I went further up. It was then that I saw several falcatta logs awaiting transport by nightfall.

Tsk. Tsk. Tsk.

I went down and from a vantage point watched the full breadth of Green Falls with fresher eyes. It was only then that the full impact of the structures the owner built around Green Falls jarred my senses. I felt a creeping sadness inside me, the same creeping sadness Moses felt when he realized the Israelites had gone to worshiping idols.

Green Falls is awesome, yes. But I hanker for its old self: unspoiled, undiscovered, untouched.



[Green Falls is in Sitio Cagpangi, Barangay Cabangahan in Tago, Surigao del Sur. Unlike before, it now has an access road that requires above average driving skills to negotiate and maneuver.]