An Adventure of Indang Proportions

Saturday, 26 May 2012 – Rio Villa Nuevo Resort, Indang, Cavite

It was the adventure of a lifetime – well, not exactly. Saturday’s Indang trip may not be the stuff epic history books are made of but it’s epic enough for a book about my history. The trip, I hope, will be the first of many more adventures I’ll have in my life; it was filled with fun, a bit of anxiety, and a whole heap of inspiration.

This trip was special because it was the first out-of-town destination I had without the security of having my parents around. I travelled with two of my best friends, Mai and Nikki. The plan was to originally do the trip with the whole barkada but the others couldn’t make the trip. I actually had to lie to my parents – SORRY MOM AND DAD! – and said that I was going with a big group when in reality we were only three people. But still it was a blast and I made lots of new, wonderful memories to cherish.

Though the day started a bit later than intended (*cough*Nikkiwaslate*cough*), there was an upbeat air between us friends as we embarked on our trip to Indang. We only had second-hand directions to go on since none of us had ever been there so there was that feeling of anxiousness and questioning whether not we were going to make it.

The first mode of transportation we took was a jeep en route to Aguinaldo Highway where we would be waiting for a bus travelling towards Indang or somewhere close to it. The weather took a rainy turn around this time of the morning but I was confident that it was just summer weather being moody. True enough once we got on the bus, everything was sunny again and the heat of the sun became sweltering.

(L-R) Me, Nikki, and Mai. On the bus towards Manggahan

The bus ride took an hour. Like most buses in the Philippines, our bus was packed. It was one of those windowless, doors-always-open, non-air conditioned buses with cheaper fair that relied on the wind for cooler temperatures while moving. Lucky for us it was windy that day and we were sitting right up front the bus where the doors were opened even though the window beside us was jammed shut.

From the bus, we got dropped off at town called Manggahan. We set out to buy food for lunch and ask directions to Indang. KFC was the chosen fare and after asking the local traffic aids for which jeep to take towards our destination, we were once more on the road.

Two jeepney rides and more rain later, we finally arrived at Rio Villa Nuevo Mineral Water Resort. First impressions say that the resort has gone the one-with-nature route. There were trees all around and the air was fresh and clean. From the distance we could hear the sound of water splashing and peals of laughter as well as the out of tune singing of a man clearly too enthusiastic with karaoke.

The first thing you see when you get to the place.

Just when we thought we’d reached the pools of water, we realized that it would we still be a long way down. The man-made pools were situated down what once was a deep ravine towards the rushing brook but now renovated to have stairs for easier access and various structures for housing the many visitors that come to the resort.

The journey down the main resort area was a bit perilous for us three with all of us worrying about slipping and falling a long, long way down. It was especially difficult for me because my right knee was hurting. But I give myself kudos for carrying on; I was just too excited to get to swimming already.

After settling payments for entry fees and lodging, we got ourselves settled into our room, which was located all the way up away from the pools area. It was another struggle back up but the room was needed; with only us three we definitely needed a secure place to stash our stuff while we immersed ourselves with the fun Rio Villa Nuevo had in store.

Once in the room, all three of us just pretty much flopped on the bed for a much needed respite from nearly three hours of travelling. The first order of business was lunch. After all our commuting, I was definitely famished and the KFC take-away looked mighty appetizing. We dug in our food and talked about how our day was going to go. While eating, we could hear the singing of the many birds at the sanctuary just below our room. I thought that it was quite a peaceful thing to just have a meal with close friends while we were as near as we could get to almost untouched nature.

Enjoying KFC in our room. I was talking on the phone with my mom when the photo was taken.

Now for the reason why we travelled a long, long ways from home: swimming in the famed mineral pools of Rio Villa Nuevo. After we garbed ourselves with our swimming clothes, we made the way down the steps towards the pools. Now, the journey down was a bit tedious for me since I had no glasses on because I couldn’t very well revel in the pools with them on and, like I said, my knee was hurting. I was vision and knee impaired and I fervently begged Nikki and Mai to remain within my seeing-capable distance and walk in a slower pace.

(R) The dreaded steps. I tried to count how many steps there were but I ended up being too out of breath to continue.

Nikki posing by the steps (upper left). Mai making her way down (lower left) .

There are two kinds of people when it comes to swimming pools – the toe-dipping, test-the-waters type and the jump-like-a-cannonball type. My friends and I fall on the first category. Let me tell you, it was a good thing too. The water was cold! It was a quite a shock to the body when we first got in but soon we adapted and were having fun swimming around and goofing off. The water was clean and lacked the smell and taste of chlorine. Everything was so refreshing and the water was flowing towards the creek and the teeming nature added to the refreshing feel.

Just by the landing of the steps. Water flows towards the creek where people can sit and relax. A kiddie pool
where the younger visitors can swim safely.

The first pool area. This was earlier in the day so there were still only quiet a few people around.
The girls and I stayed here for the most part.

We decided to explore the other pools in the area. The first one we were in was the closest to the steps so we naturally gravitated towards it but, again, there were other pools so we ventured to them, thinking that maybe there’s a better pool to swim in. The pool we tried next was adjacent to our first people, shaded with trees and had open cottage areas near it. First impression was that it wasn’t so clean, especially since it was nearer to the area with the most people. There were people grilling and smoke was all over the place, but still we braved it out and got in. I visibly cringed when I felt the pool floor; it had a slimy texture to it and I all but hollered for us to get out and move on to the next pool. The next pool was no good either. It was right next to the “slimy pool” and there were a lot of people as well; too many for our liking. The last pool, the one with the slide, was too deep for Nikki and I. At just over five feet and swimming skills limited to just treading water, we were certain that we would drown. Mai would probably just laugh at us. Also, like the last two pools, it was packed with people and it was too far from the stairs leading up to our rooms. In conclusion, the first pool was the best and cleanest, so in the first pool we stayed.

The fourth pool. The one with the slide and the deepest at the depth of six feet. I would be no
match; I'm only just over 5 feet tall.

By early afternoon, with my insistence, we got out of the pool and took the time to capture some photos of our trip. Being that there are only three of us and all of us wanting to go swimming, there wasn’t anyone else to take pictures of us frolicking and generally being wacky. We took turns taking pictures of each other all over the resort – from seemingly unstable bamboo bridges, to flowing creeks, mini waterfalls, dark cave-like entrances and everything else in between. We did all these with a big container of Pik-Nik in tow, eating shoe-string potatoe fries in between shots.

The girls and I striking our separate poses on this bamboo bridges. It was a bit nerve-wracking to be on it to honest.

Mai and I trying to get down to the creek without breaking our necks!

Me and Mai in the creek with the water rushing around us.

The trip wouldn't be complete without us posing some kind of crazy. :]

Posing at the mini waterfall. I don't know if it was just me but the water seemed extra cold here.

Nikki and I with Mai. Plus our constant companion Pik-Nik.

Obligatory photo of Pik-Nik companion. 

If you ask my friends and I what highlight from the trip we would remember most, we would all answer “The Slipper Incident.” Here’s how that goes: We were taking pictures in the creek, rocks and rushing water everywhere. As we were moving to another area high up from the creek, we decided to take a shortcut and climb over a low bridge, maybe raised about two feet from the water, instead of going back up and around. It was easy enough to get over the bridge and we helped each other up. What happened was as I was being assisted up by Mai and Nikki, my slipper, well, slipped from my foot and it was too late for me to grab it before it went under the bridge and floated into the part of the creek where the currents flowed faster. I just pretty much waved at my slipper goodbye and was sure that I would never get it back. Who knows where the creek led to? But my friends were confident that the slipper would be recovered. I went to ask for help from the resort caretakers and one of the guys went with me to help out. I explained to him what happened and he said “Kaya pa yang makuha (We can still get it back).” He went down the creek in an area where the land was steep going into the water, using the many surrounding plants for support and he disappeared among the thick shrubbery, into the creek.

         

            My slipper flowed through here...

...and disappeared here.

Minutes upon minutes passed and my imagination just ran away. Maybe something happened to the helpful guy? Was he in trouble? Did he break a leg or something? Did he fall into his unplanned doom? Did I make him fall into his unplanned doom? I was holding my breath and slightly panicking. I remember saying that if my other slipper couldn’t be recovered, I would let my other slipper go as well. I mean, what used would I have of a single slipper. Maybe someone will find both slippers out there and use it for their own or some whimsy thinking on my part. While all this was going on, Mai realized that she’d misplaced the Pik-Nik. She went back to wherever we were last and surprising enough she came back with it. I figured that if the Pik-Nik could be recovered then there was hope for my slipper.

The last slipper.

All of the sudden, someone was calling us from behind. It was the resort caretaker and he had my slipper with him! I let out a sigh of relief. I now had a pair of slippers again and I didn’t send some poor guy to his doom. Phew! I could not thank him enough. I actually asked if I could take his photo so I’d have something to show when I got to tell this story but he shied away from it. I didn’t even get his name. So whoever he is, I say again, “thank you” for getting my slipper back. He’s a hero.

The rest of the day was just filled with more swimming and getting to spend time with each other. I’m pretty sure we exhausted ideas for conversations. We also had fun teasing Nikki about one of the cute guys she noticed by the pool. It was just us three playing around, relaxing without a care of the world back home. It was the first trip we ever took together and it was monumental; we three have been friends for near a decade.

The last thing I recall from Rio Villa Nuevo was me lying near the edge were the water flowed towards the creek. I was looking up through the canopy above, seeing a blue sky, and feeling peaceful. For all the trouble I was putting up with that week, lying there just made me think that my life’s not all bad. I got to have an adventure with two of my closest friends. I got to experience nature at its most amazing. I am lucky and I will forever remember my trip to Indang.