This might have been my favorite day of my entire trip. Did I already say that before? Well, if I did, add this to the top 5 list. I’m the most excited to write about this day. Below’s the high level recap:

• 6:30am – breakfast watching the sunrise at MWR
• 7:15am – Met my all day driver, who was Manol’s brother. I apologize for not remembering your name. You might not even be his brother…
• Took our motorbike to the other side of the island
• 8:45am – Hiked Osmeña Peak
• 10:15am – Started my Alegria canyoneering tour
• 1:30pm – Canyoneering tour ended and headed straight to Kawasan Falls. Took about 10 minutes.
• 2:50pm – Chilled (or simmered?) at Mabugnao Mainit Hot Springs for 20 minutes.
• 3:45pm – Visited the Binalayan Hidden Falls
• 4:45pm – Headed back to the other side of the island
• 5:45pm – Ate some BBQ for dinner
• 7:00pm – Got back to MWR
• 8:00pm – Second dinner with Manol’s family
• 9:00pm – Pass out

Let’s begin. Are you guys ready? Don’t worry, it won’t be that long. I think.

My first stop was Osmeña Peak. Hike was great, the views were better, and the guide who was in rain boots and walked as if the wet mud and water didn’t bother her at all was even better. I slipped and almost fell multiple times. She would turn around and laugh at me with her hands in her pockets. What was also great about her was that she offered to take pictures of me during the entire hike. So nice to not have to take selfies all the time. I’d like a photographer to follow me around one day, but NOT a paparazzi.

The other positive of having a guide was that she knew exactly where I needed to stand to take the best pictures. I was very pleased. Except the one time she kept telling me to stand up on a ledge and put my arms in the air. One slip and I would have fallen to my death. She kept laughing at me cause I was scared. Also, a cute dog followed us. I wanted to keep him.

Next was Alegria canyoneering tour. This was awesome. Got to hike and swim through this canyon for a few hours. Viewed best in gifs. Actually, a lot of these next images will be gifs. You have been warned.

I thought at one point I’d be cold and uncomfortable, but I surprisingly felt okay through most of it. I had been living in SF for a few years by this point and had lost all my Midwest blood.

I’m just putting words in here to space the gifs out a bit. My head hurts looking at all the movement jammed together.

So for real, I’m just making up anything to say at this point. You don’t even have to read it.

Next up was Kawasan Falls. No jumping of any kind here, but the area was really beautiful. Look how blue that water is. There were rafts you could take across by pulling on some ropes. You can see a guy pulling his raft back below.

I didn’t want to wait for the raft, so I just swam across. It was actually tiring. I was worried for a split second I could drown. Just kidding. I never thought that. I’m just being dramatic to spice up my writing.

After the falls, my tour guide suggested I go to some hot springs to rest and warm up. I thought this was a good idea, until I got there and thought “naw, i want to go jump off more cliffs.” I actually came back to Mabugnao Mainit Hot Springs the next day, so I’ll write more about this tomorrow.

The next waterfall and cliff dive is what made this trip so memorable. Welcome to Binalayan Hidden Falls.

There are multiple levels you can jump from here, all at varying heights. The dangerous thing about this spot is that the pool is not very deep. It may only be 8 feet at its deepest point. I jumped initially from 10 feet, and then 20 feet just to get a sense of how deep the pool was. Not very deep. I touched the bottom from the 20 foot jump.

There’s also a cool jump you can do from behind the waterfall. Here’s my guide showing me how to actually get up there. I laugh when he explains how to swing your leg up to catch the ledge. Then I say “what” to the camera after I see him spiderman up the wall.

Anyways, did it. In hindsight, it was easier than it looked.

This next jump actually made me feel a new sensation of fear. It was a mix of “I might die” and “I’m pumped.” It was a 45 foot drop, which actually isn’t too far. But it felt so much higher. Even climbing up there was a bit of a rush.

It took me a few seconds to really convince myself to jump (want to hear me yell, go here). But when I finally did, I didn’t regret it. I mean, once I landed in the water anyways. If i went again, I’m 80% sure I’d do it again. What’s insane is that people actually jump from the TOP of the waterfall at 60 feet. That is insane. I don’t know if I could ever do that. Or maybe…