Tagnote Falls, Philippines 2014

               Tired of going to the beach and structured pool establishments? This is a great place where you want to end your summer escapes, Tagnote Falls.

               Tagnote Falls can be found in Barangay San Antonio, RTR, Agusan del Norte, Philippines. I'm not that good in logistics or areas and distances but I could safely say it's 5-10 kilometers away from the national highway. The best mean of transportation going there is having a 4 wheeled car but if you don't have your own ride, better rent a motorcycle which I don't know the cost yet. The road is cemented so you would not worry much of your ride but a kilometer of detour connecting the cemented road is rough because the bridge which supposed to be the way going there is under construction. You could meet few curves, up and down road but it's tolerable for a 4 wheeled ride. 

     

               

You know you have reached your destination if you could see this signage at the entrance. 

They won't ask you for an entrance fee but you have to write your names on the logbook and donate any amount you could drop on their box. The donation would probably go for the development of the area, making your summer experience a little bit more exciting and playful.

  This is the most expensive cottage since it's the nearest one from the falls. From there you could see and hear the sound of a flowing water. This one is not yet finished from this day but once it is done, this costs only 500 pesos. Gladly, we were able to persuade the caretaker to have this one as our place and had a very good discount of 200 pesos even though the flooring, chairs and ceiling are not yet finished but we had fun.

 Adjacent to the picture above is this one which costs the same. I recommend this one when it's finished compared to the above where we had our table because once the sun is shady or covered with clouds, minute species who bite like a mosquito will surely attack you, and the cottage we had is near to many plants where those insects could probably lodge when no victims are around. It's so minute that sometimes your naked eyes could hardly see it. It's irritating and one of the disadvantages of this place. Be sure to bring some insect repellents or you could fire some woods for the minute species will go away. I think those insects will only bite when you are wet so dry your thighs and legs up always.

These cottages along the road cost 100 pesos per table. And there are around 10-15 tables on these huts. Don't worry when you want to change clothes because behind this is where the comfort room located. I never had the chance to go there to see if there was a toilet or what but I saw they have made a room for changing and washing of clothes.

We arrived here around 9 in the morning so these cottages are not filled yet. Around 12 at noontime, these cottages were nearly filled. It's best to come early so that you could find a great place near the falls. 

                By the way, it's best to bring food here since there is no corkage charges. They have their small store near the entrance so if you want to buy something you could easily buy there. Too bad, I never asked how much are their drinks but I could see they sell junk foods, bananas and the likes. 

The first picture above is the view from the cottages and this is where you will go when you go down. It's not yet finished though but you can still go down 20-30 steps from the above ground. Child to nearly 80's could climb up and down here if one has good range of motion on his/ her extremities and has good grasping muscles. 

The following are vistas from the lower ground. 

 The water level is a half-foot to 6-7 feet deep from the rocks going to where the water flows. I could say those measurements because I tried and immersed myself  to measure it, and I think it's safe to say those measurements. 

The water is cold but I couldn't give you measurement for its temperature. 

 Before, people could climb up and dive from where the water starts to flow but maybe for some safety reasons, they wouldn't allow anyone to climb up there. I forgot to ask why they wouldn't allow anybody but if someone caught climbing up there, they should and will pay 200 pesos.

Moreover, no lifeguards are available to save you, only those good Samaritans can.

 People are not allowed to eat here but they can swim without having a cottage to stay under the sun. They could place their clothes, anything above the huge stones. 

 You can go further this way but I see nobody have tried to because the falls will drive your attention crazy.

 There's no way you can't be tempted to swim since the coldness of the water will slowly devour you.

 There's a very small space for you to hide under this flowing water but you will hardly breathe there so better not try if you know you can't and admit to self that you're not that good as a swimmer. :-)

The area is quite small so you could really have the chance to talk to other people in the water. People were friendly and approachable this day and I wasn't bothered to ask which localities they came from.

 I'm sure, time will come this will be one of the most visited tourist destination in Agusan del Norte.

At my back is the Tagnote river where the name, "Tagnote" came from. I asked the caretaker why it's called Tagnote but all he answered was because it's the starting point of the Tagnote river so it's called "Tagnote Falls." Haha

               Finally, you have to make sure you are with the right people, your family or friends to be here to fully enjoy your summer experience. Bring good camera to have a memorable moments of your quality time with the mother nature. 

                Have fun on summer 2014!

It's fun, It's wellness, It's Zumba

Exercise, going for a walk or run, gym, biking are ways to stay fit and healthy but did you reach to a point where you feel like bored and want to do something more interesting? Zumba is another locomotive activity where you can still sweat out and have more fun. It's an activity where there will be typical and more constructive dance steps to sweat more to certain parts of your body.

There's this new establishment named "It's fun, It's wellness, It's Zumba" located besides Shell gasoline station, near Mindanao Institute, and just along the high way, Cabadbaran City, Agusan del Norte, Philippines.

Well, when I, together with my two lovely friends arrived at the studio, we were warmly accomodated by a staff sitting outside. We were surprised that you can't be admitted to the session without prior notice or registration for a certain schedule. Too many members in our society were befuddled by this new studio since it's the first establishment as far as I knew who serve Zumba activity, so, getting a good schedule is hard to find but the staff will give you more options for you to be comfortable dancing with them.

There are several instructors working there since they need to shift for every session or hour. An hour accounts for 30 pesos and I could say it's worth the pay because I was able to sweat out a lot that we even tend to stay a little longer but we just can't.

The instructor we had is a woman who doesn't look fit, lean or average. I consider her fat but I like how she instruct us and keep the session moving and interesting. Those dance steps she showed are good but I'm not totally outsmarted because I want to sweat more and more and more. Those steps were good for middle-aged individuals but not like me who wants to go to a higher level of exercise. We had so much breaks during the session since most of the members we were with are middle adutls, I should say, because they got tired easily and wanted to have water break a lot.I think we had 5-7 rounds during the whole duration. I must say, I enjoyed it with the oldies but not that much, sorry.

The studio ain't that big enough because I think a maximum of 15 people can only accommodate to that room.I was just wondering why there's a sink at the back and wardrobes which I found it dull to look at. They have a water dispenser where people could drink for it for free but when we had there last time, there was no water due to some delivery issues. And the mirror they have ain't that big enough for me, I think it's a meter in length and 3 meters wide.

The music used by the instructor we had is good. I mean, I enjoyed the first quarter minute since they played up-to-date songs which I really love and rooting for every time I go for sweating. The rest of the time is some old good disco music which I found it up beat and cheerful though. The quality of it is good, its volume is just enough to make the room in pandemonium and roaring.

I recommend to bring extra towels as I guarantee you will have a good time burning fats out there. A bottled-water or tumbler of yours if you don't want to use their plastic cups. An extra shirts so that whenever your time is up, you can change then but unfortunately, I didn't find a toilet room there which is not good since we don't know when our urinal appointment would be. A good music in your flash disk if you really want to change the song because you don't like it or what. I haven't tried and asked them but I think, they'll follow you somehow because you paid for them but with this, the inconvenience is with your instructor, so, you got to choose which  is which. And finally, bring good and interested friends for this kind of activity as it will feed your fun time even more.