A class
field trip to the Wawa Dam in Montalban, Rizal
A lesson on tourism, history, social concern, and
journalism.
words and pics by rick olivares
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| Where art thou, Bernardo Carpio? |
In my journalism class, I try to make
writing fun for my students by presenting topics that appeal to their taste
buds and sense of adventure. Sometimes I make the classes issue-oriented. I
don’t believe in forcing them to write. I will get far better results by having
them write about things that are relevant.
One of our topics has been history,
tourism and geography. We initially wanted to go to Corregidor but it was
pricey for the students. I tried to get a discount but the travel agency that
handles the tours on the Rock never got back to me after they said they would.
While talking to my dad about it, he
suggested going to Wawa Dam which isn’t really too far yet isn’t much of a
tourist spot. It also carries with is a special significance owing to the
legend of Bernardio Carpio and that the nearby caves were used by Andres
Bonifacio’s Katipunan.
After a couple of postponements, we
finally got to do it today, Tuesday, February 7, 2012 since it was also a
holiday in Ateneo (President’s Day). The field trip was always considered to be
“extra work” and “optional” but would help the other catch up on their grades.
We left Ateneo around 930am, 30
minutes later than we would have liked since Stu Balmaceda was late (hahaha). It
took us about 45 minutes to get there as there was a little traffic owing to
road construction.
Once we got there, I wasn’t sure if we
arrived in some quarry because of all these massive marble boulders everywhere.
But we were finally here.
I had to register first at the local
tourism office where they assigned us a guide named Michael. Since it was a
Tuesday morning as they mostly get their tourists on weekends, we had the place
for ourselves (aside from the locals) and that was just fine.
One of the first things we noticed
were the locals carrying huge sacks of coal and vegetables down the mountain to
sell in the markets of Metro Manila. Busy day, I chuckled. There is money to be
made.
We took shots of the stone that is
said to be the footprint of the mythological Bernardo Carpio, a giant of a man
who was trapped between two mountains and was trying to break free of them. As
the folklore goes, when there is an earthquake, Bernardo Carpio is said to be
trying to free himself.
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| The rocks that are said to belong to the mythological Bernardo Carpio. |
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| Aimee, Bea & Meg at the watchtower. |
Then we went up the dam’s old
watchtower that was built by the American Colonial government in 1909. The
watchtower was used by Japanese forces during World War II but has since been
stripped of all hardware. Most of the effects of the war have been scuffed away
but our guide said that there are still a few nicks on the watchtower here from
bullets. Up to the last decade, it was still common to find pieces from fallen
warplanes or even munitions.
The Wawa Dam used to supply Metro
Manila with water until the (Angat) La Mesa Dam was built to replace it in
1967.
The reservoir because of years of
disuse and lack of maintenance is green from the moss and siltation. Below the
dam are now cottages for tourist use (Php150 for the whole day). They sell beer
in a nearby sari sari store and it must be a unique way to booze away.
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| Wawa Dam. |
According to Michael, there are plans
to revive the dam, to build a cable car, and to beauty the area. I sure hope so
because I find it to be a colossal waste of resources as the fresh water that
comes from the mountains is used as a bathing area for the locals. I inquired
about the locals using the river as a dumping ground and Michael said that they
mindful of further polluting the river. He hesitated for a few minutes before
answering so I am not sure if he has told me the whole truth. And the path up
to the dam is littered with trash. The watchtower has its share of graffiti. So
much for conservation. I shook my head in disappointment.
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| Stef, Bea, Meg, Robi and Anne on the raft to the other side so we could go to the cave. |
We took a few minutes rest at the
tourist office while Michael scrounged around for flashlights as we were going
to the cave -- called Pamintinan -- that was used as a hideout first by the Katipunan (during the
Revolutionary War) then later by the Japanese (WWII).
We took a raft (Php100 per trip back
and forth) that took about a minute for us to cross to the other side. Since
there were 10 of us, that meant two trips.
From there, we had to do a little
climbing to get up to an observation deck at the entrance of the cave.
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| The entrance to Pamintinan cave. |
We prayed first before we entered the
cave – for those who perished inside and in the surrounding areas during the
wartime. Once inside the air became a little stale. The flooring was uneven and
rocky. The flashlights and hardhats (rental fee is PhP50 each) came in handy
because the last thing we needed was someone to bang their head against the
rocks.
The walls and the ceiling were damp
with water seeping through. After walking for about 30 minutes, we decided to
turn back. It was too dark and the mud was really causing problems with our
footwear. Our best advice, wear strong and thick sandals or rubber shoes
because the mud will ruin everything else.
We were done past 130pm and drove back
to Ateneo.
I thought it was a fun day for the
class (even if only nine of my students – Robi Non, Meg Rementina, Aimee
Dacanay, Stef Martschei, Bea Ocampo, Chris de Chavez, Denise Jose, Anne
Malicdem, and Stu Balmaceda not to mention my comrade in arms Brosi Gonzales
made it). The idea was to awaken a sense of adventure especially for local
tourism, to get a better grip on Philippine history, and to introduce a sense
of awareness about social issues that plague our country. All that and to write
about it.
As for this old dog, it’s never too
late to learn new tricks. It was a day well spent.
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| With Stef and Anne after our "rafting." |
