That Refreshing Falls in Malinao We Used to Call Palale

Back in the day, when mountaineering was all about passion and environmentalism, we frequent different places to plant trees and pick up garbage. One of the destinations I had the privilege to visit was Palale Falls. It is the second most frequented camping sites in the area of Malinao and in Albay province as a whole, the first being Vera Falls. It was a falls that require moderate trekking and hiking skills because of the long terrain walk, which is half walking and half climbing actually. I can still remember a couple of times we had to cross rivers, which now I believe is one and the same river but we cut through it twice during our trek.  

I can still remember how cautious our leader was in mountaineering. He would always lead us to the barangay captain to ask for permission and have our roster delivered to them to ensure that we can be traced in case of any mishap. Then, he would again lead us to the parish church or chapel to meet the priest on duty to give us his blessing. On the picture above, the man sitting at the far left in moss green stripes is the priest who blessed us before our ascent to Palale Falls.

Our trek to Palale Falls usually takes an hour or two, depending on the size of the group and the members' ability. I can say that is an exhausting adventure because of the slopes and the river crosses but once we are on the camping site, which is just right beside the bed of water where the falls drop, everything feels alright already. Here is a picture of the camping site and how close it is to the water bed, which is very cold so we use it to cool our fruits and drinks.

I apologize for the blurry photos and that there is no single photo I took with the falls itself. I was in for the moments and not the landscape in those days so there is really not much to show how beautiful the small falls was. I also hadn't ventured far so I wasn't able to see if there were bigger falls at the back of the small one that flows on the bed. I remember my friends saying there was a cave like a place underground that they dived into and the other end was that on the water bed we use as a swimming area.

This is by far the only photo I have that shows the small falls of the destination and the bed of water right below.

Our club was composed of Bicol Universitarians(BU or Bicol University), Aquinians (Aquinas University), and Divinians (Divine Word College).