Kandongos Falls

Kandongos Falls Kandongos falls is just 200 meters from the road in Marabut Western Samar. You must pass through a ranch for fighting cocks to get to the falls. It is virtually empty during the week but on weekends there are usually visitors from Tacloban. The entry fee is 5 pesos. I do a bit of camping and am going to add this place to my list of secret places. It's just across the road from the beach where the caretaker lives. She seems like an accommodating person and said that camping would be possible. The falls are peaceful and there is a lot of shade. I had no problem drinking the water that was still cascading down but would pass on drinking from the pool because everyone swims and washes in that area. I washed up and fell asleep under a tree for a few hours. I had come over the mountains through Taft and just camped alongside the road the previous night and was still tired. The salt marsh mosquitoes were particularly vicious so I didn't get a lot of sleep that night. Someone came out of their house and insisted that I sleep in their nipa hut so that was ok, but damn those mosquitoes! I was wet from the rain and slept in full gear with my shoes and gloves and a ski mask over my face so i didn't get bit too bad. (maybe 50 bites or so - anywhere there was a gap in my clothing. They also tore into the unprotected tips of my fingers because the riding sleeve/gloves only cover to the first knuckle) I didn't see any mosquitoes at the falls but it was mid day and they might have been taking a break. It did seem like a great place to camp but there are no facilities so you would have to rough it a bit. This is the caretakers place. It would be my first choice to put up a tent right on the beach about the high tide mark. I like the tent idea because it rains here a lot plus it has a bug screen to keep away the insects. The setting is perfect. I will update at a later time if I camp on the beach there. Perhaps you could buy fish from the fishermen but be sure to bring along whatever else you might need. I think that almost everyone would be ok with drinking the water from the falls itself. Firewood dealers have wood for sale along the roadside near Basey if you want to make a campfire. Stop in and have a look for yourself! For me I would prefer to sleep out under the stars than in the lodging house in Basey. Basic Rooms or Budget Hotel in Tacloban has nice rooms starting at 480 peso if you want more comfort. ----------------------------------------------------- Waterfalls Marabut - Sept  2008 update My girlfriend and I decided to go for a swim at the Kandongos Falls on the south coast of Samar. The entrance fee was 10 pesos per person and we had the falls to ourself. This place is just far enough from any major cities to avoid crowds. (last time there it was 5 pesos) We parked our bike between the many roosters in the field by the foot bridge. Cocao and guavas are grown here. Girls from the province are nuts for guavas. The cocao (left) can be eaten raw too. (Just be careful because the juice will stain your shirt permanently.) She wanted me to pick that fat guava (below) that they must have missed but I told her someone might be saving it for their kid's birthday. We fed bits of sweet bananas to the the fish beneath the falls. It never occurred to me that fish would eat them but they swarmed. My girl tossed in my sandal and was getting ready to go after it but I had another idea. I tossed a piece of graham cracker on the other side of the flip flop and the fish slammed into it when fighting over the cracker. 3 or 4 times was all it took to get that sandal back. We did go for a swim but the water is only chest deep. It was refreshing though, and a bit romantic!  2008   www.dutchpickle.com

 

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