Summer Semester '16, our Philippine Tourism class offered us to have a tour at the Dumagat Community in General Nakar, Quezon province instead of doing the cultural dance which was required for every class. We were assigned to do a promotional video about the tourism of Sitio Masla, General Nakar to be our project for the semester. We stayed there for 2 days and 1 night with some of the CITHM faculty in our school.

General Nakar is the northern-most and the biggest municipality in the province. Sitio Masla is located in General Nakar which is the home of the Dumagat tribe, one of the indigenous tribe living in the Philippines. Dumagat Tribe is an important ethnic group because the Filipino's tan skin originated from them. They don't wear much of the G-strings for men and skirts wrapped around the body for women rather they wear the same as us in the lowlands. The effort of the government and volunteers in the past (and continues until the present) affected some aspects of their life such as their clothing, literature,education etc.

Going to the town proper of General Nakar is easily accessible as the roads were already well-paved. After a 7-hour ride, we finally arrived at the city hall of General Nakar. We were given an hour to stroll around the vicinity while the professors were in the market buying some ingredients for our meals for the whole stay. There were jeepneys waiting outside the hall to bring us to Sitio Masla; the path we passed on was still rocky and narrow. Regular cars would have a hard time passing through this.

We also passed through some rivers; some were really shallow and some were kind of deep. The water was incredibly clear or maybe I wasn't just used to it because the bodies of water in Manila (specifically the rivers) are really polluted. I remember the jeepney drivers would stop by before the river just to refill their water bottles. Yep, they would drink it!

We stayed in an ecolodge that was designed by a student from Lyceum of the Philippines University (yay!) You'll be asked to leave your slippers/shoes at the entrance as they keep the cleanliness of the lodge as there were no beds available and you get to sleep on the wooden floor. You can bring a tent if you wish to sleep outside of the lodge- the area has a space with grass that is well-maintained. Cellphone network's signal is hard to find but they have electricity and enough plugs for you and your friends to charge your gadgets.

This bridge is my favorite spot in the place which can be found beside the lodge. It is only made from wood and thick and strong wires but is well-built and safe to pass on. It is really enjoyable to walk on it because it doesn't shake that much but it still gives you the feels from walking on a hanging bridge!

After doing some things needed for our project, we decided to take a refreshing dip from the river under the bridge. It may look shallow and rocky but there are some spots where it was really deep- we even tried cliff jumping without a guardian! The water flows straight to the Pacific Ocean but it won't flow you to the ocean itself as the big rocks slows down the raging flow of the water. 

Visiting the place is really one of the books! You get to interact with the Dumagat and can live the same lifestyle as them. Strolling the area made me realized how wonderful the nature is. If you face the right side, you get to see the pacific ocean and if you look on the other side, you'll see mountains filled with trees with healthy green colored leaves. Not taking a swim in the Pacific Ocean won't even disappoint you as you can swim in the river instead (+ having the overview of the area facing the Pacific Ocean)  and that will still give you a refreshing feel. There's even a falls if you hike for a few minutes away from the lodge.

If I'm given the chance to visit this place again, I would surely go for it and not miss the opportunity! The air was really cool even on the hot afternoon. The Dumagat tribe is really welcoming and we even made a friend there. I hope I could visit the falls next time!