Montalban Nostalgia
by Salome Santos
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Memories can be encapsulated in a scent. So powerful is the fragrance that with just a whiff of, let’s say, a familiar perfume or a childhood favourite dish, an explosion of emotions is evoked, and a deep sense of nostalgia is inevitably unleashed. Similarly, Montalban is a uniquely special olfactory experience for me, as nature breathes in this special place. So distinct and powerful is the “scent sequence” of the journey going there, that I’d know I’ve reached the place with my eyes closed.

Scents in the city
The aroma of coffee in the morning – caffeine is necessary to knock some senses on such an irritably early, weekend morning. It brings my dead-to-the-world mind back to lucidness, and it reminds that I will be in paradise this weekend. Montalban...located in the province of Rizal, is a heaven so close to home for a city-dwelling nature lover like me, and other explorers with the same heart for the great outdoors.

A two hour commute by a Montalban jeepney from Philcoa or Cubao, this is where the famous Wawa Dam is located. Built in 1909 by the Americans, this was originally intended to be the source of water in Manila. But the Wawa Dam’s intended functionality merely transforms to a show of form– it is now a famous destination spot for sight-seeing.

An opportunity to breathe the same air as the Philippine national heroes did, the historical Pamitinan Caves are found here. This was where Andres Bonifacio declared their first Independence from Spain in April 12, 1895. A prominent tourist spot in the area, on the walls of the caves is seen inscribed, in Bonifacio’s handwriting: Viva La Independencia Filipinas.

Montalban’s allure also captured the imagination of the Filipinos. Legend has it that the Filipino mythological character, the extra-humanly strong Bernardo Carpio, the cause of earth quakes, was trapped here by the Spaniards. As proof, his footprints and handprints are still imprinted on the rocks in the Montalban mountains up to this day.

As the slumbering urbanity awakens during my commute towards this mystical place, the light, misty air I once inhaled during the early morning is slowly permeated by belches of vehicle smoke. I don’t take the downward road, though, of complaining about it. It is, for me, an essential component of the journey. It is what reminds me of what I will leave behind, and realize the how gloriously devoid of city grime my destination will be.

Possessive can the city be. Near its exit towards Rizal, it seizes everyone leaving it with the suffocating stench of the Payatas dump site. Payatas, as side note, is a garbage dump site, ironically located approximately 500 meters from the La Mesa Dam, the main source of Metro Manila’s drinking water. Disturbing and disgusting, but is a necessary suffering to get to paradise.

Montalban’s breath
Going down at San Rafael and transferring to jeepneys going to Wawa, there finally is a change in the air. Gone is the pungent stench of the dump site, and is replaced by the nature’s fresh breath. Telling the jeepney driver to take me to Aling Norma’s eatery, the haven for climbers and bikers, I arrive at my destination. I breathe as deep as I can and take in as much air to cleanse my polluted lungs.

Montalban is heaven for outdoor adventurers and around Wawa Dam, Aling Norma is Mother Teresa. Heaven indeed – staying at her place means having a feast! From her trademark crispy, fried chicken (P40), spaghetti (P20) and halo-halo (P20), to cold beer after a long, hard day of physical exertions, she fills travellers with affordable nourishment. Her bare, cement house is a shelter accessible for all. One just has to pay for water usage, which is only P50 per day for staying at her place. For people who want a more luxurious nature experience, they can try renting out an air bed at P100 per night, a far comfortable experience than sleeping in a sleeping bag laid over the chilly floor. Although for me, the discomfort is integral to the outdoor experience. Everything is bare yet real.

It smells positively provincial here, and while it is true that the river is murky and suspiciously acrid with waste, the local government has begun its attempt at conserving the environment. After all, it is the local tourism that keeps the small businesses alive. There are still some disagreements with the charging of fees and Aling Norma still complains that the fees have turned off many of her visitors, but there might be some logic to this matter of funds. As long as the money goes to preservation and the fees are reasonable, it seems a small price to pay for keeping our noses free from urban decay. Many locals hie off to Wawa to picnic and cool off in the murky waters. During the summer months when the current is not as strong, one can watch mothers preparing their family lunch on bamboo rafts while fathers take a close eye on their kids jumping and frolicking in the river.

But to outdoor enthusiasts, particularly for mountain bikers and rock climbers like me, the smells are more pleasant further and higher up the mountain. Montalban lures the inner warrior with the opportunity for a friendly duel with nature. The bait: its rugged terrain of various degrees of difficulty and massive slabs of limestone rock of almost a hundred feet to be conquered.

Bikers have a buffet of choices on what terrain to pursue. One can choose to go the long stretch and bike through the cemented roads leading to Wawa, Montalban. Or one can turn into Timberland heights, a real estate area being developed, with wickedly steep uphills. For hard-core bikers, one can head towards the Montalban mountain and be confronted with Nature’s playful obstacles of several river crossings, single tracks and potentially deadly drops.

Bikers also make their stop at Aling Norma’s, and after friendly repartees and a quick meal, they are off for their day’s adventurous ride. As for me and my friends, it’s a hike through the suspension bridge and up to the crags. Climbing, like yoga, places supreme value on the breath for performance. With the quality of breath is life, so I take in as much air and relish every sensation every time I do so. The river dampens the air as we cross the creaky, old wooden bridge. Passing through a small community towards our climbing site, we get a whiff of poultry and laundry, an indicator of the thriving simplicity of the lives living at the foot of the mountain.

There are more than ten climbing sites in Montalban, and climbing fees are at P50, which we pay through Aling Norma for the local government. The trek going up to either site is an arduous assault, having to climb over huge boulders and steep slopes of loose soil. But despite the gruelling hike going up, the umbilical connection with nature prevails and overrides the exhaustion of the physical body. We nonetheless reach our much-anticipated climbing site, and Mother Nature welcomes us to her playground. She embraces us with her breath through the musky smell of the soil, the moist leaves and the clean air. Slabs of limestone of almost a hundred feet are our monkey bars, and we finally get to climb and play to our heart’s content, with the enthralling view of the vast plain hundreds of feet down.

Mother Nature is fertile in Montalban’s soil, and she creates heroes out of her visitors by the contagious vibrancy of her environment’s teeming energy. Her spectacular landscape spark imagination, her majestic caves protect secrets and arouse bravery, and her topography confounds and challenges. Such is the breeding ground for heroes, where the sheer comfort of the zone is in the discovery, learning and inspiration of every step, every breath and every experience in Montalban.

If a picture paints a thousand words, so can a scent draw a thousand emotions. Going down from a hard day’s climb, the sumptuous smell of Aling Norma’s fried chicken stands for everything about the my Montalban journey – addicting, fulfilling and it’s worth all the wait! As the day’s last reward, it draws out all the anticipation, exploration and awe from within. And I take it all in, inhaling with nature’s breath in Montalban.

Travel Notes
For more information, you may contact the Montalban Tourism Office at (63 2) 941 1295 or email [email protected] or visit their website www.montalbanrodriguez.gov.ph.

How to Get There
The province of Rizal is located beside Quezon City and Caloocan City. Jeepneys and other public transports have regular routes to Montalban.





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