TwEeThUmBsUp

The Maria Cristina Falls

From Leyte, we drove down to Butuan City. We were expected at my Uncle's place there, the brother of my dad since the day before. We got to his place only around lunch time. The first thing I noticed was the "balingbing" tree in the yard. Boy, was I having fun trying to pick the fruits. The last time I ate this fruit was way back in 2002. I know, we can also buy them here in Europe in some places, and I did, but somehow it didn't taste like the ones we grow back home. Another fruit we feasted upon,.... DURIAN! This fruit is quite popular if only for the very bad stinking smell. Despite the smell though, surprisingly, a lot of tourists (local & foreign) really like it. They grow it now in two varieties according to my Uncle. The white one is the original one. It has a very strong smell before and after it has been peeled open. The yellow one is the developed variety. Taste still the same as the white one but the smell is not as bad as the original one.

I never tried the yellow one before and quite frankly, I couldn't bear the smell of the original one. So, I only sated myself with durian candies. But this time, when I tried it, I was so amazed. I never even imagined that when eaten, because of its softness, it just feels like it melts in the mouth. It is definitely creamy specially when cold, almost like ice cream.

We spent a night with my uncle, and head quite early the following morning to Cagayan de Oro where we had breakfast. We didn't stay around longer though cause we wanted to see some Falls in Iligan City. There we saw the Maria Cristina Falls & Tinago Falls. The first one, we saw it in its splendour! Sabi kasi nila baka wala daw kami makita doon kasi nga "now you it, now you don't" ang water sa falls na iyon. We went and tried anyway.

How Maria Cristina Got Its Name
by: Victoria J. Adeva

Once upon a time, Lake Lanao was in the hands of Omaca-an, a giant monster, eating human beings and animals and even fishes in the water.
There were thus very few people around the lake because of the monster that ate everything he saw. many years passed when Rajah Indarapatra came with his beloved brother Rajah Solaiman. Rajah Solaiman was the first
to come and he fought the giant and was killed. Rajah Indarapatra followed, looking for his brother Solaiman. Indarapatra encountered the giant Omaca-an and killed the giant man eater. On land, he looked
for the ring of his brother by asking the small and big animals he met. On water, however, he went swimming everyday and gathere both big and small stones beneath the water.
He stayed for several years along the shores of the lake, but still did not find the ring. He constructed an irrigation system that went very far
and covered a big distance which later beca,e a river (now the Agus River). The river had a portion which dropped down a deep ravine, now the Maria Cristina Falls.

Many years passed, and there lived in Maria the younger and Cristina the elder. These two beautiful ladies loved each other very much. Maria gave everything she had to Cristina, her beloved sister.
Many people knew they were the ones living near the falls. They also loved their neighbor as they loved themselves. Datus and Sultans came to ask for their hands in marriage but the sisters refused.
There was a man, however, son of a prominent Sultan living somewhere beside the Lake Lanao. For many years he was unhappy because he could not find a suitable partner.
He roamed around the lake until he saw the two maidens of the falls. He fell in love with the two sisters but the two sisters did not know whom he really loved.
Many days passed and Maria discovered that she loved him very much, which made her very sad and she went to the top of the falls and jumped.
When Cristina found out that Maria was dead, she likewise went to the top of the falls and threw herself down the deep ravine. When the handsome young man discovered the situation and
found the dead bodies, he buried them carefully under the falls. After the death of the two sisters, he never married until he also died. He also named the falls, Maria Cristina, after the two sisters he loved.

A supplement of: Iligan City Tourism Office, c/o Iligan City Museum, City Engineer's Office, Iligan City

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Tinago falls is a much smaller and reserve place. They made a resort of the area, but according to the locals there, because of the boundary dispute going on, the area had to be closed down. Not a lot of locals go there anymmore, so the resort was getting bankcrupt and worst, neither of the two local governments want to restore it until the court ruling has come out. The resort then is totally wasted. This didn't stop us from going for s dip though.