Lights twinkled several hundreds of feet above Metro Manila. A crescent moon shone brightly, hovering above, competing with the glow of the city.

The air felt nippy as we arrived at Café Lupe Antipolo’s open-aired restaurant and entered its glass elevator. The view, which I’ve only seen on photos before, opened up as we ascended to the restaurant’s penthouse.

A couple of weeks before the holidays, The Road Trippers, a group of like-minded individuals congregated at Antipolo’s Café Lupe for our annual Christmas party. Composed of bloggers from different niches—events, entertainment, lifestyle, and travel—we converged on something we all have in common, the love of being on the road.
 
Café Lupe’s owner, Mr. Alvin Caranza, generously offered his place to the group. The Road Trippers has worked with him before, visiting Melba’s Farm Bacolod for a couple of days of relaxation.

The weather cleared a bit as we alighted at the second class municipality of Baras in Rizal, I can now see hints of blue hues amidst the cloudy sky that was threatening to drown our Rizal-Laguna loop a few hours ago.

The next stop was one of the oldest church in Rizal, the Saint Joseph Husband of Mary Parish Church; quite a mouthful eh? To simplify matters, the locals refer to it as the Baras Church.
According to the National Historical Institute marker plastered on its adobe walls, the first church was built by the Franciscan Order in 1915 but was transferred to Ibayo (now Concepcion) after the town was moved there and was administered by the Jesuits for 63 years.

Well I didn’t know why they moved, but it seems they changed minds again after 46 years and returned to the original site. The present structure was completed four years after in the year 1686. Unlike its many counterparts though, the church has remained standing through wars, fires and earthquakes and remains as preserved as it can be.

The sky was starting to darken as a convoy of vehicles made their way into the plaza of a famous church in Morong, Rizal.

I totally forgot about this trip after being swamped by heaps of backlogs. It was almost a year and a half ago since we made our way into four churches around the province of Rizal and Laguna. I guess there’s no better time to write about it and be done with my 2010 (yes 2010!) backlog than now.
With a group of photographers from Pinoy Photography Org, I got my first taste of how beautiful the churches of Rizal are.  Popularly referred to as Morong Church, St. Jerome stands beautifully proud against the day’s overcast weather.

Built by Chinese craftsman in 1615, it sports a Neo-Baroque façade worthy of being listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Traces of Chinese origins is evidenced by two Chinese lion sculptures at the plaza entrance, one of which was stolen a few years ago, most probably due to the legend that a treasure was hidden inside it.

It was almost midday when we decided to have a bit of rest from shooting. We didn’t bring any food, so it was either we walk back to the road to check out the carinderias there or just slug it out ‘til we found Wawa Dam’s waterfalls. Good thing we found a third alternative, a sari-sari store beside the Wawa River.

We inquired if they have rice meals, but they unfortunately don’t. I spied some canned goods at their shelves and asked if they can cook them for us, we’ll just pay extra. The friendly storekeeper readily agreed and we paired the guisadong corned beef with their soft monay (they would have cooked rice for us but that would take too long). These should keep our tummies in check while we search for the supposed waterfalls in the area.

Passing through another metal bridge, this one more precarious than the previous one we traversed on the way to the watchtower, we crossed over Wawa Dam’s raging water into the tranquility of the Wawa River on the other side.

The trail here becomes softer; grass-laden brown soil, compared to the rocky terrain off the dam’s mountainside. A few small shacks, very much like those found along rural areas dot the river’s edge.

I forget this is a rural area.

The proximity of Rodriguez (formerly called Montalban) to Manila can play tricks on one’s mind and I can’t seem to reconcile the nearby city’s barrage of pollution with the tranquility and peacefulness found here.

The din of rushing water was getting louder as we passed a metal bridge crossing a ravine. The sight of the mighty Wawa Dam was steadily rising through the huge boulders that dot the river below. It was a sunny day and everything looked good; this was going to be a fun shoot.

We immediately headed down a rough path that descended into the river to get an ant’s view of the dam. Navigating the rough trail was no easy task though and my old worn-down slippers were not making it easier. Carefully circling the boulders to get a good view of Wawa Dam, I had to take it very slow; one wrong move could easily have me sliding down the water. Even though it doesn’t look that deep, I worry about my cameras.

A friend coming back to the country contacted me recently and asked where we can shoot some landscapes that’s not too far from the metro. Wawa Dam, Rodriguez (previously Montalban) was the first one that popped to mind.

This was my second visit this old dam in Rizal. It was drizzling the first time I went there and I wasn’t really able to explore much of the area. This time I was a bit hopeful, having clear weather the past few days before heading out to the dam.