Many people in our country are affected by the ongoing pandemic, whether physically or

emotionally, and I'm one of those people who needs to unwind from the problems I've
encountered in my daily life, which is why me and my friends, Vince, Jacob, Jouana, and
Joseph decided to go to Rodriguez Rizal's hidden treasure, Wawa Dam, which has been hidden
for a century. The dam was constructed in 1909 and served as a former supply of water for the
whole Metro Manila not until the Angat dam was built in 1968 and the Wawa dam was
abandoned. After that, it just became a tourist attraction for travelers and swimmers who wanted
to swim and enjoy the beautiful scenery of the place. We ride our bikes instead of taking public
transportation on January 29, 2022 at 5:00 a.m. We got tired of biking because the road on our
trip is steep, and we even had a difficulty while riding since it was a sunny day. My friend Joseph
got his tire flat, and we joked that he should start walking towards our destination to keep up
with us while riding our bikes, but we were able to patch his tire with our kit and get back on
track.

After 2 hours of riding a bike, we arrived at our destination at 7:00 AM. There are many
people at the entrance of the dam and most of them are bikers. Since we brought our bikes, we
paid ₱20 pesos for the parking and also for the entrance fee of the dam. After paying for the
fees on the entrance, we started walking towards the main entrance of the dam. The entrance of
the dam is narrow and it looks like we are going into a cave. We walk at the edge of a cliff and
we instantly notice the rocks formation and the dam itself. It took us another 5 minutes to arrive
at the dam since we needed to cross a bridge which was in a poor condition, but our thoughts
did not control ourselves and we just continued our journey. The dam is simple but it explains its
own beauty and at the same time, the background of it is covered in rock formations and
mountain ranges which makes it more attractive to the eye of travelers and tourists. As we
arrived at the dam, the cold wind greeted us even though it was sunny that day. But it’s not the
place that we wanted to go but in a concealed area of the dam where few people know about it.
It has a spring and in order to get there, we need to ride a boat which is ₱50 pesos per head,
₱25 pesos for going to it and another ₱25 pesos for fetching us at our desired time; but you can
just pay for the first route and then just swim across the dam when going back to the main
entrance of it, just kidding. While riding on the boat, we further saw the hidden beauty of the
dam because of the scenery. Tall trees that seemed to dance to the rhythm of the wind and the
noise of the birds while flying above the mountain. After 5 minutes of riding the boat, we arrived
at 8:10 AM. We don’t know the name of the place and the spring but according to a local that we
interviewed, the place is just another part of the dam while the spring doesn’t have a name. We
arrive at the hidden spring and we encounter a small part of a spring where mossy stones will
be seen and a large boulder of rocks which gives the people a hard time on passing it. There
are few people in the place, which makes it difficult for us to find our place to set our things
easily and rent our own cottage for ₱150 pesos. The spring’s water is cold and it feels a relief for
us since we travel for like 3 hours in total, so the sweat that we have and the energy we exert is
well paid off. After swimming for 1 hour, we took a break and ate our packed lunch and snacks
that we brought. After taking our break, we swim again for an hour and at 10:30 AM, we call it
the day. We encountered again all the hardships we endured before going to this place of the
dam and luckily, we managed to get back safely to the main entrance exam and finally rode
back to our homes.
 In conclusion, we enjoyed the experience that we had on Wawa Dam, especially my
friends. It became one of the memories that I will treasure until I grow up. The scenery of the
dam is still intact in my head and it is like inviting me again to go back to the place. It really
makes me temporarily forget all the problems that I’m encountering in my life and it is a special
place for those people who need to unwind on the busy streets of Metro Manila. Even though I
had many good experiences in the dam, there is also one bad experience that I encountered,
and that is the lack of officers to facilitate the dam, because trash can be seen anywhere and is
ruining the beautiful scene of the dam. So if you want to visit the place, please do not litter.
Overall, it was a good adventure, and if you’re planning to go to the dam, be sure to bring extra
money in case that there is a need to pay at the entrance and at the dam itself. Since we have
our means of transportation, our overall expenditure for our adventure is ₱500 pesos, including
our expenses in our route going to the dam like buying mineral water etc. Moreover, if you are
planning to bring your motorcycle or car, there are many parking lots that you can rent. I hope
the information that I posted will help and guide you when going to the Wawa Dam, that’s all and
thank you.