Take a Dip in Cold Water @ Mabinay Spring

Happy Easter Sunday Hivers!

Before I left the Tourism Office of Mabinay, I took a photo of the tourist map displayed in a conspicuous area. There were many tourist spots in the area to explore, but since I had limited time, I chose to visit only the spots that were easy to locate. I chose Mabinay Spring, which is just a few meters away from the national road.

I also asked these two gentlemen to join me for a photo souvenir, as they had guided me during my cave exploration. After bidding goodbye, I felt thrilled to explore another tourist spot. But before heading there, I had a scrumptious lunch at Pableo's Grill.

If you haven't been to the Philippines, specifically in the Visayas region, you might not know about one of the most popular modes of transportation used in our area. In some parts of Negros Island, the locals call it a pedicab, but in Cebu, we call it a trisikol (which translates to tricycle in English).

I could have taken a bus or a tricycle to go to Mabinay Spring, but since the tricycle arrived first, I immediately hopped in.

Although it was cloudy that day, I could still feel the scorching heat on my skin. But since I love traveling, I tried to endure it, as long as I was not directly exposed to the scorching heat, it would be fine.

As we were on our way to Mabinay Spring, I saw many pomelo trees, and the driver confirmed that this was the well-known pomelo farm in the area when I asked him.

I was lucky that day because the tricycle driver was friendly, and when I asked him if we could stop at the pomelo farm, he agreed. It looked boring at the farm since it was not the pomelo season and the trees were not fruiting yet, so we didn't stay there for long.

After a while, the stunning mountains caught my attention, and I expressed my interest in taking a photo of them. The driver just kept nodding his head.

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Finally, I arrived. Welcome Hivers to Mabinay Spring. Are you ready for a quick virtual tour?

As I entered the perimeter, this welcome sign greeted me. The guests can enjoy various activities inside.

I paid PHP 30.00 for the entrance fee. There is a difference in the entrance fee collected based on where you come from. If you're a local resident of the municipality, the entrance fee is only PHP 15.00, but if not, it will cost you PHP 30.00.

After paying the entrance fee, I was allowed to explore the area. While walking towards the spring, I could hear loud noises. Even though I had not reached it yet, I expected that many people had flocked to the spring.

I was right, wasn't I? I saw different faces: youngsters were thrilled to dip into the cold water, some were already enjoying it, while others were just sitting under the trees and chatting with friends or families over scrumptious food they had brought with them.

Do you know that the sari-sari store is well-known in the Philippines? Whenever we need something, we don't need to run to the grocery store. And I wasn't surprised when I saw the colorful sari-sari store inside. But if you're wise, then you won't choose to buy in a sari-sari store as the prices are much higher compared to the grocery store.

As much as I wanted to immerse myself in the cold water, I opted not to. Many Negrenses were flocking into the water, most of them were children and teenagers.

Initially, I didn't give up on my desire to take a dip in the cold water. I noticed that some parts of the spring were quiet, so I tried to approach them as my plan was to spend my time there alone, finding solitude while swimming.

However, when I asked some of the locals if I could swim there, they immediately told me that some parts were restricted due to a drowning incident before.

Have you noticed the rope? Guests are prohibited from swimming beyond it.

After checking the area, I decided not to swim as I don't like to swim with many people. I had forgotten that it was the weekend, and locals usually spend their time at the spring.

I remembered that there was a blackout when someone told me that due to the 12-hour power outage, the number of guests had doubled.

Although I did not have the chance to dip in their popular spring, I enjoyed watching happy faces walking under the trees, swimming in the cold water, and having fun with their families. It was a nice experience to see how Negrenses bond with each other.

Thank you for reading and see you on my next blog. Cheers!

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Watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places.

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