General Nakar: Home of Champions, Home for All
With much complexity in its nature, a place to call a home is indeed one that’s hard to find. It goes beyond a place’s warmth and comfort because one true home is found down the depths of connection and sense of belongingness among the people of a community. And my week-long stay in General Nakar, the biggest municipality of Quezon Province proved I was really at home.
Although dubbed as the home of Champions, General Nakar remained strange to my ears until I got the chance to walk down its streets. At first, I was expecting the trip to be a typical escape from the stress of the busy metro—an isolation from the rapid cycle of life. I thought I’d be spending most of my days lying down on the hotel bed, thinking of a caption for my next Instagram post. Who would’ve known that it was going to be a journey of finding a home that I would always wish to come back to?
Nakarins, the people of Quezon’s biggest municipality, seemed to have mastered the art of hospitality and warmth that they give to anyone who dares to explore the beauty of their hometown. From its calming shores down to its festive streets and back up to the communities in its elevated points, General Nakar truly houses people to welcome anyone, even the first-timers, back home!
Finding a home in General Nakar, the home of champions
Up where the community of Dumagat-Remontado welcomed us with warmth and adventure!
About an hour away from the municipality’s capitol, one could step on the ancestral land of the Filipino ethnic group Dumagat-Remontado in Sitio Masla. The hour-long Habal-Habal ride through the rocky paths going there was just a glimpse of the adventure that awaits with the locals.
Sitio Masla houses the Masla Community Nature Adventure—an initiative project of the Dumagat-Remontado community supported by the local government in the aim of empowering local tourism and providing job opportunities to the people of the native community. Its tour includes trekking along the rocky and challenging trails of the riverside and an opportunity for one’s naked eyes to witness the beauty of Sapot Falls.
An hour and a half long trek towards the falls didn’t feel that long, at least for me, because our guides from the Dumagat-Remontado community warmly answered my questions about their place and even shared with me some of their folk tales. It was indeed an adventurous and challenging trek, especially on some rocky and slippery areas, but the beauty of General Nakar unfolds as we got deeper into its preserved area until we finally reached the base of Sapot Falls.
Enjoying the majestic view of the freshwater falling from a high point surrounded by magnificent rock formations as the cold breeze embraces your body dipped down the basin just felt magical. It was my first time going there but I felt a sense of belongingness as if I have been part of that place. I felt connected to the nature that surrounds me. After a serene moment down the waterfalls comes a thrilling water tubing along the rapids of Rigrig River in Sitio Masla, whose name was derived from “masilig na ilog” or a river with a strong current—enough to give an idea of what awaits.
Down the festive streets of General Nakar where the Nakarin spirit shines in full vibrance!
Living in a country with a rich and colorful culture, feasts and other celebrations are nothing new to me. We arrived in General Nakar during their Gapo at Palusong Festival, a celebration of their rich agricultural traditions and harvests. They were also celebrating their 75th founding anniversary that time, so I somehow expected that I’d be marching with the Nakarins down the streets of the champions’ home.
But this time was different. Ma’am Chona and Sir Leo Larita, the owners of Mondy & Goldys’ Beach Resort where I stayed for a week took my Nakarin experience to another level. They took us with them down the streets of Nakar and showed us the way the locals usually celebrate: visiting different houses and partaking in grand feasts every household prepared.
There was a rich variety of dishes and delicacies, some of which I first encountered in General Nakar. But beyond the mouth-watering array of food in front of us, it was the way the people of General Nakar welcomed us into their houses that made this experience a memorable one. From that point, I knew to myself that we weren’t visitors. Our souls seemed to have an innate Nakarin spirit that was welcomed back into its home. To General Nakar, I shall return!
Experiencing Nakarin warmth by the champions’ seashore
The warm feeling that Nakarins give to anyone who dares to experience the fun and explore the beauty of General Nakar resonates with the warmth of the sun-kissed sand on their seashore. It goes from sole to soul, making you feel like home even when you have just stayed for the shortest time with them.
It was already our last day in General Nakar, but its people did not fail to make every day count. Through the generous hearts of Ma’am Chona and Sir Leo, we experienced a new level of adventure from the sands to their waters at Mondy & Goldys’ Beach Resort. With our daring souls prepared for any thrilling adventure, we rode ATVs across the sand trail they prepared for us. It felt so good and so free to be driving up and down the gentle slopes while feeling the air blowing through your skin.
After enjoying the heat of the sun, it was already time to refresh ourselves in the water but things just got more and more exciting for us all. We rode the speedboats they prepared, shouting our hearts out as we went back and forth at a thrilling speed that added so much fun. We also tried riding the banana and UFO boats that tested our strongest grips as the tricky Nakarins who drove the speedboat pulling our rides went left and right that took the adventure up to the next level. Every time I fell, I felt the waters splash through my skin, washing out all the tension and stress I have gained from the stress of the fast-paced life.
Our week-long stay in General Nakar did not feel like a week for all of us, that up to this moment, the Nakarin spirit they unleashed in me just kept making me want to be back there the soonest. The warmth of the Nakarins from the communities in the heights, in the houses down the festive streets, and the daring souls by the sea shall forever make General Nakar a home of champions and a home for all.
