This eerie site met us when we visited the Twin Lakes of Balinsasayaw in San Jose, Negros Oriental last year. It reminded me of the movie, The Others by Nicole Kidman. The mist was all over the place and we were the only people around. A passing local said that this the first lake, farther on is the second lake which 20x more bigger. We decided to go further to make our trip more worthwhile as we had traveled more than an hour in a road of steep ravines and angled unpaved roads.

And this the second lake that we have been chasing. It was more eerie than the first one. You can feel the Loch Ness Monster suddenly arises from the water and eat you alive, whole! What a great way to die! But my husband said that he can imagine the water full of piranhas ready to munch and chew his flesh. But hey, in fairness to the lake, it was very beautiful, pristine and peaceful. We took turns in shouting and hear our own echoes. Yes, echoes! in a lake nestled in between a range of small mountains. Amazing noh? But our grumbling stomachs brought us back to reality, demanding its share of chow, but there was nothing to eat but a few cans of sardines. I would have wanted a big bite of pork belly sinugba and kinilaw to go with the ambience. A few slurps of ice tea or mango shake would'nt hurt a bit. But nah, we just have to make do with the hot sardines with lots of garlic and sibuyas paired with the steamy smoking bugas mais cooked by the nature park ranger's wife. A grumbling stomach has no choice but to grabbed what's laid out. Mind you, the food doesn't taste bad at all but it evokes memories of many comfort foods you longed to eat in a rainy afternoon (it was in fact a rainy afternoon during our visit).

We hopped on rented bancas to tour and criss-crossed the lake aboard it , discovering its hidden secrets, btw, we did not find any.

And to Rey, our good friend and tireless defender. May the memory of this trip, be with you always, rest in peace our friend. You will always be remembered.