May has come and gone and it's the start of another month! We are almost halfway through the year already! It's mind-blowing how fast time flies. In all that time, I did quite a lot and didn't have the chance to share it, coz well, life is faster than my ability to write.
Anyway, a quick round up of some of the trips that I did since Project Bohol in January and Mt. Pulag in February:
1. March - Mt. Mariveles a.k.a Tarak Ridge in Bataan
My friends from the office organized a hike to Mt. Mariveles in Bataan and I must admit that trail wise, it was much more challenging than Mt. Pulag. In my short track record of mountain climbing, Tarak Ridge is the hardest I've ever done because of the steep assault to the campsite after the Papaya River. The climb to the summit required us to scramble and really hold on to rocks, else fall off the edge. The view from the ridge was spectacular and the wind gave a good kind of chill. It was a different sort of fun too, because despite the difficult trail, the climate was more forgiving and I slept quite soundly in my tent because I didn't have to share it with 7 other people. We had a chance to also swim in the cold river when it was time to go down, so it was super refreshing and it gave us a boost to push further, even if we were dead tired from the descent. (Hello ailing knees!). A sense of achievement was had, because apparently, it's a major climb according to Pinoy mountaineer, Gideon Lasco.
View from our camp site. Is this awesome or what?
Cue music: Is this the reaaaal liiiiiife? Is this just fantasyyyyyyy? Even my bangs were impressed. Nag standing ovation sa view.
Oh you know, it's just me and Jim hanging out at some rocky edge at the mountain. No biggie.
Leslie and Ronnie and the obstacle course that is the Mt. Mariveles trail
My 40 Liter Conquer backpack. Tested if for the first time during this climb. Will give a review soon!
Papaya river! This is where we refilled our water bottles for drinking. Look ma, no tummy aches!
Group rest, coz you know, we've been at it for 3 hours already.
View from the summit
2. April - Mt. Maculot in Batangas
My mom turned 64 last April and I remembered a conversation with her that she wanted to climb a mountain at least once in her lifetime. She hails from Cuenca, Batangas so the decision to do a day hike at Mt. Maculot made perfect sense. The Rockies were super near our house in Cuenca and my uncle knew people who could give us a tour of the mountain. I initially thought Mt. Maculot was a fairly easy climb similar to Mt. Batulao, but found out the opposite. Apparently, they created a new trail to reach the Rockies and we ended up hiking at a more difficult one. The good thing about it was that there were several buko juice stops throughout the hike, and because it was a day hike, we didn’t have a lot of stuff on our backs. I am exceptionally proud of my mom and titas though! Aged 64 and 51, defying limits and conquering the rockies, y’all! And to top it all off, my nephew Yuan at age 5 was able to do his first hike without so much as a complaint for tiredness. That boy will go places, I know it.
Hugfest with my mommy
My family being weird and mature at the same time.
Hello Taal Lake, nice to see you!
Color coordinated. May production number kami sa bundok, hindi lang namin kayo nainform agad.
Scrambling up the Rockies. Nauntog ako.
My 5 year old nephew Yuan and his boy bawang. :) This kid!
3. May – Ilocos
An awesome adventure with my best friends that took 6 years to happen. Sleeping at the beach, eating tons of awesome food, sand boarding for the first time, celebrating birthdays with family—so many memories were made in 5 days! Well this requires a different post on its own.
Photo sharing shall commence instead.
Cape Bojeador. It was being renovated at the time so we weren't able to go up.
Photo sesh against the brick wall and the distressed windows
Okay so my friends are also weird. What did you expect?
Paoay sand dunes and the super fun (yet kinda dangerous) 4x4 truck ride
Bangui Windmills! I-avail ang electric fan!
Blue Lagoon beach. It's more commercialized now, but my bandmates and I still had tons of fun here. Photos in another blog post!
It seems that every month of 2014, I have been doing a quick out of town getaway, from week long volunteer work (Bohol) to simple 2 day hikes (Pulag) and a sandwich of the weekend to visit some places I've never been to before. It’s no extraordinary feat compared to seasoned hikers and travelers, but I am thankful for these weekends that break the monotony of corporate life. I will probably always be inlove with nature and I will forever crave the outdoors. Living in the city may have strengthened this craving, because despite the convenience and the ease of daily routine in the city, I tend to appreciate life more when I'm somewhere near the mountain or the sea.
Now I can’t break that once a month streak, can I? Planning for a surf trip this June and a weekend in Mindoro in July! Can't wait!
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