Bicol Escapade - Prologue

Flashback to March 2012, exactly 2 years ago, me and my husband were rushing to the airport to catch our Manila to Naga flight. Due to some random unfortunate events, we ended up being late and to make the story short, our little Bicol escapade did not push through. 

March 2014, we found ourselves lining up to a ticket terminal in Araneta Bus Station. Call it trauma or whatever but I decided to take the bus going to Legazpi instead. Why not, we haven't tried that yet! And besides, the one we took was super comfy. I specifically chose Cagsawa Travel and Tour's Royal Elite bus due to its good reputation. Sure there are some with a more affordable price but having Tado's bus accident still fresh on the news, made me a little bit more careful and choosy. 

For 950 Pesos, this ride is not so bad at all. Look how wide their seats are. Leg room is also superb, I even reclined mine in a sleeping position without fearing that the person behind me will kick the back of my seat in annoyance. Each seat has arm and leg rests. And of course, the bus is equipped with WiFi. Manila to Legazpi is a supposed 12-hour ride. We left at 8pm and arrived at 7am. I slept peacefully until sunrise. 

Upon arrival, we walked around to find a good spot to eat breakfast. We found a nice eatery near the sea wall which served authentic local dishes. I am a fan of gata and spicy food so I had a feeling Bicolano dishes and I will get along. I was not wrong. I loved it!

After breakfast, we immediately walked towards RJM Apartelle. It's where we'll stay for 2 nights. It's a very decent yet affordable place which accepts check-ins at any random time of the day. Their 24-hour rate is just 650 Pesos, which is crazy, considering its convenient location and complete amenities. 

We both came with cough and colds and my husband's even feverish. We spent our first day resting, exploring around, eating, watching television and just mustering our strength. 

We observed and talked to locals that day and Bicolanos captured my heart. I think they're my second favorite people in the Philippines now (next to the Kankanaeys). They are very nice and humble people. Kids don't bug tourists around. In fact, we even seemed invisible to them. They're very disciplined too! Did you know that the whole Legazpi City is a smoking-free zone (and spit-free too)? They don't even have a little piece of smoking area somewhere near building exits. Tanods even roam around subdivisions to catch violators. Pretty amazing!

Our next three days were jam-packed with crazy commutes, misadventures and activities. Let me try to squeeze them in the next post! For now I'll leave you with my very first Mayon Volcano sighting whilst still inside the bus. I literally gasped with this one, it was just surreal!

A perfect mountain and a farm - doesn't this remind you of one of your childhood drawings?

Ilocos Norte Day 2

Arghh, I've been putting off this entry for so long already, 2 months to be exact. That's the thing with packaged tours, you don't have much stories to tell. The travel company is great that's why everything's so convenient. I just want an exact concoction of comfort and adventure, that's why I love personalizing my own trip. I'm not complaining, don't get me wrong, I loved the whole trip, most especially the time I spent bonding with my parents and husband. I just don't think it's bloggable enough, if that's even a word. 

Having that said, let me just give you a photo journ of our days 2 and 3. Please don't get tired of my face.

The beautiful view in front of Cape Bojeador Lighthouse.

Cape Bojeador Lighthouse.

Kapurpuruwan Rock Formations - of course, I wouldn't miss a silly/dangerous shot.

Bangui Windmills

30-minute easy trek going to the Kabigan Falls.

Blue Lagoon Beach - very pretty and wavy, uggh tempting!!

You see, we had a very jam-packed itinerary on that second day. I especially loved the rock formations since it was my first time seeing such. We spent the night on Saud Beach rather than the Blue Lagoon but no biggie, it was so cold anyway. I only got to swim for 30 minutes, what a rare event!

We left Pagudpud early in the morning to have an ample time for pasalubong-shopping. We stopped over a store somewhere in Laoag City so we bought loads of bagnet, sukang iloco and longganisa. We then had our luch in Vigan City before finally heading back home. We arrived in Pampanga around 9pm, oh what a long journey. I'm glad I'm done with that very long leg of North Luzon, I may have to take a plane if I needed to go back there :)

Year-End Special

I've always been an advocate of DIY trips. I love love love researching, planning and booking. I handle my own itineraries up to the last bit of detail on transportation, accommodation and ticket. Reading the map, carefully following the researched routes and even getting lost are all part of my adventure. It what makes my travels more memorable. I love doing it for other people too.

My last trip was the test of it. I'll be travelling with my husband plus my parents. I really really wanted to scour the internet for some tips on how to manage an Ilocos Norte and Sur trip the most convenient way possible since there'll be the four of us. That northern leg of Luzon is a bit challenging since there are a lot of tourist spots that are miles and miles apart. I am about to enjoy the headaches of planning it when my father told me to just book a packaged tour. My heart sank upon hearing that. I felt restless not having to arrange anything. Then I realized, our target date is a long weekend which is just a few days away, the mere search for a legit and affordable package is a challenge itself. Challenge accepted!

True enough, I had a hard time finding an agency that still has 4 slots left. Then I found this agency called Byaheng-Pinas which offers various tours around Luzon. Luckily, Ms. Jane, their contact person, arranged something for us on the last minute. Transaction was very smooth. It was a 3 days and 2 nights tour.

Day 0 was a crazy busy day. I still had to wake up at 5am to work. At 10am, I logged out early to prepare for a friend's wedding. The wedding concluded at around 7pm. I had a quick nap before preparing again to leave by 9:30pm. We met our driver at 10pm at Dau bus terminal. It was a convenient arrangement. We're supposed to go to Manila to meet him but he agreed to pick us up instead. Having been awake since 5am, I slept like a baby all through out the 7-hour travel going to Vigan.

Day 1 began at 5am. We arrived at Vigan while it was still dark. We were given some free time to roam around Vigan Heritage Village. It was an interesting place. I specifically admired Calle Crisologos' beautiful cobblestones. This street's old feel is nicely preserved and/or restored. Sadly, my digicam was forced to a very high ISO due to darkness hence, poor quality photo. Oh well.

Well of course, I wouldn't miss having a photo on this famous seat.

At the Vigan Church

Bantay Bell Tower

We then proceeded to our next stop, Chavit Singson's Baluarte. I wasn't exactly hyped up to visit Chavit's property, after all, I am not a fan. All I know is that he's insanely rich and has some tigers and snakes in captivity. Maybe it's the animal-lover in me, but I genuinely enjoyed it upon seeing small horses, deer and my most favorite animal in the world, the llamas! Plus in all fairness to him, there were no payments required to any area and donations were even prohibited. I now think it's very generous of him to open up his place for the public's amusement.

Well hello there cutie Llama :)

That concluded our Ilocos Sur leg. It was still early in the morning when we left Vigan City to proceed to Paoay. I was particularly excited at this point, I knew Marcos' Museum is next. I am a fan of Marcos, I think he's a genius. If only his regime continued (well of course if he hadn't got sick), we're a first world country now. That's just what I think, I'm no expert so don't start a debate on me. So there we saw his actual preserved remains. Photography is prohibited, bummer. Near his mausoleum is a museum of his photos, features and memorabilia. It was very interesting.

After a quick lunch at a local eatery, we proceeded to the famous Paoay Church. Old churches are very interesting and photogenic. That drives tourists to rather have a photo shoot than to actually pray. I'm sometimes guilty too, of course.

Beautiful Baroque Architecture

After this quick stop, we found ourselves agreeing to join the optional 4x4 ride going to the sand dunes. I wouldn't miss it for the world. Fee is not included in the tour. It costs 2500 Php, sand boarding equipment included. That will be further split up into 5, which is the capacity of the 4x4 vehicle. My father, having been used to sand dunes all his life in Saudi Arabia, decided not to go. Two of the friends we've met during the tour decided to split the fee with us. Cool, it's a go then!

Okay, this is hard, I wish I could give justice to the whole experience in a form of writing. It was a one hell of an experience! We road the 4x4, not knowing what to expect. All I knew was it'll be used to navigate the sand dunes going to the sand boarding area. Wrong! It was used as a roller coaster! We rolled down on dunes that were as high as a house on a very high speed. We were standing, clinging on to the bars, without harnesses or anything. Our lives depended on our grip. The danger is real. One wrong slip and the momentum could easily throw me out like a piece of rock. We were laughing and screaming all through out. It was totally the highlight of this trip!

Very strong vehicle indeed!

Genuinely happy!

Feeling nervous that my clumsy body will fail on me.

Sliding gracefully down this very long path. Success!

Sand boarding was a very cool experience. I never knew I had that balance within me. After some rounds, we rode our trusted 4x4 and had the second round of adventure! We had a quick stop at a nearby beach by the way. What an all-in-one experience!

After this adrenaline-pumping experience, we proceeded to a more laid-back stop, The Malacanang of the North. It was where Marcos lived during his regime whenever he's in Ilocos Norte, very interesting and educational indeed. It was a lovely place too, the balcony overlooks the Paoay Lake. I guess with that serene view, ruling an entire country will be a little less difficult.

There we also ate the famous empanada. It was okay, especially the sukang Iloko. Okay, honestly, I wasn't crazy about it. Maybe some places had better versions?

With our sore bodies from a seemingly endless road trip and adventures, we moved even further up north to rest on a decent hotel in Laoag City. I took a bath, had dinner then slept at 8pm. I think that's the earliest sleep I ever had, as in ever!

Day 2 will follow soon.

28th

Humor me and tell me I look 28.

Forgive the narcissism, it's my birthday, okay? Plus I really don't feel like 28, as I always say, age is just a number. I actually feel ageless. There are times when I act all grown up on things and most of the times, I just let my spirit run wild and free with vigorous youth. 

This year, my birthday is no different from any of my other birthdays. Common factor? The rain! I've always wanted to celebrate my birthday in a secluded place, maybe on an island or a mountain and just let it pass solemnly. I guess I either have to move my birth date or move the rainy season.

Anyway, spending it at home does not make it any less special. That morning, my mother cooked me an old-school birthday favorite - pansit! My husband and my brother filed their work leaves to be my slaves for the day. Yes, what a valuable gift. My husband worked his bun off all morning buying, preparing and cooking my requested lunch, kare-kare. He cooks the best kare-kare in the whole world, I'm telling you. I forgot what we ate for mirienda though. Dinner was our date time then. Me and my husband went out to a nearby coffee shop and ate pasta and panizza. It was a lovely dinner. By 9pm, we found ourselves watching a very cool reggae band in a sports bar. We ate, drank and just enjoyed music like crazy teenagers. Except that we weren't teenagers anymore because by midnight, we felt sleepy and exhausted. Lol, is that what they call 'signs of aging'?

The weekend, 2 days after my birthday, is an extension of my birthday since all, including my father plus a very close cousin, were at home. I rushed to the nearest Korean town in our place to buy some stuff for our Korean-themed dinner at home. We had samgyeopsal, cadol, ramyeon, fried egg with carrots and spring onion and of course, kimchi. It was fun, I gotta high-five my husband for the efforts of preparing it with me.

My birthday didn't end just yet until the following weekend. It was actually raining hard that Saturday but it was a lame excuse not to push through this very beautiful event that my husband planned for me. It was Bamboo and Yeng's concert. God how could I even start how I adore both of them. My fascination with Bamboo started almost 2 decades ago, right at the start of the Rivermaya. They are the first band that I ever watched live in concert. The next time I saw him, he was in his new band. It was in some university foundation concert which was not even my school. Yeng, on the other hand, got me impressed with her song writing skills and her great live performances. I saw her potential as early as her Pinoy Dream Academy days. I have such great respect for her artistry, which is very rare on local artists nowadays.

It's as if the universe knew my admiration for both artists that it decided to combine them in a one major concert. Of all people, it's them! Of all dates, it's a week after my birthday! How could I let that pass up. I bought our concert tickets online plus and a couple of vouchers for our Manila Ocean Park sidetrip. 

We braved the rain and commuted all the way from Pampanga to Cubao. Easy-peasy, I've been to worse anyway. We arrived 2 hours earlier since my desired position (lower box) was already sold out so we settled for upper box, which had no reserved seating, hence, we had to line up for good seats.
We had our dinner while lining up. What's the best standing-up dinner? Burritos. What's known as one of the best food chain offering burritos? Taco Bell. It was half-pounder but I devoured it all plus some nachos on the side. Oh, food food food, how I adore thee. 

Before lining up

The Big Dome was sold out!

We got great seats. They were right in front of the stage and the view is just perfect. The concert started an hour late so we were waiting for some good 3 hours. I was just about to go crazy with the ads looping on the big screen when they stopped them and got replaced by a countdown. I knew it was the cue that the show was about to start. The lights were turned off and then there was smoke. Then a choir appeared and sang Hawak Kamay solemnly with just spotlights on them. Energy in the dome was building up, then suddenly, the lights went crazy, the big background LCD screen lit up and there he was, Bamboo, elevating on a platform from under the stage. Classic entrance. Then he gave this iconic pose, a signature pose only Michael Jackson or Tony Stark can only pull off, and gave justice to it. The dome trembled with shrieking fans. He sang Hallelujah then midway, Yeng appeared and mashed up Hawak Kamay with it. The production was awesome! It was a beautiful combination of the two artists, giant screen's animations, smoke, pyrotechnics, dancers, the band and the choir. 

BY Request

I just learned while watching that the concert's name: BY Request is not just taken from their initials (B and Y) but that there was some sort of a theme on it. It was called BY Request since the song lineup came from the most requested songs of fans gathered on the social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. With this, they performed mostly cover songs from the artists today like Rihanna, Adele, Bruno Mars and the likes. It was a cool idea, especially for young fans who loves these songs. But I have to admit, I was somehow a teeny-weeny bit disappointed. I guess I was mislead by my expectation to hear classics like 20 Million, Hilo, Kisapmata, Panahon Nanaman, Hinahanap-hanap Kita, and the list goes on and on. Yes he sang 214 and Ulan but I wanted more of those instead of hearing 2 Bruno Mars songs. Yeng, too, sang some of her hits but in a mash-up kind of way and sang "today's hits" more. Oh well, overall, it was still very entertaining. My respect for their artistry just got upped a notch higher. 

We spent the night on a very decent accommodation that my husband reserved in advance. It was a cozy night. That morning, we proceeded to our next stop, the Manila Ocean Park. I scored ourselves online a couple of vouchers with the Pacific Sky Wonder 9 package. It includes nine different attractions namely, Oceanarium, Sea Lion Show, Marine Life Habitat, Fish Spa, Jellies Exhibit, All Star Bird Show, Birds of Prey Kingdom, Penguin Talk Show and Trails to Antarctica.

I have an unreasonable fear of fishes. As we explored the Oceanarium, I just thought of one thing... Good Lord, don't make me have nightmare of these. We saw different kinds of fishes, there were those who blends with the sea bed texture, those who looked like snakes, those who looked like they're upside down when they're not, those who emitted neon lights and a whole lot of weirdness. It was fun and educational though. 

We, then, proceeded to see the Jellies, dubbed as the dancing sea fairies. They were entertaining. They really looked like they were dancing as their movements were synced with the music and lights. Watching them was therapeutic. After that, we proceeded to the Trails of Antartica. This was my most anticipated attraction, finally, I will get to see penguins! Upon entering the gate, we were instructed to take the giant ice slide first. I saw the penguins from afar so, to hell with the slide, I ran towards the penguins. I have such strange fondness of them. I squealed like how a 4-year old kid would squeal upon seeing Jollibee or something. They were sooo cute and funny too. One would just stand still like a statue for minutes without ever moving a muscle then the other one would swim in circles nonstop. 

Oh hello there cutie!

After marveling over the penguins, we finally went for the giant slide. It was fun! True enough, the slide is covered with real ice. It then led us to the next door, the snowy room. Jackets were given upon entering as the room mimicked an actual snowy environment. The temperature was freezing and floors and decors were all covered in real ice. It was a very nice experience. I wanted to do a snow angel but I would look stupid so I'll just save that for the real deal some other time. After exiting this attraction, we walked the actual Trails of Antarctica. It was a hallway full of trivia about Antarctica. While at it, I was convinced that I wanted to experience Antarctica someday. It's a big leap but I'm setting my goal to that.  

It is the home of the Aurora Australis - the southern lights - Must. See. Those. Someday.

Freezing!

We've set the birds and sea lion shows last since they were the least to our priority. We've seen such shows anyway at Ocean Adventure in Subic. We checked out the fish spa instead. I tricked my husband that I wanted to finally try it to get over my fear of fishes. Truth is, I just didn't want to waste our tickets and I knew he wanted to try it anyway. I've seen fish spas on some outlets in SM but these fishies were gigantic! They were big and black and looking not anywhere near friendly. Well, believe me, I tried. I soaked the tip of my foot but when one comes near I quickly lifted it. Call me chicken but I just can't, period. 

To clear my mind off that embarrassing fish spa failure, we decided to try out the Penguin Talk Show. I expected an educational discussion and a live penguin interaction. I guess I expected too much, lol. I'm very sorry for those who made it but we stayed for just a couple of minutes. I think it was somehow educational but in a weird kind of way. The host was a poorly animated penguin shown on a big screen which was controlled back room. He was like a stand-up comedian, talking in Tagalog, making silly jokes about some audience in the room. Not my thing, I'm sorry. Too bad it was the our last attraction. We left the Ocean Park after that and went to MOA to grab some mirenda. 

There were some restos inside the park by the way, but I was craving for something else. It was a rainy afternoon so all I ever thought of was sipping a hot phở. I satisfied my craving at Pho Hoa restaurant together with fresh spring rolls, their special brew of iced tea and a hot jasmine tea. Oh what a hearty meal! 

Rain started to pour harder so we decided to head home already. Overall, my birthday this year spells awesome! I'm just so lucky to have a wonderful family and an exceptional husband who know exactly what I want and what I need... and actually provide for it. ♥ 

An Island called Potipot

Welcome to the small, secluded and beautiful island of Potipot. Located in front of Candelaria, Zambales coastline, this little wonder has been a quick fix for those who wanted to enjoy pure love affair with nature. There's no electricity and only scarce cellphone signal. While some people choose to sleep on resorts on the mainland in front of the island, we decided to go all-the-way and camped overnight on it.

It may look all jungle but nope, believe it or not, there are huts between those trees.

I'll be honest, I haven't had any interest in going to this island until the day before we went. The real plan was the mainstream Anawangin Cove. I planned this trip as our summer getaway with the whole family and few close cousins. There were 8 of us. The weather did not quite cooperate with this plan since waves got so huge the day before our trip. My contact person warned us that a 30-minute boat ride going to the  cove is just not feasible. A sudden change of plan was decided. We're going to Potipot Island instead. I did some research and yes, it was way safer. Waves in this part of the sea are calmer and it will just be a quick 5-minute boat ride. Downside? Drop off point is 2-hr farther than the original. That means we have to go extra early to reach the 8am boatman appointment. 

We left at around 5am with a lot of necessities in tow. As I've mentioned, we wanted to camp overnight and that means we should be bringing our own food, water and toiletries. For a group of 8 people, that's a lot! Good thing we brought our own transportation as the "park and sail" was also covered by our boatman. The trip took 4 hours give or take, including a breakfast stop.

As I saw a glimpse of the island, I was stunned. I was somehow glad we did not push through our Anawangin Cove plan. Yes it may  not have pine trees and a creek, but the beach made up for it. See why:

Clear turquoise waters.

Long and clean shoreline.

Decent fine yellowish white sand. Not the Boracay kind of fine but it's finer than Puerto Galera, Bolinao and Camiguin's sand bar (as far as I can recall).

What more can I ask for? The water even has some slightly strong waves, just the way I like it! The whole day was burned doing old school beach activities, swimming, having weird contests, laughing, teasing and just plain o'l chatting. And it was fun!

Few things worth mentioning though, typical resort water activities here are non-existent. Don't expect some banana boat rides, jet skis and the like, there are none, zero, zilch, nada. The point here is to beach bum, that's it. The island is so small you can walk its circumference in just 20 minutes or less. There are also no luxurious accommodations, just tents and huts. Also, the beach is as natural as it can get - there are some sharp corals on some point, water elevations are a bit dangerous too as they get real deep on a very close range, there are also insects and rodents at night, the far end of the island smells like fish and bathwater comes from a pump. That may sound intolerable for some, but it rings adventure for me. 

Then came night time. After playing some cards and eating dinner, we decided to call it a night. Of course, my trips aren't quite complete without some horror stories of misadventures. My parents decided to rent a hut to sleep in. It's a very basic hut, it had a small stair leading to the second floor which is a whole sleeping area then the lower portion is the dining area. It's quite huge actually as they say it can fit 20 people. Great deal, except that I wanted to sleep inside a tent. We had two tents anyway so what the hell, might as well use one to serve its purpose. I am more comfortable sleeping inside a tent, feeling the sand beneath it, rather than on a plain wooden floor. Me and my husband were already sound asleep when we were awakened by my mother's shout - she was asking us to go inside the hut as it's already drizzling. I quickly grabbed my things and noticed the floor was already wet and the tent's window was dripping with rainwater. Not again! This is Mt. Pulag's horror story all over again. As we ran towards the hut, the rain went ballistic and soaked me even more. Trying to sleep with wet hair and clothes was no fun at all but wanna know the worst part of that? I checked the time and it was only 9:30pm! Talk about long night!

A great sunrise matched with a sumptuous breakfast erased my rain trauma. 

Right after breakfast, I quickly changed into my swimsuit and plunged again. My desire to swim will always be insatiable. We enjoyed the whole morning in the water, doing more random stuff. Too bad we were almost running out of food and water so we had to come back to the mainland by noon.

Where they dock the boats. Not really a swimmable spot. The sand here is coarser and the look how close the deep water is.

It was a nice bonding with the family after all. It was again proved that a change of plan doesn't always equal to disaster. I know it was not the perfect getaway for my parents as they needed convenience the most at their age, but they were game all through out. I must say I got my bold travel spirit from them. 

Mt. Pulag - an epic experience.

Mt. Pulag, third tallest mountain in the Philipines, tallest one in Luzon. It's peak is at a staggering 2,922 meters above sea level. Me, my husband and our friends wanted to conquer this mountain. We are not experienced mountaineers, heck, we don't even have any training/preparation for it. All we have are our guts.

We signed up with Tripinas Travel and Vetures since they offered the best deals. We only paid Php 2,199 each for the whole thing. It's less than usual because we have to go to Baguio ourselves since we're from Pampanga and their chartered vans are from Manila. They also offer tent and headlamp rentals, full board meals and sleeping bags.

It was Friday morning and I still have to go to work at home. We were supposed to leave that afternoon, but what the hell, it will even give me more time to do my last minute packing. We met up with our friends at 3pm in the bus terminal. We had a little Baguio-chillin' that night as if we're preparing ourselves for something big and epic the next day.

Saturday. We had to speed our way to the 7-11 Victory Liner branch to meet up with the tour coordinator. He was very firm when he said we have to be there at 4am sharp. He even texted us at 3:30 in the morning. Pressure much?

Channeling morning strength from a can of coffee.

Quick photo before departure.

After the registration and issuance of headlamps, we rode the sturdy-looking jeepneys and started our butt-numbing journey. After around 1.5 hours, we had our first stop, the breakfast pit stop. It was a nice carinderia with the view. We ate at the balcony as the sun rose - what a precious moment on a very mundane place. After eating and securing our packed lunch, we headed on the road again. Next stop would be the DENR office.

The road is a bit narrow and steep but the view was very very rewarding. After approximately an hour of travel, we already reached the office. We had our pre-climb orientation here. The lady speaker was very jolly and entertaining. She also showed us an amazing time-lapse photo presentation for us to know what to expect. One thing caught my attention though, she said the normal road going to the Ranger Station (jump off point) is under renovation so we have to take the detour. Hmmm, a detour. Sounds interesting.

It was indeed interesting...ly deadly.

Mini roads which are built for tires only. One wrong slip and we'll end up tumbling down the terraces.

We were even thankful for those mini roads because most of the time there was not even any. We were driving on top of loose rocks right on the edge of scary ravines. We were laughing along the way, trying to enjoy this experience. Then the jeepney actually had some mini jumps from rocks it stepped on and our laughs turned to nervous laughs, until there were none. Maybe we all had the need to pray for our dear lives. I've seen curvy, crazy, narrow, dangerous and whatever kind of roads in the Philippines but it was the first time here that I actually entertained the shivering thought of "What if we fell down?"

We were again on the mini roads when we heard a swooshing sound. It was one of our tires leaking air until it eventually got flat. Thank good heavens our driver was ready with a spare. He quickly changed it while we enjoyed the view.

A flat tire will not ruin our day :) (because we weren't the ones who changed it hehe)

We were back on the road in no time. After we got used to the terrain, yet another challenge faced us. We had to ascend on a series of very inclined roads, we were able to do it on the first few ones until we reached a place where the Manangs just did their laundry. Seriously, it wasn't a joke. Their laundry did this:

Which in turn, stuck our jeepney.

The driver tried and tried but the tires kept on slipping. Every men helped, even the locals, to somehow push and pull the jeepney upwards but no to avail. An hour passed by. It was already past lunch time and everyone's getting frustrated. It was decided that the driver will find an alternate route while we walk towards the Ranger Station to waste no time. He'll just meet us on the road. Wow, a trek prior to the main trek. It was maybe due to the chilly weather that no one ever complained with this. We walked and walked unguided and when we got tired, we stopped over a store to buy some refreshments. 

Some local kids still know how to have fun on the streets.

More or less an hour after, our ride came then finally we reached the Ranger Station. We quickly had our lunch as we were way behind our schedule. Porters were readily available for only 250 Pesos per way for a maximum of 25-kilo bag. Trying to save 500 pesos, me and my husband agreed to hire just one porter. He carried my bag while his bag was carried for him. We were advised to secure our bags with garbage bags as protection because it seemed like it's gonna rain. I proudly presented my bag's feature. It has a built-in rain cover. Oh what a genius bag! Their bags looked ugly with black bags around them while mine looked comfy with it's own yellow cover. We were not even starting with the trek yet when the rain poured so hard on us. No worries as we had raincoats and ponchos.

Yes my raincoat protected me from the rain but it didn't stop me from freezing. It was very cold that I can't even feel my extremities! I think my hand froze and locked itself on my walking stick while my feet were all soaked up in mud and water. It was not enjoyable at all! No one was talking with no one. We were walking as if our bodies just turned their auto-pilot mode on. I was in a cycle of sadness, exhaustion, frustration, anger and even self-pity. The rain didn't stop as we trekked. It took us more or less 3 hours before reaching the camping site. 

That's the Campsite 2. We were on the Campsite 2 - Extension.

Rain turned to thick fog as we were starting to pitch our tent. We quickly settled ourselves as the sun started to set already. The chill became unbearable especially with my wet clothes as my old raincoat leaked. I was really unhappy at that point. I started unpacking to ready my sleeping clothes. We were told the nights in Pulag drop to dangerously low temperatures so layering is very very advisable. I was in utter shock upon seeing my things. ALL MY CLOTHES WERE WET. The friggin' rain cover I was boasting about failed me. Good thing my electronics were secured in a ziplock. But how can I even survive the night with this.. gahhh, I really really wanted to teleport myself back to my warm and comfy bed at home. Since that's remotely possible, I just had to wear my husband's sweater layered it with my furry vest. I had to ignore its wet patch as I prayed for it to dry out through out the night. I only had 2 layers on. For a person like me who can't even sleep sound on air-conditioned rooms due to coldness, that is a serious problem. For my legs, I only had a wet and very thin jeggings (almost like a stocking kind of thin), then I layered it with my husband's arm socks. I had a bonnet, I borrowed a scarf and some wet gloves and socks. That's about it. I'm in an almost single and wet layer. I thought I was going to die with hypothermia. If you think I'm over reacting, I might be, lol. I was really exhausted and disappointed and not to mention, freezing that everything seemed so magnified. 

I just prayed and prayed for the night to already end. I closed my eyes and faked a sleep until I had one. In the middle of the night, I woke up. The wind was strong and there was a piter-patering sound on our tents. Ahhhh I thought it couldn't get any worse, I was wrong. The sounds grew louder and louder. Hard winds gushed deforming the top of our tent. It was so cold that the inside of our tents started to moist. Soon, the mists turned into drops. It was like rain, dropping on our heads. Our feet were starting to get soaked. The clothes I was trying to dry off were all soaked up too. Temperature dropped to 7 degrees. My defense mechanism? I completely detached myself from the situation. I had to had apathy. This ran several times into my head "If it continued to rain until morning trek going to the summit, I won't even bother going there. This trip is a total waste and I will forget everything about it".

Thankfully, I was able to catch another snooze from that nightmare. I again woke up hearing people from outside goshing about stars. Oh my God, could it be?? Could it be that the sky cleared up for us? I went outside to check. My goodness, it was the most beautiful starry sky I've ever seen. This alone lifted my spirit up. Game! Let's climb that summit!

Just so you know, Mt. Pulag's famous sunrise is its main attraction. It's like the icing on top of the cake of hardships. It's very elusive though. One stroke of bad luck and you'll end up going there for a zero-visibility foggy mountain. 

I was very hopeful this time. It was still dark when we started to trek. I think it was around 4am but I'm not sure. All I know is that the trail is harder this time. It's crazy slippery, muddy, rocky and steep. I didn't not feel any exhaustion from this trek or from last night's. It was a fresh start. I was really really optimistic that we will be able to see the sunrise despite of all the misfortunes that we had. After more than a couple of hours of uphill trek, we reached the peak. Me and my husband made it to the 4th peak, the highest one. We arrived a little early so we had a little breather.

This looks promising! Though there's not much of the "sea of clouds"

One problem though - our friends brought our bottles of water and then we left them on Peak 2. My scumbag brain, knowing we do not have any water with us, convinced my throat that I badly needed to drink. My husband asked this couple if they could share theirs with me. I could have thought twice if I were in their position and a stranger asked me to use my bottle when I know I will be needing it too. They did not hesitate for a second. Applause for my new friends, Ren and Ron, cute names by the way.

Very kind fellow trekkers who shared their water with us without even thinking twice.

They even took our photo for us right before the sunrise.

The sun is starting to peak out, I just felt pure bliss at this point.

Question: What is the best way to erase a whole day and night of hardships?

Answer:

This would totally hard-reset a person.

This sunrise was just the most majestic thing I've ever seen in my life so far. Its light and warmth basked me with happiness. I gave my husband a big hug for being with me in this wonderful experience. Suddenly everything that we went through all became positive adventures. The flat tire, us being stranded, the rain, the wet clothes and all the frustrations became negligible compared to this. 

Radiance coming from the sun and me :)

Enjoying with the rolling hills on the background

People admiring the sunrise. And oh, look at the beautiful gradient of sky colors.

We were warned that the temperature on the peak will drop even more after the sunrise. I don't know what's the explanation behind that but we just complied. The peak was already a sulit experience anyway.

Trekking down the hills.

We arrived back in the campsite just in time for breakfast. After which, we quickly packed up our bags and go ready to go home. Ahhhh, it was nice to hear the word "home" at this point. 

Our porters. Most of them are on their 50s already, very strong lolas indeed!

Everything seems easy when you're about to get home. The trek, which I cursed over and over in my head the day before seemed really easy-peasy this time. The jeepney ride that we feared was just dozed off. The long bus ride home is nothing but straight 5-hour sleep too. We just got very comfortable knowing that we did what we came to do. This trip won my heart in the adventure department. I know the word EPIC is a little bit over used but I can't think of any other to describe it.