Solo flight

Last Monday was a holiday, it was a long weekend (for all schools) and long weekends in the past were spent mostly on travels. Since i am the only one that has no office (i work in a school), no travel this time.

And I have nothing to do.

But I do not want an entire day to just go by and do absolutely nothing, so, since I have not used Zeus for quite a while, I thought of doing a photowalk with Me, Myself and I, without any clear plan of where to and/or how to.

I give Manila a try. I picture in my head a Quiapo-Sta. Cruz-Intramuros-Luneta-UP Diliman whole day affair. I rode the LRT, take a jeep and walk under the blazing sun. With no sunblock, no hat, and a small umbrella. Initially, my backpack only has Zeus in, but after the Quiapo trip (and a very dissapointing no shots taken!), it was also loaded with lanzones, oranges, pears, longans, grapes and a pair of slipper worth P35.00! (Nag-photowalk pa ako no? mamimili lang pala ng prutas at tsinelas hehe.)

I was tempted to do Sta. Cruz-Binondo via that street behind the BPI building but I already did that in the past and maybe there's a better time in the future to be back there.

I walk towards the Post Office, turn in a corner, saw an old, abandoned building, took some shots and then I am lost. hehehe. Not that I am lost, as in lost, I am just not familiar with the place. I walk some more and found myself in the Bureau of Immigration area. whew.

I took some long walk inside the Intramuros, and told myself to look for Fort Santiago. You're right, i cannot find it. I am not even sure where is Fort Santiago hehehe. Damned myself for not being prepared, sayang ang pawis ko! I rode a jeep going to Luneta, went to National Museum for a visit, but it's a Monday and it's closed. In Luneta, I want to go inside the Japanese Garden, the Chinese Garden, but since it's a Monday, they're all closed!! waaah.

It's almost noon, and I am sweating like hell. With disappointments left and right, with gates closed and the penetrating heat, I licked my wounded guts inside a fastfood and ordered a nice looking breaded shrimp only to be disappointed more with its breaded taste. HAY!!!

You may be wondering where are the pictures? (The above were from a different photowalk hehe) Well, I told you I wasn't that prepared, so halfway through my Luneta rendezvous, a red thingy appeared on the lcd which means that my battery is now low, and nearing empty. wehehehe. But i was able to take some, and i'll post them later.

And forget about the UP-Diliman, hanggang Luneta lang ako hehe.

Happy weekend!!!

it's Cagbalete Island!

and it's in Mauban, Quezon.

it has Boracay's sand, the serenity of Anawangin, the food trip of La Luz, and hear this, on a backpacker's budget. san ka pa?

enjoy? ENJOY!!! (details coming up...)

Mt. Malasimbo

when you think of Mindoro, the things that come to mind were Puerto Galera, white beach, wild partying, tamaraw and mindoro sling. and when you take pictures of galera, you'll have the sunset, the sand, the party people, boats and this mountain looming majestically in the background.

that's mt. malasimbo.

years ago, when i first set foot in galera, i just thought of the mountain as a nice background that compliments the sea, but now, whenever i go to galera, i am now looking beyond the shore, away from smokes of barbeque grills and past the shops crowding the beach, my eyes automatically head toward the mountain and remember how it gave me an unforgettable climbing experience...

we arrived in galera via a scary ride with the boat that stopped in the middle of the sea due to mechanical trouble and during the time when the waves are in the mood for playing swing and see-saw, good thing i no longer have motion sickness otherwise i'll join the others throwing up in the sea (maybe, at the delight of some fish, eww). we settled our things in the rooms we rented, and unmindful of the drizzle that's turning into a heavy rain, wearing our uniform with our packed lunch and gears, we paced the shore like a marching band with lots of curious eyes going our way. as we reached the cemented street going to the trail, the sound of waves crushing on the shore was overpowered by raindrops racing from the sky. our steps are now faster, and so are the rain...

soaking wet and with adrenalin pumping, the rain stopped as we reached the jump-off point.

we past by a mangyan community, we stop by to what i thought was a falls for some picture taking and from then on, muddy and slippery assault towards the saddle.

actually, i don't mind the mud, i don't mind the assault, i do not mind even the occassional slips and some thorns/weeds prickling my hands and arms as i grabbed them for support, what worries me (and the rest of the group) are these icky little blood suckers called limatik (small leeches).

before our climb, we're already warned that some parts of malasimbo are teeming with these tiny parasites and that they are just there waiting to feast on us. just the thought of them crawling on our skin, biting for that blood meal, and suck until they're full and then they just fall off is enough for some newbies to back off. obviously, we're not one of them. just moments after stepping on their territory, a groupmate has already got hold of one slimy brown creature and proudly showed it to us. the curious that we are, we oogled on it and then later sprayed it with alcohol and dunked it on efficascent oil. we laughed on it, little did we know that a few more steps, a batallion of them has already sensed that lunch will be served early!

as a precaution, or to minimize the bites, we applied efficascent oil on our arms, necks and faces, some put too much that minutes later they're screaming as the oil's very hot hehehe. still, even with the oil and an alcohol sprayer on hand, limatiks still find their way into my arms, neck and even inside my shirt and my pants! argh! i have bites on my back, my legs and my arms. AND THEY ARE ITCHY!!!!!!

the limatik attack upped the adrenalin rush that makes our pace faster and soon enough we reached the saddle, and we're hungry and most of our shirts and socks were blood-stained!

the view at the saddle, although most of the time was covered with fog because of the rain, was more than enough to made up for the bloody experience. we had our lunch there and savor the fresh air and marvel at the view.

we didn't stay long and just forego the summit assault (there's no clearing at the summit and there are more limatik) as it started to rain again and the fog, all of a sudden, had surrounded us. the rainwater and the fog somehow blinded us and we need to make a new trail as we lost our way! the rain pounded even harder, the loose soil was more slippery and some groupmates panic for the rain, the fog and the thought of being lost. i was at the lead group but went back to assist some of my groupmates.

we eventually find the old trail and continue with the traverse. if going up is slippery, double that on our way down. someone joked that if not for the rain and the mud, we can run on this trail! instead, we have to walk with our butts or sometimes just slide our way down, and oh, sliding while sitting on coconut leaves is the fun way to do it.

if we climbed malasimbo with a more cooperative weather, the view must have been better.

we went directly to the beach to wash ourselves and get rid of the remaining limatiks we did not know we still have! one lady groupmate screamed her lungs out when she saw four very fat limatiks on her legs after she removed her trekking pants. me? i got one on my pocket! hehehe.

the limatik experience can be very traumatic, but it's part of every mountaineer's life. this climb also exemplifies what a teamwork can do, and in the mountain, it's just your guts, your instincts and your co-mountaineers that you can depend on.

and while we're still talking about limatiks while resting, a scream from another room disturbed the peace and quiet, it turned out that another lady groupmate saw a limatik on her underwear while taking a shower! see? they can crawl anywhere! i also observed that even though the limatiks were already removed, the skin they've bitten will continue to bleed like you have a fresh wound. scary!

to celebrate the limatik, este, climb, we drowned ourselves with videoke, lambanog and red horse, and what happens next is another long post...

kanpai!!!!

More of Anawangin

my first time in Anawangin last year was a memorable one, despite the rain and the huge waves that come with it and some "supernatural" experience, i remember being mesmerized by its natural beauty. i promised myself to be back.

last weekend, that promise was fulfilled. Yapak Mountaineers had its first team building in Anawangin (the area, especially Pundaquit, is now the favorite location of some of boobtube's primetime soaps like Marimar, Kung Fu kids, Maging sino ka man and was featured last year in The Probe Team), and i realized that Anawangin is even more beautiful when the sun is up, when there's no rain and the water is calm.

i giggled with excitement, not with the team building but with the anticipation of a better weather for an endless photo ops! i am bad i know hehe

the team building took the whole saturday, but it doesn't stop me from taking some shots, besides, i am not the only one hehehe.

the discussions and group dynamics were fun and actively participated in (i even had a mini-monologue when the topic shifted to knowing your priorities and touched budgeting, whoa!).

anyways, when the activity was about to end, we were asked to go on the shore for meditation, but i cannot concentrate because i was facing the sun directly and it's so hot! so i just excused myself and do this. :)

after the team affirmation, lyn and i went around and explore the area to look for the best spot for sunset (we tried climbing the nearby mountain where i took one of my all-time favorite shots, naks, but give up the idea halfway as we didn't bring a headlamp/flashlight). but it doesn't dampen our spirit as i just realized that the cove itself is a good spot for sunset.

we'll be in Anawangin again next month...

Happy weekend everyone, Kanpai!

Anawangin II

last weekend...

an invitation

want to try rappelling but afraid of heights? do you want to experience the adrenaline rush of white water tubing? how about free falling into a 25-ft deep water?

crazy? we call this adventure!

conquer your fear, be one with nature and feel the excitement and satisfaction of finally doing things you thought you cannot do.

Y.A.P.A.K. Mountaineers, Inc. invites all outdoor enthusiasts to its Invitational Adventure Tour to Coto Mines on November 30-December 2, 2007 and experience an all new outdoor adventure in one great venue.

Coto Mines is located east of Masinloc in Zambales. It is known to be the biggest depository of refractory ore in the world, having been operated by Benguet Corporation since 1934 up to the end of June 2007 from where Consolidated Mining, Inc. took over.

Travel time from Manila to Masinloc is approximately five hours or about 239 kilometers more or less. From Masinloc, Coto Mines is another 27 kilometers or approximately one hour of unpaved road passing thru 18 wooden bridges and winding mountainside till you reach the campsite.

The campsite (known as Kidz pool) offers you its crytal clear mountain fresh waterfalls and white water rapids amids the backdrop of virgin forest and rockies.

Experience white water tubing, rappelling 75 feet down from a man-made 150 feet long hanging bridge, mines tour, mountain trekking to the majestic blue lagoon. 100% FUN and inexpensive relaxation awaits everyone.

Registration fee is only P2,200.00 and this already includes Round trip bus fare, T-shirt, ID, equipments and Certificate. Cottages are available but on a first come, first serve basis.

Registration will take place on the following dates at McDonalds, Edsa Central:

November 10, 7 PM

November 17, 7 PM

November 24, 7 PM

Please be advised that the deadline for submission of registration forms and payment of fees is on November 24, 2007.

For more information, please contact:

Arch. Mario Arceño - 09178510336

Rex Alfafara - 09204651626

Amy Patindol - 09196992291

John Karingal - 09164091812

Jovi Balinoyos - 09283082112

Kent Bryan Blanche - 09178070553

Kristoffer Mendoza - 09212334642

Rochelle Rafols - 09164478063

For copies of flyers and registration forms, email yapakmountaineers@yahoo.com.

GUSTO MO TO?

GUSTO COTO! tara! sa Nov 30-Dec 2 na to!

(photos taken during our Coto trip last September)