I survived Mt. Pulag!

I love mother nature; I love how the flowers and grasses dance

together with the breeze of fresh air; I love to see and hear the waves dances and splashes towards the seashore; I love to see how the sunsets in different places and my most amazing moment would be seeing a dome-like constellation of star shinning upon us in the darkness of the night.

But with hiking and trekking?These two words are seldom seen and used in my own dictionary, mainly because I never imagined myself doing it. I am not really an athletic person to begin with, I seldom find time to physically work-out because I'm way too preoccupied with my work (oh yeah, that's the best reason that I can give, LOL!). That is why when my friend ask me if I want to join her to go to Mt. Pulag, I politely declined to join her for quite a few times. I have lots of things going on my mind like "Mt. Pulag? Seriously, will I be able to survive it? I am not physically and emotionally ready. Can I really do this? Hiking? Trekking? Camping? Coldness? " And I told myself that I am not yet ready to take the challenge. 

But then, she asked me again this year and surprisingly, I didn't feel any hesitations at all and I just said yes! It was really quite a shock for me but this time around, I don't know why but I am 100% sure to take the challenge and just go for it. 

I wasn't able to have any physical preparations, and yes, it is because I am preoccupied with my work, lame excuse but that's what it is. It wasn't too long when we had a group meeting together with the organizer and my team members regarding some few reminders and the itinerary plan, and after few more days, here we go, Mt. Pulag adventure begins.

A little introduction of Mt. Pulag

Mount Pulag is the 3rd highest mountain in the Philippines .[2] It is Luzon’s highest peak at 2,922 meters above sea level. The borders between the provinces of Benguet, Ifugao, and Nueva Vizcaya meet at the mountain's peak.It is the third highest mountain in the Philippines, next to Mount Apo and Mount Dulang-dulang.Mount Pulag is famous for its majestic "sea of clouds" and the view of the Milky Way Galaxy at dawn, which has attracted many tourists who wish to see the "other-worldly" scenery. - Wikipedia

We left at around 11:00PM in Victory Liner Sampaloc station going to Baguio and arrived at around 5:30AM in Baguio. After few minutes of freshening up, we rode a jeepney heading to DENR Ambangeg, Benguet. Along the way, we had a stop over to eat breakfast and buy lunch. After that, we stop by DENR. It is a mandatory requirement for all hikers that are going to Mt. Pulag to drop by DENR to register. Since it had been raining for the past few days, we were instructed not to camp on camp2. Instead, we had our camp site on the Ranger station. We are told by the organizer that we will be camping on the Ranger station, and our hike will start as early as 1AM. So after eating dinner, my friend and I decided to sleep and set our alarm at 12:30AM.

Camping at Ranger station

We woke up even before our alarm rang, and we got up and started to get ready. It was cold, and everyone is still in a half asleep - half awake mode. Our hike started at 1:45AM, the weather is cold, the trail is mushy, and the only thing that can guide us through the darkness is the light coming from the headlamp or flashlight. I can remember that it was and up and down mushy mud trail that we've been walking for hours, and sometimes it can get very slippery. we have some mini stop overs to rest for a while, and drink some water to energize ourselves, but what really caught my eye as the vast constellation that can be seen from above. Ever since I was young, I am really into stars and I love stargazing. I wasn't able to take picture of it, but in my mind, I can see it very clearly. I feel like I am inside a dome, filled with stars twinkling and shinning upon me.

Sea of Clouds 

After nearly 4 hours of trekking, we reached our first destination, the tower, wherein we will stay and wait for the sunrise. And in few minutes, I was able to witness one of the best and memorable sunrise so far. I can sea clouds beneath the mountains, and above the mountains. It is really a magnificent view of what they called "sea of clouds". We are indeed lucky enough to have such nice weather in order for us to really able to see and witness such beauty.

After the sunrise view, my teammates decided to go for the Mt. Pulag summit which an additional 2 hour trek from the tower. At first, I was really hesitant to go further, but since ALL of my teammates are going, then I just decided to go with them. I don't want to be left behind.

Hiking trail going to the summit

The trail going to the summit is not as hard as the one that we been through going up the tower, but trail is all mushy and muddy. It is an up and down trail, but the view is also magnificent. I felt like I'm walking in a different country-side. And in few more hours, we successfully reached the summit.

This experience is very different and memorable for me. It is my FIRST time to trek and hike for almost 12 hours going up and down the summit, and that for me is what I am truly proud of. I didn't give up in the middle of the trek, it is physically exhausting, but I was able to endure and complete the entire trek. I was able to witness such breath taking sunrise with friends and new found friends. After this adventure, I started looking forward for more outdoor adventures in the future. How knows, this may become my new found hobby. LOL! :)

My Teammates! Disclaimer: This photo is grabbed from a friend. 

This Mt. Pulag Adventure is organized by Camp III Outdoor Outing. You may contact them in their facebook account at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Manila-Philippines/106322966073780 or look for Sir Kenneth at https://www.facebook.com/kenneth.taguilaso?fref=ufi

Boracay Island, Philippines: Home of the famous white sand beach and more

Last October 29, me, my aunt and my niece went to Boracay to spend our semester break. It was my aunt's second visit after nearly 10 years, and for me and my niece, it is our first. I am really looking forward for this trip because it is our famous Boracay Island that I have been always hearing of.

Boracay Island is located in the municipal of Aklan. It has 2 airports; one is Caticlan Airport (which is 15 minutes tricycle ride away from the port) and the other one is the Kalibo International Airport (which is about 2 hours bus ride away from the port). Luckily, our arrival is in Caticlan Airport. It is a small domestic airport, you can see the reception area immediately and you need to sign in in their flight manifest upon arrival. Afterwards, payment for tricycle fee and environmental fee will be collected, and at the port, terminal fee and boat fee must be settled before boarding the boat. And in few more minutes,I will be able to step on the famous white sand beach.

And weeeeee~ here I am! The sand is very fine and very white. The waves are calm which is ideal for swimming for both adults and children. There are also various water activities that you can choose from like parasailing, banana boat ride, flying fish,island hoping and more.

I got the chance to experience their helmet diving and snorkeling activities. With the helmet diving, video and picture taking are included in the payment and you can get your copy on that same day. I really had fun feeding bread to the fish. As for my snorkeling experience, I don't have any underwater camera to document it ,which is a lesson learned for me that it is a MUST as the under water scenery is really beautiful and how I really wish that I was able to capture them, but still I felt very happy that I was able to see the fishes and corals up close.

I love and enjoy water activities. The last memorable water activity that I had was during our Cebu trip wherein I got to see, swim and even take pictures together with the whale shark. You can check it out here for more details. 

After the entire day of water activities, we rested for a while and headed towards the beach shore to see and admire the sunset view.

The next day, we tried to wake up as early as we can to see the sun rise, but we failed to wake that early. And yet, the view from our hotel is still captivating, and I can't help but wonder how it feels like to wake up and see this kind of view everyday.

With our 3 days 2 nights stay in Boracay, it was all new and feel good experience for me. With the great food, captivating view and various activities that this island can offer, it is a breath of fresh air for me, being away from the city life and city problems for a few days. I just hope that since it is one of Philippines precious gems, we should take good care and protect it so that more and more people can still visit, enjoy and be mesmerized by it's hidden beauty.

Sandbox: A place to be for those kids-at-heart that seeks adventure and adrenaline

I saw this episode of Kris Tv wherein they featured Sandbox at Alviera located in Porac, Pampanga. It is not yet a completely-developed place but they have these adrenaline-inducing activities that you may want to try out! Together with some friends, we decided to go with this day trip adventure.

First stop: The Giant Swing

From a far, it may looked so easy and it got me thinking that I wouldn’t have any hesitations to try on this ride, but as we get closer, I felt my hands went cold my heart beats faster. It was really HIGH! We were discussing who will go first, and to end all this hesitations and fear and whatever I am feeling at that time, I decided to go first with a friend.  Lub-dub-lub-dub! This is it! We are already sitting, getting prepared to be pulled up, a few more seconds, I can feel  that we are already being pulled up high, higher and higher. After awhile, we heard a clicking sound, and there we swung up and down for a minute or so. I screamed a lot especially those first 2 swings above the air, but after awhile, I was able to smile and laugh until we are being pulled down the ground. It was really a nerve-cracking experience, but I was glad that I was able to make it! 

Getting pulled up to swing

Second stop: Avatar One Zipline

THIS ride is what I am really looking forward to. Though I haven’t tried any zip line yet(YES! This was my first!), but I liked that idea of having a roller coaster and zip line ride in one. It is not as high as we expected, and the speed was not that fast, but still, you will be like standing in air with a course going up and  down, it is still a new experience.  I enjoyed this ride very much! The speed of the zip line speeds up every time it will go up and down, but it is not as scary as the giant swing.

We weren’t able to try all the rides as were told that some of the rides’ tickets were sold out already. TIP: Buy tickets earlier for you to maximize you visit, especially when you’re in a group. Other activities that are available includes the Aerial Walk that looks like an obstacle course and is a good try for those going in groups. They also have Free Falling wherein you will jump from a certain height; they also have wall climbing and wall rappelling, mini golf and ATV ride but it costs more. And also, Sandbox is CLOSED every MONDAY.

Arerial Walk 

Sunset view before heading back to Manila

For more information regarding Sandbox, you may check it here .

Before heading back to Manila, we dropped by in Nathaniel’s for pasalubong, they are located in Puregold, near the Mabalacat Bus Terminal. They are well-known for  their Buko Pandan juice, Buko Pandan Salad, Ube cheese pie and Puto. 

Well-known Puto

Ube Cheese Pie

My First Visita Iglesia

I have been hearing and seeing churches that can be visited during “visita iglesia”, but I really don’t know what it is all about. What is Visita Iglesia? I have read that Visita Iglesia is a Holy Week practice wherein devotees visit and pray in at least 7 different churches and it was introduced by the Augustinian missioners to the Philippines since 1560s. “It can be done in one day, usually on Maundy Thursday, or it can takedays until before Easter Sunday if churches are far apart. Initially, thepurpose of this Holy Week practice was to honor the Blessed Sacrament, whenJesus established the Sacrament of the Eucharist.” 

And since I haven’t done this ever in my life, I asked some friends to join me, but they already have activities with family, so I decided to do it alone. I was quite hesitant for a few seconds, I thought that it would be quite boring and lonely to do it all alone, but since I would really like to do it, I just ignored my hesitations and just decided to go for it wholeheartedly.

My first stop was San Agustine Church which is located in Intramurous, Manila. It is one of the UNESCO World Heritage churches here in the Philippines. I went here before but the church was closed, so this is my first time to go inside the church. The interior of the church is old, yet it is well-preserved.  This is one of the best interior that I have seen ( apart from the Jaro Cathedral in Iloilo City ) here in the Metro.

Inside of San Agustine Church

Entrance of San Agustine

My second stop is the newly renovated and re-opened Manila Cathedral. It is also situated just near San Agustine Church.  I was expecting more for interior since it was closed for nearly 2 years for renovation. But when I entered the church, it was a safe scenery for me. 

Organ on the Second Floor of Manila Cathedral

Entrance to Manila Cathedral

Third stop, Malate Church along M.H. del Pilar street, Malate, Manila.

Fourth stop, Sta. Cruz Church located in Sta. Cruz, Manila. What really caught my attention is the painting of deer just above the altar. It really looks familiar but I can’t remember exactly when was the first time that I saw it. I even asked my mom if we went there when I was younger, but my mom told me that she can’t remember.

Binondo Church in Binondo, Manila is my fifth stop. It was my first time to visit this church, even though I have been seeing it since I was schooling. I was impressed by the interior of the church. It has a pink tone paint of the altar and it has great paintings on the ceiling of the church. I am very happy that I’ve got the chance to visit this church.

My sixth stop was the famous Quiapo Church located in the heart of Quiapo, Manilw. It is well-known because of the Black Nazarene, the patron saint.

Entrance of Quaipo Church

People kneeling as "panata"  inside the Quiapo Church 

My feet is now hurting since I have been walking along Ongpin street, from Sta. Cruz church to Binondo Church and to Quiapo Church. I was looking for a jeepney passing through San Sebastian Church. But I was walking towards the jeepney station, I saw the tower of San Sebastian Church. Even though my feet almost wants to give up, I decided to walk towards my seventh stop,  San Sebastian Church. It is also located in Quiapo, Manila, near San Sebastian College and Centro Escolar University. The architectural and interior design of this church really stands out. It is said to be the only all-steel church or basilica in Asia, and claimed as the only prefabricated steel church in the world. It was also included in the tentative list for possible designation as a World Heritage Site last 2006.

Entrance of San Sebastian Church

My eight and ninth stop  is St. Anthony Church and Our Lady of Loreto, respectively. They are both located in just one compound in Sampaloc, Manila.

St. Anthony Church

Our Lady of Loreto

My tenth and final stop is UST Chapel: Santisimo Rosario Parish Church, which can be seen inside the UST campus.

This entire experience is both new and fulfilling for me. I was able to visit 10 churches today.  I have walked for hours; tired and thirsty along the way, but I am still able to manage to fulfil my plan and reach my target to be able to visit different churches to say my thanks and my prayers. At first, I thought that I would feel alone and lonely since I’ll be doing it all by myself, but after my first stop, I felt fulfilled and renewed after each visit to the church. I was able maximize my time to visit, pray and give thanks wholeheartedly. I don’t know when will I be able to do this again, but I am very happy and thankful that I was able to do make my first Visita Iglesia. 

Cebu Weekend Adventure (3D2N)

Oh! Cebu is known as the “Queen of the South”.  I have been hearing a lot about Cebu, their beaches, their food, their people, etc. During a small gathering with my friends on June of last year, I decided to ask them if they would want to travel to Cebu, since there are on-going seat sale in Tiger Airways during that time . We looked it up, and found out that it was indeed cheap. It was roughly 1,500 pesos/ pax for a round trip ticket, with both having a checked in baggage of 30-40kgs, with the travel date on the first week of February of this year.  And right then and there, we booked the tickets and slowly planned where to stay and where to go.   

The day has come and finally, we are flying to Cebu! We are all smiles and excited when we all met at the airport, everyone is really looking forward for this trip, especially me. This is not only my first time to be traveling with friends via plane, but it is also the farthest location that I will be traveling with friends. Our initial flight was 10AM, but when we got inside the waiting area, we were all shocked and pissed off to know that our flight will be delayed for 3 long hours! We went to the costumer counter to ask why and how did it happened. The person-in-charge told us that there was delay during their first flight, because of aircraft problem or some sort of.  We were all saddened by this news, merely because of the 3 hours that would be wasted by being stuck here in Manila, and we couldn’t do anything about it! While waiting, we tried to entertain ourselves by chatting around, goofing around and just enjoying each other’s company.

It was only almost an hour travel period from Manila Domestic Airport to Mactan International Airport. Just outside the airport, we saw taxi service being offered. And since we are a group of 5 people, we decided to just avail their service and they offered a van to take us to South terminal. If I’m not mistaken, the van service is 700 pesos. Since we are going to travel together and pay almost the same amount for our transportation fees, we decided to let one person hold our money- we called it sort of our community fund, and he will be the one responsible for any transportation payment need. In that case, we need no to always sum up and divide our expenses amongst ourselves along the way since we have our initial funds already.We arrived in the South terminal and chose to ride the Ceres Bus Line in going to our first destination: Oslob, Cebu.

Whale shark watching in Oslob, Cebu

The travel time from South Terminal in Cebu to Oslob, Cebu was around 3 ½ hours, and the bus fare is 145 pesos. It was already 7 or 8 in the evening when we have arrived in our stay in Oslob in Garden Stay . We paid 410 pesos/ pax  for an overnight stay. The room was big enough for our group, it was fully air-conditioned room that has 1 double deck bed, and 2 king size bed with one common restroom.  We played monopoly until midnight and turned-on all our alarms to wake us up. It was around 5:20AM the next morning when we left the Garden Stay, and the owner had us one of his helper assist us for the entire day. We were waiting for almost 20mins for any bus to pass by, but there was none. So when we saw tricycle, we asked driver to bring us to the resort where we can have our whale shark watching activity. Since it is a special trip, he demanded for an additional fee (50 pesos) and we all agreed.

 

After 20 minutes ride, we arrived at Aaron’s Beach Resort. We paid 50 pesos for the entrance fee, and 500 for the 30 minutes whale shark watching fee, which also includes the boat ride, tour guide/ photographer, snorkel  and life jacket. For the underwater pictures, you need to give them your memory card, and an additional fee of 150pesos/ group but it is unlimited shots for 30 minutes stay with the whale shark. Your time of 30 minutes will only start when you’re in the designated spot for the whale shark watching. But before that, we were first guided to the briefing area wherein the snorkel and the life jacket were distributed to us. During the briefing, two important things stuck to my mind. FIRST, putting on sun block is prohibited as it can contaminate the water and natural habitat of the whale shark. SECOND, there is a 4 meters safety zone that needs to be observed while taking underwater pictures with whale shark. 

After a few minutes, we are now heading to our designated spot for the whale shark watching. You will see a boat and a fisher feeding the whale shark and if you would take a look from above sea water, the whale shark looks small, as it was only his snout that is visible. But when are on the sea water and try to look down under the sea, my oh my! It was not small at all, its length can be compared to 2 to 3 jeepney that was put together. I even got the chance to have a picture taken during my closest encounter with the whale shark, and I can clearly remember the feeling when I accidentally kicked the whale shark because I panicked when I felt that I am really, really close to it. After that, I was pulled away, and I heard someone shouting “4 meters!”.   And that was my most exciting adventure I’ve had so far!

After our whale shark encounter, we decided to have our breakfast in the resort and we are on to our next destination: Tumalog Falls.

Tumalog Falls, Oslob, Cebu

You need to ride their “habal-habal” or motorcycle ride in going up the mountains for the tumalog falls. After the 10 minutes of motorcycle ride, we chose to walk for 15-20 minutes going up and down the road. And we reached our destination! Tumalog falls is like a hidden gem in between mountains in Oslob, Cebu. It has  like a bunch of mini waterfalls within a waterfall. With cool breeze of fresh air blowing on your surroundings; cold and clean fresh water with visible  little fish swimming freely; free-flowing fresh water gushing through the water falls like they are music to your ears; birds chirping on a breath-taking view of mother nature, it is definitely on the list of must visit places in Cebu!

Sky Adventure in Crown Regency Hotel

After packing our baggage, we rode the Ceres Bus Line going back to Cebu City. We rode taxi going to Crown Regency from South terminal. If you have lot of baggage like us, you can look for the information counter located on the ground floor and ask if you can leave you baggage and since we will be availing for the Sky Adventure, they agreed and gave us our baggage number. We chose the package of Sky walk Adventure + Edge Coaster + dinner buffet which is 900 pesos. You will be given a certificate for each ride, but photos are sold separately which is 150 pesos for a photo that is taken by their photographer. We first rode the Edge Coaster. I actually have a fear of heights, but seing the pictures posted; I thought that it would be scary for me. And so I sat together with my friend, and the ride started. At first, it was fun because you will be able to see the city view, but when it started to slowly tilt to a certain degree, I started shouting. I may sound crazy but I really did felt scared. It is not only because we are tilted on a certain degree that makes me feel like I was falling, but also the speed of the ride was really slow that we stayed for that position for a minute or less, but I felt that it was quite long time already. I couldn’t stop shouting to ease my fear. After we got out of the ride, I couldn’t stop laughing at myself for being over-acting by shouting, but hey! I have fear of heights, but I was able to manage it well, so that’s a thumbs up for me, right?

Next ride: Sky walk! It was raining that night so the wind is cold and the path walk is wet. So I was really very careful not to get slipped or anything. Both our guide were nice and full of humour. As a defence mechanism, I think I talk a lot during that time, to calm myself down. The view is really nice, since it is night time, you can see the city lights and night scenery of Cebu City, just do not try to look down if you have fear of heights like me.  It was still a fun experience! It is dinner time! We went down to their dinner buffet. They have a wide variety of food cuisine you can choose from. And I am not a good food critic, as long as my palate likes it, it will be a two thumbs up for me!

 

Mövenpick Hotel Mactan Island Cebu 

From Crown Regency, we rode a taxi going to our sanctuary, Mövenpick! Mövenpick Hotel Mactan Island Cebu is a five-star beachfront hotel located in the luxurious and tropical island of Cebu. It is said to be only 10 minutes away from the Mactan Cebu International Airport and 30 minutes from the city of Cebu. The room that we booked has 2 rooms( 1 with one king size bed, 1 with 2 separate bed), 2 bathrooms  and it has living room and dining area. It has 3 balconies. And we just had our dinner, we decided to look around the hotel. The view in the swimming pool with the lights on is really nice! We stroll down and went to the Ibiza Beach Night Club whose view is really captivating!

 Zubuchon

 

 

We stayed in  our hotel for the the entire day. But before we head back to Mactan International Airport, we had our dinner in Zubuchon – they are well-known for their Cebu Lechon, a must try food in Cebu. Without sauce needed, the lechon is still flavourful with crispy skin. As for the drink, their Kamias Juice blends best  with their cebu lechon.