the mt. pinatubo experience

one of my bucket's lists is to go to mt. pinatubo and i was able to accomplish that together with my husband and my visiting cousins last month.

it was quite an experience, that's what i can say. i enjoyed the trip but i would think twice if i am asked to do it again. the trek is doable. heck, i have no experience in trekking, hiking, mountaineering or the like and i did it. it was just that, the trek is too long. it was 3 hours of walking ...

can you see how tiny we are or how big our surrounding is?

and walking ....

and more walking...

and seeing only rocks, sand, and streams.

we love the streams. its so refreshing to our hot and tired feet.
 good thing there are lots of streams along the way

one would really ask "are we there yet?".  i did a couple of times. perhaps, one of the reasons why my being impatient had taken its toll on me was that i was a bit scared. we were so so far away from the city. there is no signal up there in the mountains. one wrong slip and we could harm ourselves and it will take so long for help to come. the tour guide, who we do not know, could harm us and nobody could hear us. well, good thing we were 10 in the group and that there were just 2 tour guides. it could rain and could cause landslide. anything could happen. so i just prayed and prayed. thank God we were spared. 

it wasn't at all bad. it was just risky and i honestly didn't see it coming. maybe there should me more info on the site? or perhaps i should have researched more.

here how the trip started. we were fetched by a private van at 4am in my cousin's hotel in makati. had our stop for breakfast at nlex. arrived in tarlac a bit late, around 8:30am, because we have to make 2 more stops looking for atm machine. upon reacheing tarlac, we registered signed waiver, paid our fees, read the history of mt. pinatbo and got ready (sunblock, shades, bladder break, etc). we then took 2 4x4 jeepneys which would take us to the starting point of the trek. it was a rough 1.5 hours ride.

amazing huh? sort of like a nat geo kind of thing. it was exciting. we were so relieved when we reached the top. yes its nice up there. mt. pinatubo crater is amazing and one would really wonder how such a beautiful thing could come up after that destructive erruption twenty years ago.  

we were all so relieved [i guess that's the right term], upon reaching 'something'. the thing is, we were so hungry! i thought the organizer was going to provide some snacks. i thought i read their site wrong. but we met the other group who got the same organizer. they also thought that snacks will be provided. sad part, they didn't have heavy breakfast that morning! oh no! :(

anyway, since we travelled a long way, might as well take a dip at the crater and take lots of pics :)

after an hour or so, we went our way back. yep, it's the same 3 hour trek and 1.5 hours rough ride. we reached the starting point at 5pm and so we were able to eat our lunch.

lunch, by the way is not buffet. rather, it was that the servings are big. it was ok. didn't expect much. and hey, beggars can't be choosers :) its food! that's it.

there also wasn't clean bathroom or showers either as stated in the website. there's a restroom at the starting point. that's it. so we just washed ourselves. bath and shower had to wait until we get home in manila. and along the trekking site, there's no rest room too. there's a shaft near the crater...

either you pee in one of these, which is after 2.5 hour trek, or you choose your own rock to pee :)

i didn't hear my cousins complain. my 11 year old nephew didn't too. they were even at the front of the line both going there and back. but if somebody will ask my opinion re the organizer, i'd say look for another one. sorry. or perhaps, just go on your own like what my friends did. anyway when you get there, the locals will help you. just pay the necessary fees. for us, we chose to have an organizer so that there will be somebody to pick our group for the convenience of it. one should read more and ask around for other organizers. there's another site that i came upon. its more accurate in information. just not sure of the service. i would also advice to bring first aid kit and if possible, a satellite phone.  

again, it was quite an experience for us. it wasn't what i expected. but it was a unique bonding time for us. one way to discover God's grandeur as well. but i don't think this is for everybody. as for us, we were happy to have done it. and once is enough :D