Oh em geeeeee-uh. Napa-aga ang aking penitensya for Holy Week! But hey, hey, hey, I survived! I (leisurely, sort of) conquered the trek to Mt. Pinatubo!
I deliberately followed instructions and packed light. (A very hard feat, pero buti nalang we we’re allowed to leave a few things on the bus.) Armed with my Jansport backpack with only a pair of extra leggings, extra shirt, absorbent body and face towel, slippers, a bottle of water and food (well, crackers and chocolates). Then for my wardrobe (because we know this is important too!) I wore my bikini under my sleeveless top and light (in color and material) leggings with my (panic-purchased) Merrell shoes (which you’ll see later).
Seryoso, even though I was carrying light, after one hour of walking and seeing only lahar and sandy mountains all around me, that crater felt more and more like our own version of the Promised Land in The Ten Commandments. (Yes, peg ko yung movie since same ang visuals nila sa visuals ko.) Luckily, the weather was on our side. The wind was cool enough to balance out the heat of the sun. Plus there we’re clouds moving around the clear blue sky, so hindi naman kami na-heat stroke. But what really helped me was my handy dandy Towelite face towel. I dipped it in the cool stream water, placed it on my neck and instantly (sometimes over my head), mas lumamig yung feeling ng body ko.
I’ve always considered myself a beach person. (My dad even declared that it’s my favorite place to go to.) Ayaw ko yung madaming lakad lakad. Pero when I saw the crater with my own two eyes, duuuuude, that 3-hour walk and 1-hour 4×4 ride (well, 6-hour walk and 2-hour ride all in all) was aaaaalll worth it. It was breathtaking!
Here are some photos from our trip :) (Oh, I just edited these photos a little, brightness lang or orange-ness of our skin with masking. But that’s the way my camera captured the moment. I love the Happy setting of my camera!!!)
Almost there! Our last stop before another 20-30 minute trek to the crater.
And that’s me gobbling up a Tootsie Roll for strength.
And we are finally here!
Ang gandaaaaaaaa! Promise! Yung clouds lang medyo iba yung color, but the water when I saw it from that angle, ganyan talaga!
I was “armed” with this —
And my favorite shot —
Summer in January!!! (Because its always summer in my heart.)
And a group shot before another 3-4 hour trek before heading home.
From left to right. Top row: Gela the Lonely Planet Philippines Features Editor (and all around editor), Ms. Fe our go-to sales person, Jen (in black) is Nino’s plus one, Jhenny our accountant, Aia (that’s me in pink!), Martin (my “travel boyfriend,” haha! Hi Martin, surprise!) and Nigel is the all around photographer for Bella. Bottom row: Nina (in bright blue pants) is the Assistant Editor for LP, Karla (we meeeessss you-uh!) and Nino, our all around tech guy.
Til our next trip! And sana we know the complete lyrics of songs na para we won’t get stuck on refrains or two lines of the refrain lang.
By the way… To Ade, again, hayup sa Twitter powers! And to Atom Auraullo, thank you for the greeting. I feel so dyahe and flattered (not that it means anything to you, I know that. Promise hindi ako delusional.) and happy at the same time. Thank you, you extended my special day :)
