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.

Words cannot express the sadness I feel leaving this job. I really did enjoy doing the layouts. I loved working for and doing the magazine. I’d probably regret it in the future (because that’s what I do, regret decisions) but there are other factors as to why I’m leaving. Why I left. I know that I have to do this, and I know that its the right time.

I just hope that the people who have bought a copy, browsed or read the magazine liked the way it looked.

And I’m deeply touched that our contributing editor felt sad (unlike other people. Ay, bitter?) upon getting the news that I was leaving. She talked to me pa and wished me well. It was more than what I hoped for, and it came from the person I least expected to do it. Basta, sobrang touched ako sa gesture na yun! That’s the hardest part of getting a new job is leaving the people in your (soon-to-be) old office behind.

And I will miss these five most of all…

I am pretty sure that I won’t find another team (yes, I declare na team tayo!) as animated and wacky as this.
Nina (my (sperm-donated) office child) and Gela cannot function without coffee, they shriek when they see cute stuff, books and boys (just like me), and without them, I swear hindi matatapos ang Lonely Planet. No joke. For a year, Capricorns ruled that magazine. Truth.
Nigel, the other boy in the office, our all around photographer, my iPhone buddy; may utang ka pa sa aking mala-Lookbook na photo. Picturan mo ko pagnakuha mo ang bagong Nikon camera mo na sobrang mura.
The first boy is Nino, not in photo, thank God, whom I must admit I will also miss (and I feel that I will regret that statement after publishing this post, but I will fight the urge to not delete it). He’s our resident technician and manyak, and is labelled as my work husband, unfortunately. I’ve been denying it since the birth of that label and will continue to deny it til the die. The word “Fooooooo!” and “Hard Gay” will forever be connected to you. Hinihintay ko pa din regalo mong iPhone at bahay sa Forbes.
Jonelle, my same-tayo-ng-dream officemate: balang araw matutupad din natin yun! Save a lunch til dinner date for me. Every other month yan ha.
And to Karla, ikaw na ang may picture with Steph, ikaw na. Lech. Bonded for life tayo dun sa ating first ever vacation together. Hihintayin ko ang araw na pagpa-practisan mo ang blog ko. At naniniwala akong magiging groom ka din balang araw. Haha! Kadtuan ta guid ka sa Davao. Hulat lang.

Wala nang burst into song and dance number na parang nasa disco lang…

No, hindi ako naluluha noh. Excuse me, I need to go to the bathroom.

This was the last quote I ever heard as my special day came to an end. So as the full moon shone so bright from the not-too-cloudy sky last night, I re-read all the greetings I got from those who remembered. And they all made me smile.

From simple greetings…

To wishes for my dream lifestyle…

To witty greetings…

To a greeting from my crush since grade school that made my heart skip a beat and grin like a freakin’ chesire cat…

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 :)

To something that took my breathe away ng bonggang bongga…

All of them, posted here or not, they all made me feel loved. Naaaaaaaaks. (Btw Elaine, ikaw na ang may pinaka-mabentang greetings! Kumo-quota!) Don’t worry, I made a screencap of all the text messages and saved all the notifications.

Just like the quote, nothing great really happened, but I really do feel like something did :)

Favorite ko and #16 “Once a year, go someplace you’ve never been before.” Life mantra ko na ata yan. And I so believe in #4 “Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.” It took me a while to get it, but I get it. I get it. The others, I really need to learn to practice it.

Ano kaya ang feeling na friend mo ang Dalai Lama? Will he have the answer to all your life questions? He seems so smart and at peace with everything.

(Link.)