View from the top, after a 10 minute trek..

Since the rainy season is about to start, the group decided to explore the anawangin cove in Zambales. Anawangin Cove is less famous than that of the Camera Islands in Pundaquit, it is a 30 minute boat ride from the town. The place was extraordinary where pine trees are lined-up near the shore.

We had a relaxing swim at the beach, playing with the strong waves and just enjoying the serene place. There were no beach resorts in the area and the group relied on a pozo for the water source.

Anawangin is simply a place where you want to lie down on the sand with a good book and great company.
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Me and jeanny enjoying Anawangin

Date: May 19-20
Destination: Mt. Banoi, Batangas

Rian and i joined an invitational climb by Conquer Adventure Team. It would be our first time to join  a different group. we were both excited because  this would be our way to test our readiness for being self-contained.

the first part of the adventure was a rapelling experience on a 150 ft bridge in brgy lobo batangas. this is not my first time to conquer my fear of heights.But still, It was scary at the start, but once you get the hang of being suspended on air,it's very adicting.
 
the Conquer adventure was divided in 3 parts. rapelling, hiking and swimming at the beach.

mt. banoi was the mountain to conquer. If the team leader followed the right trail, it would have been a fun climb, however the group got lost, following a miner's trail. instead of being at camp before it darks, we never reached camp. Instead, we looked for a place to camp, while others were not able to pitch their tents and just slept on the trail. rian and i made sure that we'll be sleeping comfortably.

the next day was very tiring, the trail was unpredictable, but rian and i enjoyed it more than anybody.
it made me feel confident that i can conquer any terrain.
the whole experience made me appreciate my other mountaineer friends who would know what to do in case of emergency like this one, people who would humbly accept that they made a wrong turn and going back was the best option.

we reached manila early monday morning (2am)            

Date: May 5-6,2007
 Destination : Mt Cristobal, Quezon

at 430 am, rian and i rode a bus bound to alabang to meet up with the group. at the alabang terminal, we had a 2-hour bus ride bound to san pablo, and an hour jeep ride to the Dolores, Quezon, the jump off for mt cristobal.i read and heard a lot about this place,geared with 2 rosaries and enough water, we're now ready to start the trek. the first part of the trek  consists of slightly inclined paved road with sunflowers along its path.

dogs, a horse, about 3 roosters with its hen-partner and about a dozen chicks  welcomed us at the montelibano house, this is the only water source for the whole trek.

at one o'clck in the aftrennon, after eating lunch and rian taking a short nap. we are now ready to enter into the mossy forest, facing the unknowns. the trail was all uphill, resting at any opportunity, but still conscious of the time so as to reach the campsite before it darks. rian and i slept the whole time we were at camp. temperature reached 12 degrees with occasional fog everywhere, rian was soo tired that a nap after dinner turned into deep sleep. we were not able to join the tequilla drinking session because we were so lazy to wake up and sleep was a better choice than tequilla. after more than 12 hours of sleep, the group started to wake us up for breakfast.

at 9 am,after taking pictures, we are now ready to go down. the steep trail would occasionaly make my knees wobble and my butt landed  on the ground. the guys took a bath at the river near the banahaw jump off, while us, girls looked for a place to take a shower and opted not to join the guys.

at 6 in the evening, rian and i are slouched in front of the tv resting and complaining about our sore legs and back.

after working for a week in the bacman office,i am excited to spend the long weekend in bicol.

first destination..donsol, sorsogon to meet the whale sharks.
it was already noon when we reached the place, an hour and a half away from legaspi city. we immediately signed up in the tourism office to meet up with our bio-man (Butanding Officer), they were  trained by the WWF to spot these gentle giants. After gearing up and putting sunblock allover our face. we ae now ready to invade the seas of donsol to explore the sea creatures.

the experience was different., overwhelming , but scary at first, but it was very addicting. we'll be back soon.we stayed at the resort for the night.

the next day, kuya boyet and the kid drove us all the way to the sorsogon area and we stayed at the Rizal Beach, the famous white sand in the area. the  kilometer stretch shboreline can be compared to boracay. the sand, not soo white but its texture can be comparable.

the sea was our solace for almost two days, enjoying the view and each other's company.

when imee and marlon, our travel groupies left us, we went to to bulusan lake,  more than 2 hours of travel from rizal beach. the park was maintained. we followed the trail sign around the lake and the caretaker said that the trail wil take us an hour to complete.when we reached the end of the lake, we rode a small raft to bring us back to the start of the trail. the raft was made from 4 bamboos. It was unsafe, yet we had the most fun.

after a 3-day stay in sorsogon area, we went back to legaspi to meet up with some friends who will be climbing mt. mayon. we did a test climb for mayon reaching the first camp. had lunch there and went back down.

the next day was spent resting and preparing for the mayon climb with the group.

the big climb
the plan was to check the condition if we will continue the assault to the knife's edge, but when we started camp in camp1,  rain started to fall and the team leader decided to postpone the assault.
the next day we went down earlier as expected

next destination: wakeboarding in camarines sur
after the mayon climb, the group went to camaines sur to meet up with another friend. we stayed at a local beach fo rthe night, then head for camarines watersports complex the next day  to try wakeboarding.

it was a new experience, fun and exciting.

going home
we slept the whole time on the way home.
long weekeends are the best. this is the best holy week vaction i ever had.

it's about time to write again, to write about the things that keeps me busy and drains my savings account...

now i am not travelling alone, meet rian, my new travel partner...

now, mountain is our solace and the sea, our consolation...we always look forward to the long drives to reach our destination and to meet new people and to see the world in the eyes of a traveller.