Go, no go, then finally go...to Mt. Pinatubo
And I'm really happy that it ended with a go.
A few days back, the boi asked me to go with them on a trip to Mt. Pinatubo since every other people in their office was discouraged with the idea that you had to be fit to survive the climb. I was too. Fit is not a word used to describe me. Then last Thursday, plans changed because people were a go in the office. There was a sigh of slight relief because by then the thought of the scorching heat of the sun plus the 10 km walk was slowly creeping in. I planned to go home to Fairview instead.
The plan changed last minute because one of the joiners couldnt make it and it would be a total waste of money if someone didnt go. So I went.
The meeting time was at 4 AM at the Mak Shang. From there, we drove 2 hours tops to Tarlac stopping over only at the NLEX arcade (i dont know what its really called) to pick up breakfast and brunch at Burger King for the trip. From Tarlac, where the company who manages the tours are based out of, we had to take a 4X4 to the foot of the volcano. That's another hour. Only the trip this time involved getting covered in lahar dust and looking all silvery and espasol-ish by the time we got to the foot of the volcano.
That was the easy part of the trip. The walk was physically draining. Seriously. I do serious walking and am used to doing serious walking in malls, as in hours upon hours of walking but this was nothing like it. The path was rocky and for the most part uphill. Uphill and rocky is not a good combination when taking a walk. Now that I think about it, it the view was like a scene out of a movie.
After walking for an hour, we got to the crater of the volcano and every step was all worth it. Of course I say that only until the time we had to walk back and do the whole set of walking and getting covered in silvery lahar in reverse order.
There were not a lot of people and the place is very much preserved. It was clean and the water looked serene. We took a boatride from one end of the crater to the other where the water was really hot.
After 126 photos and maybe 2-3 hours later, we walked back. Same route, only this time the 4x4 trip had twice the lahar and had a generous addition of the afternoon sun. I knew it was going to hurt and it does hurt. Another bad combination, back pains and sunburn.
We had a really late lunch when we got back to the center and got a really good dry massage. Quality time with the boi+a new experience=fun.
Finally, we got home at around 9 PM in time to see Sam Milby in his first major concert. And just to be sure I dont get judged, I intended that to be a joke.
It was all worth it! And I'll post the pics later.
A few days back, the boi asked me to go with them on a trip to Mt. Pinatubo since every other people in their office was discouraged with the idea that you had to be fit to survive the climb. I was too. Fit is not a word used to describe me. Then last Thursday, plans changed because people were a go in the office. There was a sigh of slight relief because by then the thought of the scorching heat of the sun plus the 10 km walk was slowly creeping in. I planned to go home to Fairview instead.
The plan changed last minute because one of the joiners couldnt make it and it would be a total waste of money if someone didnt go. So I went.
The meeting time was at 4 AM at the Mak Shang. From there, we drove 2 hours tops to Tarlac stopping over only at the NLEX arcade (i dont know what its really called) to pick up breakfast and brunch at Burger King for the trip. From Tarlac, where the company who manages the tours are based out of, we had to take a 4X4 to the foot of the volcano. That's another hour. Only the trip this time involved getting covered in lahar dust and looking all silvery and espasol-ish by the time we got to the foot of the volcano.
That was the easy part of the trip. The walk was physically draining. Seriously. I do serious walking and am used to doing serious walking in malls, as in hours upon hours of walking but this was nothing like it. The path was rocky and for the most part uphill. Uphill and rocky is not a good combination when taking a walk. Now that I think about it, it the view was like a scene out of a movie.
After walking for an hour, we got to the crater of the volcano and every step was all worth it. Of course I say that only until the time we had to walk back and do the whole set of walking and getting covered in silvery lahar in reverse order.
There were not a lot of people and the place is very much preserved. It was clean and the water looked serene. We took a boatride from one end of the crater to the other where the water was really hot.
After 126 photos and maybe 2-3 hours later, we walked back. Same route, only this time the 4x4 trip had twice the lahar and had a generous addition of the afternoon sun. I knew it was going to hurt and it does hurt. Another bad combination, back pains and sunburn.
We had a really late lunch when we got back to the center and got a really good dry massage. Quality time with the boi+a new experience=fun.
Finally, we got home at around 9 PM in time to see Sam Milby in his first major concert. And just to be sure I dont get judged, I intended that to be a joke.
It was all worth it! And I'll post the pics later.