Mount Manalmon and Mount Gola Adventure

Sept. 25, 2015

Happy holiday!

It was Friday and since we don't have office work for this day, we then decided to have an adventure.

Our destination was Mount Manalmon in San Miguel Bulacan.

Our meeting place was at Mc Donalds Cubao at 3 in the morning.
We were nine in the group.
We rode a bus going to Cabanatuan. It was a three hour ride. Fare as of this writing is 117 pesos one way.
We reached San Miguel Bulacan at 7 in the morning.
We then took a tricycle going to Biak na Bato or Barangay Madlum. One tricycle cost us 200 pesos good for 4 people.

We crossed a bridge and parallel to it is the monkey bar.

We took a tour guide and he is Kuya Dong.

At 7:30 after some briefing and negotiation, we were then ready for a mountain climb, trekking, river crossing, swimming and spelunking. But of course, before anything else, we had a group prayer first.

We passed through Madlum Cave before reaching the Madlum river.

 Yes it was a bit scary crossing that river because we heard several stories about it.
Thank you God for we have crossed the river safely.

We reached the summit of Mount Manalmon after more than an hour. Mount Manalmon is 160 MASL.
Mount Manalmon is also accommodating overnight campers. It has a wide camp site.
The scenic view on top was breath taking. We can see the Madlum River and also some of the neighboring mountains of Sierra Madre.

Photo op was then followed. He-he. 

We also hiked the mountain on its front, the Mount Gola.

Before reaching the jump off, we have to cross again the river.

We reached the top of Mount Gola for about an hour too. Just like Mount Manalmon. It is 160 MASL also.

We took our lunch at the summit.

Then when we went down, we swam on the river. Yey! It's swimming time.

After our swimming activity, we were back to the main jump off. We prepared ourselves for Spelunking.

We took the bridge again and climb for another mountain. For in this mountain that I don't know the name, is the main entrance for the Bayukbok cave.

It  was our first time to enter a cave that was so hard to pass through.

After maybe two hours, we reached the other end and it was almost sunset. We entered the cave clean, we went out like a mud person. hahaha.

Some of our friends crossed the monkey bar. But I chose to wash up already. There's a bathroom and the water costs 10 pesos per 5 gallons.

At 7 in the evening, we were ready to go home.

We paid Kuya Dong 800 pesos. 600 pesos for the two mountains that we hiked and 200 pesos for the caving.

We then ate dinner at a nearby restaurant along the main road before going back to Manila.

Trully this Mount Manalmon adventure was one of a kind and very much unforgettable for me. Specially the spelunking or caving. Buwis-buhay it was! But then it was really a must try. It was just like a step higher, out of the comfort zone. :)

Photo credits. :)

One Fine Day Spent at Burot Beach, Calatagan, Batangas

Exploring a virgin beach...

Date: Sept. 12, 2015

Burot Beach, Calatagan Batangas

Out of the blue, I invited my friends to go for an out of town trip just for a day. And they said yes!

One fine Saturday, at 6 in the morning, I was already in EDSA Taft to meet my girlfriends. 

From EDSA Taft, at the side of Kabayan Hotel, we rode a van going to Calatagan, Batangas. Fare as of this writing is 190 pesos (one way). 

It was a three hour drive and we  even had a stop over at Tagaytay for gas refilling.

From Calatagan Terminal, there's a pile of tricycle that would take us to any nearby resort or beach that we want. Our destination for that day was Burot Beach. It cost us 50 pesos per head for the fare.

Before riding the tricycle that we had talk to, we went to the nearby market first to buy foods. We bought bananas, water, bread spreads and junk foods.

At past 10 in the morning, we were already at Burot Beach.

It was less than 30 minutes tricycle drive from the terminal. Anyway, we were three girls on this trip and we brought a tent that would serve as our cottage and room for the day.
Upon reaching the main gate going to Burot beach, the guard there asked for  a 20 pesos fee.

Then at the second and final gate, another guard asked for a fee. 65 pesos per head is the entrance fee for day tour and 130 pesos for an overnight trip. Plus another 35 pesos per tent pitching.

I heard that before there has no or the entrance fee was lesser. But since Burot beach was already brought by SM (Yes, by Henry Sy. Because according to what we heard, he will going to develop the beach into a private resort), the fee got increased.

Well at least now we still had the chance to visit this place before we can't afford it anymore.

Upon paying, we then looked for a place where we can  pitch our tent. We chose the spot under the two trees. 

There was also a table made of marble.

White and fine sand welcomed us. Thank you for the very nice weather even though the month was September and it's still a rainy season in the country. The sun didn't fail us this day. 

The whole beach was still untouched and it looks like a secluded area. Much more like a private resort minus the grandious cottages and other facilities.
It is still a virgin island indeed! The water is also clear.

There were few people who were also there and just like us, they were also having a good time with their friends and loved ones.
But then it was far from being too crowded.
Maybe because Burot beach is not that much well known and besides, it doesn't offer any hotel rooms. This  is a camp site actually. :)

There's also a retail store so you can still survive the place. We bought some foods, drinks and even ice cubes there and the price were reasonable though.

Just by looking at the whole place, you will already feel relaxed and calm and you will realize that you are too much away from the stress that you left in Manila.

After some photo op, we took the chance to enjoy the vitamin sea!
We swim until 12 noon then we had our lunch on the table.

After eating, we took a walk on the other sides of the resort. On the far right side where we put our tent,after some rocky spots,  we found there the place where the sand was purer and whiter!

It was already meters away from the "campers".

We also took the chance to swim there.

Oh how time flies so fast when you were enjoying the moment. 

We need to pack up at 3 p.m. because we will still be doing a side trip to Cape Santiago Light house.
There's also a free public toilet where we can take a bath and when we say public don't expect too much that it would be so clean. Haha. It was just enough to campers and girl scouts like us.

The tricycle driver that we contracted were already backed there when we finished freshening up and folding our tent.

Light house is 9 kilometers away from Burot Beach. We paid 200 pesos for that side trip then 150 pesos again going to the terminal/ all divided into three. 

Lucky us, the light house' gate was locked and we weren't able to enter it. But it was fine for it was the journey that matters. We still did some photo op there. Nobody can stop us! Haha. 

At past 4 p.m., we were backed in the terminal.

By past 7 p.m., we reached Manila again.

Over all, it was a wonderful, fine day with my most favorite girls. Thanks girls for being with me that day and I do hope that you also enjoyed the trip as much as I did.
'Til our next gala! 

Summary of our Iti and expenses:

6 am - Meet up at Jollibee Edsa Taft, breakfast
7 am - Van going to Calatagan (190pesos)
10 am - Tricycle going to Burot Beach (50 pesos)
3 pm - Tricycle going to lighthouse (200 pesos/3)
4 pm - Lighthouse to terminal (150pesos/3)
7 pm - Van going back to Manila (190 pesos)

Entrance fee - 65 pesos for day tour
130 pesos for overnight

Tent pitching- 35 pesos

Food budget - approx. 100 pesos/ head

I will definitely be back in this paradise.

And  if you will also visit the place, please practice the LNT rule.
As in "Leave No Trace".

Just like us, as we left Burot beach, we left nothing but footprints. We took  nothing but just pictures and memories.
:)

LAin

Mount Maculot, Conquered! :)

Sept. 5-6, 2015

Cuenca, Batangas

A co-volunteer and a friend of mine invited me on their trip to Mount Maculot and I gladly joined them. Hey, it's me Lain who so much loves adventure!

Sept. 5, 2015 Saturday.
DAY 1

Our meeting place was at Crossing Pavillion at nine a.m.
My friend together with her workmates are working on a  BPO company so I have to wait for their out.
At past nine, at EDSA we rode a bus going to Lipa City, Batangas. One of Fen's workmates is living there.
Bus fare going to Lipa is 107 pesos. 

After an hour we were already in Lipa. 

We then rode a jeep going to Palengke and from there we rode again another jeep going to Sherwin's house. 
I thought we were going to hike that day but it turned out that Sunday or the following day would be that day for the climb. Sherwin's house is big and I may say grandeur. 

They have a very wide living, entertainment and  dining room. Even their kitchen is big. They also have a dirty kitchen at the back. They have many rooms on the second floor. Fen and I shared the first room near the grand staircase. According to Sherwin, their house was just newly renovated. It was financed by him and by his another sibling. He has a very nice and hospitable family. We were very well taken care of! And the food, it was just so awesome and non-stop. My glutton side has been revealed. Sorry and thank you so much, Sherwin! 

Our lunch was freshly picked on their greeny backyard. Vegetables were so delicious! 

Our whole Saturday just became a grand vacation. Sleeping and eating were the most of our activities.

The sunset can be seen on their front balcony on the second floor beside our room and I may say that it was just so breathtaking. Deep inside my mind, I can say that I can live like this forever. Haha.

We slept early because we will leave at 6 in the morning the following day. Sadly, I cannot sleep early so I watched a film first. "Attact on Titans!"

Sept. 6, 2015 - Sunday
DAY 2

We woke up at 4:30 a.m. and prepared for the hike.
Thanks God that it was a nice day and would fit for our climb. 

With just a light packed bag, we left the house at 6 a.m. and hitched at Sherwin's family's owned jeep. Another spoiling. Wiw! Thanks again!
We then rode a jeep going to Cuenca, Batangas.
Then rode a tricycle going to the jump-off. But before that, we dropped by first at the barangay to register and hire a guide.

At 8 a.m., we were all ready for the climb. Mount Maculot it 900+ MASL. 

It took us more than two hours to reached the camp site. We had many stopovers to rest because the peak going to the camp site is just so high.

On the camp site, there's the famous "711". It is a small store and almost everything you need to survive was there like foods and drinks. They are even selling MTO(made to order) foods like pancit canton and cup noodles.

We also met Tiger. The guard and guide dog of Mount Maculot.

After reaching the camp site, we turned left heading to the  "Rockies".
It is another peak and by the name itself, it was really rocky.

The view on the top was really amazing! Taal volcano and taal lake are can be seen. Photo op activity was then followed. Thanks to our guide that also became our photographer.

We headed back to the camp site and had our lunch. 

After an hour, our next destination was the Mount Maculot's highest peak. It took us more than an hour to reach that. Wiw!
Unfortunately as we reached the highest peak, we were above the clouds and we could see nothing aside from a thick fog. 

Lucky us. Haha! After half an hour of staying there we then decided to go down via traverse.

We passed through an area that has a crowd of wild monkeys. They're so cute while playing and swinging on the branches of the trees. They were making noise upon noticing us.
We didn't had the chance to took photos of them because according to Sherwin, those monkeys were snatching gadgets. Haha. We don't know if it's true.

We had a hard time going down. Some of the trails were a bit rocky and we even did some rappelling.

By the way, Tiger has been with us during our whole trip of going down.

Our next destination was the "Grotto". I was able to climb it first. Yey! There's no one yet when I reached it. I was able to say a prayer and then shouted at the top of my lungs. Hehe.

I don't have any hugots. I did it just for echo testing. Haha.

Photo op again was then followed. 

After half an hour, we went down to the final descend. We then rode a tricycle going back to Barangay Outpost and it was already past 5 in the afternoon.

Since I brought clothes, I was able to took a bath at the back of the outpost. There's a fee of 20 pesos.

Our guide fee was 800 pesos (for the Rockies-Summit-Grotto day hike tour).

We went back to Lipa and ate on a famous lomihan. It was my first time to eat Chicken Chami. This cost us 80 pesos per serving that can also be shared for two person.

At 7 in the evening, we were back to Sherwin's house. After freshening up and packing our things, we're ready to go home. Courtesy again of Sherwin's family's vehicle, they drove us up to SM Lipa for the bus terminal.

And it was a home sweet home.

Thank you once again to Sherwin's family for accomodating us!
I will definitely miss the very yummy feeding program. :)
Sa uulitin! Hehe.

Mount Batulao, Conquered! :)

Mar.30 - 31, 2015

Batulao, Nasugbu, Batangas

Mount Batulao, 811 MASL

Reaching Mount Batulao

It's been a while since I climb a mountain so I was a bit excited to experience this once again.
It's been a road trip going to Mount Batulao for we have gone to a longer route which was via Ternate, Cavite.
So I strongly advice that if you have your own vehicle, better to pass through Tagaytay because from there, Mt. Batulao is just 20 minutes away.

We reached Mount Batulao via a friend's car and by asking people whom we passed through. We didn't trust
google map so it took us longer time. Haha. Well anyway, lesson learned.
Since we brought a car, there's a parking fee that costs Php.150.00.

From the parking area, we have to ride a tricycle down to the tourism office. This is also the starting point of the climb. Tricycle ride costs 100 that is good for 4 people's sharing. We were five in the group and we got two trikes because of our bulky belongings.

There is no entrance fee at Mount Batulao. We just have to drop by at the said office to register.

It was past 6 p.m. already when we started the climbing to the camp site at Peak 7. We planned to have an overnight trip at Mount Batulao so we brought tents and lots of food and water.
Since it was dark already, we were adviced to hire a guide. His name is Jonnel and he's the one who also brought our gallons of water and three tents. His fee was 400 pesos for a one way guide.

Flashlights on and we're ready.

There are two trails going to the highest peak of Mount Batulao. The old and new trail.
By the way, Mt.Batulao has 12 peaks. Jonnel guided us to the new and according to him, the way there is much easier than the old trail.

It was dark so we had to be very extra careful in passing  the trails especially the narrow ones. There's a lot of stopovers so we finished the hike to Peak 7 for two hours.
We then set up our tent and ate our dinner at one of the peaks of Mount Batulao.

Dinner held inside the girls' tent.
It had been a great and unforgettable night. You ask me why.
(Why?)

Right after our dinner and planning to go to bed early, a strong rain came and our tent (girl's tent) had a watery experience. The boys got wet because of trying to fix our tent's roof. But it was no use, we still got wet inside. 

In the end, our things were tranferred to Rye's tent.

When the rain stopped, the girls decided to just sleep at Rye's tent. It was quiet amazing that four people(3 girls and 1 boy) fitted in on a two-person tent plus the fact that our stuffs were in there also. Please imagine a four fetus inserted on a sardines' can. :)

We slept at 1:30 am and woke-up at 5 am to witness the sunrise at a mountain's peak.


A more than three hour sleep was worth the sacrifice because the view was just so amazing. It was beyond words to describe its natural beauty. A great experience indeed!

One of us brought a cooking set so we were able to cook something for breakfast and have coffees also.

When the sun was totally above us already, we packed our stuffs and tents. There's a house cum retail store and stopover where we could keep safe our things while we were reaching the 12th peek. It was five peaks more from our campsite or Peak 7.

From Peak 7, we reached the highest summit after more than an hour including three rests/stopover and photo op mode.

Mountain ranges were just so breathtaking and eyes amazement.

All the struggles, tiredness and huggardness were worth it when we reached the top. This was indeed a must life experience.