The Heartache that was Bulusan

Team Bulusan: Pau, Adel, John, Ruth, Aris, Sir Frank, Analene, Gen, Me, JB

This was perhaps, the longest, continuous travel I ever took on a single vehicle. I crouched on a cramped bus seat, feeling a plethora of unpleasant sensations - hunger, boredom, numbness. We have already reached the province of Sorsogon - a butt-aching ride of 14 hours, but Irosin was still two hours away. I couldn't count how many times I uttered, "Ang tagal naman!" I was so relieved when we finally arrived in Irosin that I wanted to kiss the ground.

Journey to Mt. HibokHibok, Camiguin: A Series of Unfortunate Events

Uh oh, dark clouds.

We were supposed to climb Mt. Apo on December 26, 2012. Everything seemed to have been set, I‘ve arranged a guide and two other hikers have responded to my facebook invite. Then an unwanted guest named "tropical depression Quinta" came and it was but prudent to cancel the climb. There’s no way, I thought, that I’m leaving Mindanao without scaling a single summit. After New Year the skies appear to have cleared up so I eagerly scheduled a trip to Camiguin to climb the famed Mt. HibokHibok. Again, everything was set – guides and all. Then typhoon Auring came, a little too early. I started to feel that my buttocks are one huge Mongolian blue spot [haha, Google that!].

A Muddy and Slippery Adventure at Mt. Romelo

After weeks of monsoon rains and a typhoon, I decided to push through with a long-planned trek to Mt Romelo despite a bleak weather forecast (“scattered rain showers and thunderstorms”). I held to the hope that it looked sunny anyway and that the weathermen probably made a mistake. It turned out that PAGAGA made an accurate forecast this time - but this did not keep me from enjoying my first ever hike.