We survived Mt. Pinatubo!

We left Manila before sunrise so as to have more time to spend in the wilderness of Mt. Pinatubo. It took us a two and a half hour drive to get to Capas, Tarlac where the jump-off point was located. Before proceeding to the area where our 4x4s awaited us, we stopped over at Jollibee for breakfast. Most of us didn’t have much sleep the night before so we really had to eat a lot to fuel ourselves with sufficient energy for the day.

After another 45-minute drive, we finally reached the barangay hall where our 4x4 drive started. We departed as soon as we got set for the trek. We were 16 in the group. Each vehicle carried 4 people plus the driver and the tour guide.

It was the first time for the 15 of us to go there so there was nothing but much excitement that we felt upon getting inside our rides.

The terrain was fine. The earth was flat for most part of the drive albeit there were areas where the ride got quite bumpy. The view from our vehicles was already breath-taking. Each site was worth taking a picture that if we stopped every time just to take photos, we would have needed another lifetime. It was quite a challenge to take pictures from a moving vehicle in a semi-rough terrain, but that fact also made picture taking more fun. Describing the beauty of the place is not easy. Taking photos seemed to be the only way of giving it a just description.

The 4x4 ride lasted for about 75 minutes then we finally reached our jump-off point.

After the briefing, we took some pictures first before the trek. The moment we started walking, we got even more astounded by the splendor of the lahar formations. The last eruption’s remains are now nature’s accessories to its beauty. Imagine. The villages before the 1991 eruption are now 20 feet under the ground. Add the hill-like formations which are more than 50 feet in height and you’ll get an idea of how destructive the last eruption really was. Nature really knows how to work its wonders. No one may ever get to fully understand why it had to be in a destructive way, but seeing its beautiful aftermath will surely make one appreciate nature’s way of enhancing its beauty.

There was a lot to see and enjoy in the trek. There were a lot of mountain-like formations, multi-colored rocks in all sizes and shapes, plants of different kinds, and refreshing streams of cool water.

The two and a half hour of walking may have been quite exhausting but it felt much worth it upon seeing the scenery in Mt. Pinatubo’s crater. We were speechless when we reached our final stop. We were literally dumbfounded. We wanted to talk about how we felt upon seeing its beauty but no words came out of our mouths. I guess it’s just because mere words could not exactly describe the wonderful feeling we had upon being captivated by the loveliness of the place.

We took a lot of pictures first before finally going down for our lunch and to take a dip in the lake. We were lucky because it didn’t rain the day before we went there so the water in the lake was not murky. Swimming in the lake was so nice.

The water was calm that we felt like we were in a swimming pool except that we were in a much better place. After less than an hour of swimming, we had lunch by the lake. It was really good to enjoy a meal while getting pleasure from the beauty of the surroundings, and of course being in company of nice and friendly people. We left the crater not only with satisfied palates but with delighted eyes and hearts as well. We wanted to stay much longer but the rain was already approaching. It gets really difficult, if not impossible, to go down the mountain when it rains heavily so we had to leave before that happens.

We haven’t gone a few meters away from the crater when it started to drizzle. It rained quite heavily on our way back so the trek got more exciting. It was hot on our way up so it was nice to be showered with cool water from the heavens on our way back.

The trek got a bit more challenging because the heavy rains resulted to having stronger water currents with more eroded rocks and thus greater force to resist to maintain balance. It was two times harder than going up but then a harder trek meant more fun, much more fun.

Exhausted but more than satisfied. That was how we felt upon leaving. Almost all of us fell asleep on our way back to Manila. We were already in the busy streets of the Metro even before we knew it. We had much fun. We all enjoyed the trek.

And we called it a day.