Did you know that one of the cheapest way to travel in the Philippines is to summit climb? I'm pretty sure mountaineers pro or not can relate. :) Imagine no air fare, no hotel reservations and no fine dining restaurants. We can bring our clothes, tent, food and cook and dining wares in order to survive. Since I'm already in Luzon, some of the mountains and volcanoes can be reached via land travel (bus or rent-a-van). I confess that I am not a mountaineer but I had few hiking activities in Mt. Sto. Tomas (Benguet), Mt. Gulugod Baboy and Taal Volcano (Batangas), Mt. Pinatubo and lately Mt. Pundaquit (Zambales). In all of those climbs, I didn't have the proper attire! :p I don't even own a pair of hiking shoes. I usually entrust my feet to my brazilian-made flip-flops, not a good idea, but honestly, I'm comfortable with it. :) On my next climb, I promise to bring a 'malong' which can be used as face/body cover, face towel, blanket, etc.... in short, multi-purpose!!! :)
This trip can be considered as my second time in Anawangin Cove, the first time was via boat transfer, and only for a short span of time because we stayed overnight in Nagsasa Cove. This time, in order to get there, we chose a different route, via Mt. Pundaquit which was a quite challenging trek, for the main reason that it's summer! Hotness overload! Before reaching the foot of the mountain, we had long walks, alternately, on the sand and soil. The sand absorbs the heat very well that you can actually feel the burning sensation on your feet. Definitely, it's not a good idea to go on with slippers. There are only few trees on the trail, there are some rocky areas, some are grassy, and some are pure soil. If you're conscious about your complexion, you'll surely get dark here. :p We need to put high SPF sunblock to protect our skin from UV rays damage. Also before the climb, I took my Usana Essentials food supplement to keep my energized the whole time. According to our guide, the trail will take us 5-7 hours (uphill and downhill), but we finished it for 4 hours and 30 minutes, oh yeah! <3 We almost ran out of water supply, but thank God, the whole team reached Anawangin Cove safe and sound. Everyone was so tired, ate late lunch, pitched our tents, then slept after. We enjoyed swimming in the afternoon and had long conversations at night. Still, there is no electricity nor communication signal in the area. :)
This trip can be considered as my second time in Anawangin Cove, the first time was via boat transfer, and only for a short span of time because we stayed overnight in Nagsasa Cove. This time, in order to get there, we chose a different route, via Mt. Pundaquit which was a quite challenging trek, for the main reason that it's summer! Hotness overload! Before reaching the foot of the mountain, we had long walks, alternately, on the sand and soil. The sand absorbs the heat very well that you can actually feel the burning sensation on your feet. Definitely, it's not a good idea to go on with slippers. There are only few trees on the trail, there are some rocky areas, some are grassy, and some are pure soil. If you're conscious about your complexion, you'll surely get dark here. :p We need to put high SPF sunblock to protect our skin from UV rays damage. Also before the climb, I took my Usana Essentials food supplement to keep my energized the whole time. According to our guide, the trail will take us 5-7 hours (uphill and downhill), but we finished it for 4 hours and 30 minutes, oh yeah! <3 We almost ran out of water supply, but thank God, the whole team reached Anawangin Cove safe and sound. Everyone was so tired, ate late lunch, pitched our tents, then slept after. We enjoyed swimming in the afternoon and had long conversations at night. Still, there is no electricity nor communication signal in the area. :)
