I have to redo this
blog because my PC was re-blasted. Oh don’t tell them I used my lunch time to
come up with this blog. :D
No camera day. (Promise NG ung kuha ng camera.) Mahaba naman ung kwento ko alalahanin nio na lang guys.:)
The feet are itchy but the wallet is empty. That was what I
felt back in February. Luckily my friends wanted to have a so-so climb not so
far away from Metro Manila. So through the expertise of dear friend M, we
headed to San Miguel, Bulacan to explore the not so famous Mt. Manalmon.
At 8am in the morning of February 16, 2013 we boarded a
Baliuag bus headed to Cabanatuan. I thought M would be late for the 8am call
time cause it seems the Trinoma Mall was so big he was in front of it for 20-30
minutes. Praise the sun he was actually on time. :P (Ha ha ha! Perstaym!)
After 2 hours we arrived at our destination. I was hungry
that I immediately went inside a “karinderia” that sells unlimited lugaw for
25Php. In my thoughts “Ten pesos lang to sa Davao ah!” but hello mlet, wake up.
You are in Luzon. And while in Luzon everything is expensive. To my dismay they
have not cooked the “lugaw” yet. Yan,
nakakarma!
After haggling with the drivers we boarded 4 tricycles and
off we went to the market place near the jump off area. We bought bangus,
tilapia, mangoes, tomatoes and pancit that apparently (I don’t know how it
happened) I cooked (almost all of them). Inang-ina lang ang peg?!
We had lunch in the jump off area where bamboo trees are
abundant and tables were set up for guests. We had inihaw na bangus with
mangoes and lots of rice. Thanks to J’s foil we cooked the milkfish well. After
lunch they decided to explore the cave nearby while I decided to pass on it since
stomach cramps made me feel unwell. But the thing is, I had to endure the ear
shocking (sakit sa ulo) voice of the drunk man on the other side of the river. My God! How can he be so proud!
While waiting for the team I had the opportunity to cook
rice for dinner. I cooked 4 batches and learned to finally operate their
burners. Hek hek hek. I hope wala akong nasira. :D
Exciting part was when we crossed the monkey bridge over the
wide river after their spelunking. My hands trembled when I was in the middle
because the wind blew hard. The bridge was made out of two guy wires in
parallel. The guy wire on top is for the hands while the guy wire at the bottom
is for thy feet. When you look at yourself you really look like a monkey
holding on for dear life. Then I remembered my niece saying “Hoo Hoo Haa Haa”
monkey style.^_^
It was getting dark when we finally decided to climb Mt
Manalmon. M told us it was just a 20-30 minutes walk including an [oh so dear
good Lord] hell of assault. Tagaktak ang
pawis pagdating sa taas!
After pitching our tents we prepared for dinner. Thanks to
M’s courage he cleaned our stinky fishy. Yay!:P And Kyeme girls for helping on
the ingredients. Since they’ve done their parts it’s time for my cooking career
to shine. I cooked while they looked. Sinigang for dinner is yum yum (kahit
hindi naman.) Thanks to the hard drinks passed on after dinner they forgot
about my dish. (Drinking makes me feel sleepy.) And congrats to me, hindi na
ako tumatanggi sa socials. Paul slept while I get drunk. :D MASAYA!:D
After 2 bottles, we finally (as in finally) hit the sack!
Sssssnnnoooooooozzeee!
It was 6am when I woke up. People were already noisy. After
some sip from B’s coffee (Thanks!) we proceeded to the summit. We enjoyed the view
while other groups are still preparing. The sunrise to my right, the river view
to my left and friends beside me, wow, what can I wish for? Spell PERFECT! ^_^
When other groups were arriving we decided to give them time
to savor the view and ascended. We packed up and went down with the initial
plan to cook brunch by the river.
The river was so inviting that we had to decide whether to
cook brunch or enjoy the river first. Enjoy the river first wins! (Sinong hindi
inggitera? Taas kamay?)
There was a group when we went to the pool area and they
were cheering for the man in purple to finally take the plunge from a 15-feet
cliff. While waiting for him we practiced at the first and second levels. I
thought it would be easy since I’ve done this in Tinago Falls but I shivered
when it was my turn. (Iwasan maging over-confident.) It took me courage and
trust before I finally jumped. And jumped and jumped and jumped. What life vest?
It was our turn to the 2nd highest point (15-feet
cliff) but the man in violet was still there waiting for I dunno, maybe Christmas?
The team cheered for him for 10 minutes or so when he finally decided to jump.
(Oh di ba kuya kakaibang feeling? :D)
We climbed the rock behind the cliff and lined up for the
jump. We waited for M’s signal before jumping one after the other for the sake
of the video he will be publishing in vimeo. When it was my turn I did not stay
long at the edge. I stepped on it and without thinking twice I stepped out and
splash!!!! That hurts. Hahahaha! The team seemed to enjoy it and they went on
for the second jump.
After a few more jumps our tummies decided to call it a day.
We went to the river bank and prepared food. They watched while we cooked. And
after 30-40 minutes, hello Pancit ala Jiniper. ^_^ Yum yum. I could do this at
home with eggs and sausages. :D
Before going home we dropped by the chicharon and pastillas
store and bought pasalubong. We also had a chance to sample some of their
products for free. Sa dami ba naman po ng
binili namin. :D
Congrats to our first timers who took the challenge of Mt
Manalmon. Till we meet again ladies.
Thanks to everyone who participated.
To the organizer/tour guide/camera man – salamuch!
Estimated total cost: 650Each
Till next time.^_^
