I came

My enthusiasm for the trip started when I overheard my co-teachers talking about going to Mt. Batulao. It's a mountain in Nasugbu, Batangas with estimated height of 811 meters ASL. I asked if I could go with them and they gladly invited me.

Day 1: We met at the Pergola of SSC at 11am. Unfortunately, three of the people who had confirmed cannot come because of some personal issues. It was drizzling when we met, we dropped our bags in the faculty room and headed to Jollibee for lunch. After lunch at 12 nn, we started on our way to Crow Bus line at EDSA Taft, Pasay. Six of us took the jeepney going there. On our way to the bus station, we were taking pictures and talking endlessly. Actually, we seldom talk when we were in school because we came from different subject areas. Finally, we reached the bus station and there's a long cue. We lined together with the people who will be spending their weekend with their families back home. In the station, we met Marnel's (our leader)fellow mountaineer, Ed. He was introduced to us. Ed is an experienced mountaineer because he has trekked lots of mountains around the country. He enthusiastically told us about his experience as a mountaineer. What surprised me was the bags of Marnel and Ed. They were genuinely mountaineers (laughs..). Well, compared to me, I was using a non-water proof bag. I have learned the seriousness of our trek upon seeing their bags. After several minutes, we boarded the bus with our enthusiasm and courage to trek the mountain despite the unfavorable weather.

On the bus, the conductor collected our fare which costs Php 114.oo. It's relatively cheaper than going to Bataan. We chatted and ate junk foods on our way to Evercrest Golf Clubresort. Ed and Marnel were sharing about their experiences in the mountains while we were listening to them attentively. After some time, we took a nap, listened to music, ate, laugh, ate, and laugh so hard until one of the passengers in front scolded us for being noisy. He said that we have to keep our voices low because there are also some people who wanted to rest. So, ok...let's keep it low, guys!

The weather worsened as we were approaching our destination. At last, the wait was over and we had arrived at Evercrest Golf Clubresort. We got off in front of a "sari-sari" store to wear our jacket, raincoat, and cap. While Humphrey, Karla, and Marnel ate lunch, Ed, Rochelle, Audie, and I were waiting for the rain to slow down so that we can start off our trek to Mt. Batulao. The store is located in the highway, so we have to walk approximately 20 km from the highway to the starting point. Fortunately, there's a tricycle (a three wheeled vehicle) to ride going to the starting point. Upon arriving the jump off point, we excitedly started our trek.

The view was unexplainable that we were in awe at the magnificent beauty of the nature. The mountains from afar were like waves, the rice fields were also properly aligned. It was indeed God's gift to the humanity, especially to the people in Mt. Batulao. While walking, we stopped by to take pictures, greet the villagers, and chat as the rain continue to pour. From time to time, I slipped due to the slippery mud. Since our way is going up the hill, I felt tiredness and weariness enveloping my body thinking about the journey that we were into. Thanks to Ed's sharing, I temporary forget my tiredness. The hills we trek was a gradual slope, so it's not pretty dangerous as it may seem to be. I thought I would not know how to get off from that slope. We have been walking for more than an hour when we reached a hut that sells the most delicious and sweetest coconut juice. It was very very delicious that I was able to finish drinking one fruit which I don't normally do on usual occasions. The coconut meat was also soft and very tasty. Soon after that, we started our trek again going to the camp. It was again more than an hour trek. We passed by slope and plain lands. We also passed by several mango trees. It made me wonder why there were so many mango trees along the path going to the camp. We were walking fast so that we can reach the camp while there's still light. We don't want to walk in the dark or pitch the tent in the dark since there isn't any stars or moon to guide us. Then, we finally arrived in camp 1. We were gladly greeted by Manong who manages the camp. We paid him Php 20.00 per person. After doing some personal stuffs, we hiked for about 10-15 minutes going to the camp 3. The guys pitched our tents while we, girls, arrange our things and held the flashlight for them to see.

Marnel prepared his mess kit which awed me because it was a complete accessory for the campers. There's a can of butane gas, cooker, small pot, pan, spatula, ladle. All of these are handy which fitted in his outdoor bag. His bag was like Santa Claus' sack because he has everything we needed. Ed also prepared his and it awed me double! (laughs..) Honestly, it's my first time to trek with real mountaineers, so I'm so illiterate with regard to these stuffs. Ed brought a state-of-the-art cooker as well, instead of using a cooker powered by butane gas, he used denatured alcohol. They told us that most of their equipment can be bought in Quiapo or in Divisoria, but his cooker came from Germany (wink..). We don't have to go to the outdoor shops just to buy these stuffs. So much for that, we took out our foods. Obviously, we didn't brought equipment like their's, but we brought so much foods. There were sardines, tuna, vienna sausage, tocino, grapes, apples, eggs, bread, jellyace. We were not afraid to be hungry (laughs..). After Marnel cooked his carbonara ala Batulao, we heartily ate it with Ed's fried bangus (milk fish). While eating, Marnel took out a bottle of brandy (Grand Matador). I thought I won't drink it because I haven't drank brandy before. However, when you're in the mountain and you felt extremely cold, you need some of it to warm your blood. I could understand how Koreans felt in Winter and why they like to drink lots of soju in Winter. I could feel the biting cold due to the rain, too. The rain temporarily stopped while we were eating dinner and having socialization. We introduced ourselves since we hardly know each other yet. Well, it might be good for me since I just met them two weeks ago. Then, we talked about horror stories in SSC and in Mt. Batulao. Ed said there were 10 horror stories in Mt. Batulao, but only two of the stories were told because it's quiet scary. Who wouldn't be afraid when there were only seven people in the wilderness and suddenly a guy would open your tent bearing red eyes and gulok (kind of knife).

It was almost 11:30 pm when we decided to retire to our respective tents. By that time, the rain preceded. We were about to sleep in our tent when I felt the water whisked on my face. I asked Rochelle and Karla if they felt the same way and they said so. That time, we asked the guys if we could exchange places. We went to their tent, but Karla opted to stay, so Marnel went to her and encouraged her to move in the big tent. Audie and Humphrey went there too and Karla was forced to move with us. We were almost sleeping when the guys complained that they were almost drenched in the small tent. Because of that, they moved in our tent and all six of us fitted in the small space like sardines. I cannot move myself, it was like my legs were cuffed. I also had other concerns aside from that. I could feel the moist beside and half of my body was wet. I wasn't able to sleep a wink despite I was terribly sleepy.