Burot Beach Getaway

My first out of town holy week was spent with my Piknikers family. Since i am working in a call center, I do not have the luxury of having long weekends. Having said this, I was only able to go after my Friday shift and meet with Lani and Jaybie so that the three of us can join the rest of the gang in Burot, Calatagan.

Our meeting place was supposedly in Mcdonalds, near the MRT - Taft station. Not being that familiar with the place, I ended up going to the branch near the LRT - Taft station, with the same landmarks as the latter.

After clearing matters up, we all were able to meet each other and boarded a bus going to Lian, Batangas. I was asleep most of the time during the trip. I have my bag full of clothes, necessities, and food. I also ended buying additonal supplies when we got to the town proper, including water, ice cream, and bananas.

I can say, swerte na din. We got away with the sizzling hot and humid climate on the beach, kase nga, we were still travelling, plus the food that I brought along helped so much as the gang were too hungry when we got there.

Kainan mode muna with Shai, Bampi, Chun li, and Lani:





Girls' group shot nung hapon:




And night finally came:



Ton cooked fried pork chops. Based on the holy week tradition dito sa Pilipinas, bawal kumain ng pork or beef during Good Friday at Black Saturday. As there were no other food available, no choice. Nabusog ako sa food, and hindi naman cguro ikagagalit ni Lord kung di ko natupad ung hindi pagkain ng pork.

Nagkaron din ng "aswang" scare that night. Shai and Bri brought some friends along and they were firm believers of the said folklore. Having 2 pregnant women in the group, naisip ko, baka totoo, pero after thinking about it for some time, I decided, di na lang ako maniniwala :)

The next day, it was time to enjoy the water. Beach mode activated!





Lunch time, dami daming cookset.. :)







Tambay mode:




Sobrang init, pahangin muna sa lilim.. Chillax mode:







A few group shots before we leave and get back to reality:






To sum it up, i enjoyed the vacation. It helped me detoxify and cleanse whatever stress I was on. I still believe that you don't need to be with someone to be happy, but it sure would make a hell lot of a difference if you have someone loving you in return. Til my next vacation :)

Music time out: Wonderful

Hopeful and cynical at the same time. I feel the same sometimes, bottom line, always look at the better brighter side of things. Everything happens for a reason, and it is important to make the most out of everything. Who knows, everything might turn out wonderful in the end.   Effect of being in a state of bliss, of contentment, daming naiisip, daming words (haha!). I love you Jefferson Perez! I close my eyes when I get too sad I think thoughts that I know are bad Close my eyes and I count to ten Hope it's over when I open them I want the things that I had before Like a Star Wars poster on my bedroom door I wish I could count to ten Make everything be wonderful again Hope my mom and I hope my dad Will figure out why they get so mad Hear them scream, I hear them fight They say bad words that make me wanna cry Close my eyes when I go to bed And I dream of angels who make me smile I feel better when I hear them say Everything will be wonderful someday Promises mean everything when you're little And the world's so big I just don't understand how You can smile with all those tears in your eyes Tell me everything is wonderful now Please don't tell me everything is wonderful now I go to school and I run and play I tell the kids that it's all okay I laugh aloud so my friends won't know When the bell rings I just don't wanna go home Go to my room and I close my eyes I make believe that I have a new life I don't believe you when you say Everything will be wonderful someday Promises mean everything when you're little And the world is so big I just don't understand how You can smile with all those tears in your eyes When you tell me everything is wonderful now No No, I don't wanna hear you tell me everything is wonderful now No No, I don't wanna hear you tell me everything is wonderful now I don't wanna hear you say That I will understand someday No, no, no, no I don't wanna hear you say You both have grown in a different way No, no, no, no I don't wanna meet your friends And I don't wanna start over again I just want my life to be the same Just like it used to be Some days I hate everything I hate everything Everyone and everything Please don't tell me everything is wonderful now... I don't wanna hear you tell me everything is wonderful now

Mt. Timbak

Last February, i was told that there was a climb that was a must to go to. Funny thing was, i may have been asleep when they were discussing the details as I was not aware that it was set on the following weekend, giving me only a few days to prepare. :)


And so the day came, Sir Karl lent me his thermal sleeping bag, tent, and gloves. A lot of briefing went on, what to expect, who I was with, and such. The destination: Mt. Timbak in Benguet.


A shot on our way to Baguio:




A few misfortunes along the way. First was since I was on "nabigla" mode, i didn't have that much. I only had a few hundreds in excess of the supposed fee that I was to pay for. If you are on a far off place, it is a no-no not to have extra cash. :)



Second, given the bulk of our bags, everything was placed on the compartment area of the bus. When we reached Baguio, i found out that my bag was soaked with water, including my jacket. :( So sad talaga. Sabi nga ni Ton, it is always important to waterproof your things. You'll never know what to expect kase.



Stop over for lunch:




And so, after a few hours of travel, miles of roads, dozens of kwento/ chicka with chunli from the back of the van, we arrived in Timbak Elementary School.


This trip by the way, was spearheaded by the Sykes Outdoor Group. They were gracious enough to host the said climb with the sole purpose of providing school supplies to the school. The school consist of 2 rooms, and a separate bath, with a spectacular view of some parts of Benguet. It was chilly enough even at 3PM. I bet you'll never guess kung gano kalamig pagsapit ng dilim (haha!)


Almost touching the clouds:











Twilight. Sea of clouds. Amazing!






Sunrise:





We ate dinner, bongga kase it was pork sinigang. Let me tell you, i tasted Sir Jay-z's sinigang in during our beach tambay in Green Island and it was the best. Literally na "sabaw pa lang, ulam na". Ayan, ginutom na ako..



A view from the summit, the cross, the landscape, and the breath taking beauty of the sky and clouds:



















After appreciating the beauty of nature, we went back to the elementary school to have a late lunch, a few words of reminders from the organizers, and to learn of the plan right after.


Due to cold weather, it is really not recommended to eat a san marino tuna paella as it has the tendency to not taste good. Either way, no choice, ginutom ako eh.. haha!






Pads, one of the organizers informed us of visiting the benguet mummies. And so, we started hiking once more. And oh, we met a local who agreed to let us ride. We went for the top load, of course!






And so we went to see the mummies:



Mejo malayong akyat baba and lakad but it was all worth it kung ganito ung view dba?





Pictures of some of the mummies:







Would you believe, some people go to lengths just to get a hold of these mummies? There are only a few left, and their resting place now has steel gates with padlocks on. We are speaking of their resting place on the sides of the mountain. Iba talaga nagagawa ng pera. :(


So after ng mummy viewing, same akyat baba ung ginawa namen. Oicture picture muna with Ton and Chun li - my new friend sa climb na to.






Mukhang wasted lang :)






Thank you Lord for all the wonderful creations.





For the chance of seeing them up close, even from a greater distance,





And getting to share it with friends who share the same interests.





Of being able to appreciate it more and more, even with hardships along the way.





And to friends, who will continue to support and guide, who in turn will be needing the same.





I may not have the same "bangis" as others, I am still thankful that I am strong enough to climb mountains, overcome their challenges, and still have the ability to FULLY appreciate such wonders.

I may not also tire of saying it always, I am a Pikniker, and a proud one at that. :)