Mt. Pinatubo: Astonishingly Raw

This trip marked my travel itch to go further. I was the usual traveler like everybody else: vacation to the usual spots only when needed. Backpacking was unknown to me. I was not a fan of trekking or anything related/similar to it that may shed sweat or bring that extra exhaustion. I used to fond only the beach, that was it. Never realized that the actual travel could be relatively significant or sometimes be the climax of everything. It taught me that sometimes, reaching point B from point A would be insignificant without actually appreciating the downhill, uphill, dusty, bumpy, and sometimes treacherous road. Mt. Pinatubo was the building block of the Travel Junkie.

 As the usual kababayan of my cousins who paid a visit from Canada, my role was to make sure that Filipino hospitality is well-defined, bestowed upon but not over-rated. We have gladly accommodated them of course in every way we could. Everyone knows how is it like to have your relatives abroad come visit you. We make them feel that despite the cockroaches under their beds, the endless traffic jam, the bugs and mosquitoes/fear of dengue, and of course the killer humidity, Philippines could be the best place ever! Though they couldn't understand any Filipino word as they were born and raised as French-Canadians, their innate Filipino nature of humility, and fun-loving remain. I say language barrier was there, sometimes when they talk fast and my Pinoy passive voice comprehension was slow to catch-up. haha. "I'm sorry, what was that?" was all I could say when I met dead end. Bwahahaha.

Me, Mark, Kuya Mark, Leilani

This event was "graced" by my eldest brother Kuya Mark, cousin Leilani Levesque and husband Mark Hall. From my parents' place in Nueva Ecija, we stayed at Kuya Mark's house in Capas, Tarlac. They have previously arranged a 4X4 ride which is a must for this trip. I didn't know what was going on then. Like I said, my role was just to be the Department of Tourism (DOT) representative. haha. I made sure Kuya Mark did the hard labor.

We left early morning as it would take an hour or so to reach the foot of the mountain where we're expected to trek going to the volcano's crater. The rugged, open/roofless 4X4 could hold 4-5 people plus the driver and tour guide. It was bumpy, dusty, treacherous maybe, but the view is out-of-this-world. It's like we were doing a Moon expedition or navigating a different dimension or something. The ash fall from its latest eruption plus the lahar made astonishing landscapes.

And then we took off for the 2-hour trekking. I thought 2 hours was a joke. I never walked that far then so you could imagine me almost backing out. But it was either I wait for them for more than 5 hours and do nothing or succumb to the trekking experience and see the the famous Mt. Pinatubo crater lake. I was thrilled of course but enduring the exhaustion was holding me back. I guess the adventure trait was kicking in already as I said yes. It was not bad, well, not bad at all. The downhill and uphill was pretty easy until you have to literally pull yourself up to reach the top of the crater which was the first and last hard part. The entire time, I almost didn't feel that we were already transcending so I could rate Mt. Pinatubo as a great start for those newbies who want try trekking. We also met a local family Aeta/Ita who is very nice. They were all smiles seeing us. I took some pictures of them as I wanted to capture how happy they are despite the difficulties of life. Or perhaps I wanted to take a photo of a family who clearly defines happiness in every sense of the word.

Happy. (Hooded guy is my brother, not part of the Aeta family. lol)

The crater lake was one of the best views I have seen to date. Water was turquoise blue, with that sulfuric feel good for skin allergies. Since it's a volcano crater, lake floor was really deep. Buoyancy is of course same with freshwater because it's supposed to be a lake (duh!). It was hard to float but with my fish-like swimming skills, I managed somehow.

At that time, Mt. Pinatubo was just starting to be opened to public. There were no stores or anything commercial. But I heard from a friend that nowadays they have water sports equipment, cottages and other amenities as a lot of tourists are already flocking the spot. They even have mud Spa in town. I am into industrialization and all that but I seriously believe that there are things better left raw. I didn't order sashimi pressure cooked, or dip-fried from a state-of-the-art cookingware, did I? I want it fresh as it is. Same us with this. People go there to feel that natural paradise, not a lake resort. I hope it would not be as bad as I thought it might have been due to the recent development. I could be wrong.

Mt. Pinatubo crater lake.

Mt. Pinatubo gave birth to great landscapes and magnificent crater lake but on a personal note, it is one of the determining factors how and why Travel Junkie was born. I was with nature and nature was teaching lessons I didn't learn in school. The journey I took is a realization that there is a definite end-point which could be really amazing and worth checking but the process made it all MORE worth it. Hardwork and determination helped me reach the peak. I may have doubted my capabilities but in the end I became versed  with what I could do.

And now I am ready to conquer more adventure!

By the way, I got really good feedback as this trip's DOT representative. haha