Sunday, February 19^th:

Our Tripinas driver, Larry, was early. We boarded and started our long ride to the national reserve with two stops on the way. Included on the journey were myself, Jerry Camacho Jr, Mylene Camacho, Hazyl May C. Sevilla, Ferdinand F. Sevilla, Paul A. Camacho, Julius Raphael Paor, Catherine C. Buñag, Ezekiel Clyde C. Buñag.

I'm not sure we were supposed to buy breakfast at the first stop, but there was a Mcdonald's right there so we did.

At the actual breakfast stop we had coffee and took pictures. Ferdy posed at the sign leading to the reserve.

The driver had a little difficulty finding the right place for Julius to go to get his medical certificate. He didn't have to wait as long as the literature warned, and he got his there for 150 php, whereas I paid 500 php. We ate lunch there because the registration office wasn't opening until 2pm. After we registered, we drove to our day stay room, but had to wait while they got it ready.

Hazyl got some locals to cook a meaty soup. I think it was a supposed to be Bulalo, but it was super tough. Everyone else seemed to enjoy the meal, but my sensitive tongue was put to the test. After dinner we returned to our DayStay to rest of for a 1:00 am start to the hike.

Later I heard a lot of discussion going on outside and found out our guide wanted to defer our start until 3am in hopes the weather would clear by the time we reach the summit. I talked to our driver and he wasn't worried about leaving 2 hours later, so start time was revised.

Monday, February 20^th:

We weren't awakened at 1am, so that meant we'd start at 3 am and the weather hadn't broken.

We started out at 3am in the dark. The hiking was tough due to the mud and running water on the trail. We had to pick each step carefully. The rain was steady but the wind was tempered by the trees when we were in the forest. Once we entered the grassland the wind was very stiff. The going was very slow. You could see a bit better as we reached camp 2 so that you didn't need the light so much. When we moved into the grasslands, the wind was howling and the rain got very intense. Visibility of the distant views was limited. We hiked to the junction point after most of the group headed back to camp 2. From the junction the guide brought us back to camp 2 via an alternate route that brought us through a slightly lower peak than the main one. He pointed out other locations where you could see the cloud formations on a clearer day.

When we got back to camp 2, we found out that JR, his wife and Cathy had unturned back. So, our guide headed out to find them. We hung out there munching on our snacks and seeing other groups coming and going. One couple carried two small children in car seats/back packs. The three-year-old he had been carrying up and down the mountain since he was an infant. When I asked if he was going to be like the farmer who lifted the calf over the fence every day, until finally he was lifting a cow, he said this was probably his last year doing that because of his back. The boy had lots of energy and walked the whole way back down the Mountain.

The return hike down the Mountain was a little easier in the light. We actually got to see the trees that make up the forest level. Several picture stops were taken along the way and periodically the rain stopped for several minutes before coming back again.

Most everyone except me took a shower after the hike. I decided to wait for hot water at the hotel. On the way out we had to check out of the park. Several of the hikers chose to get certificates of completing the Mt. Pulag hike. The driver had told his wife that he would be back home around midnight, so she gave him a grocery list to buy on the way home.

We stopped in Baguio to eat at Pines Mamitas Bulaluhan for various filipino foods that were good. I don't have any pictures of the meal we ate, but most of it was good and several Ube Cakes were brought back. We also stopped at a market, where the driver and most of the hikers bought vegetables because they are fresher than you can get in Manila.

Tues-Thur, February 21-24^th:

Over the next several days I was mostly recovering from the hike. I visited Remy every day at the church. On Ash Wednesday I was surprised by how packed the church was but my photo didn't turn out. Not only were all the pews filled, they had chairs in the aisles and outside the entrance.

I tried the tuna ensaymada on Ash Wednesday. I had the buttercream ensaymada one day for breakfast. It was good but not sure I prefer it over the standard shredded cheese with sweetened cream cheese.

One day Marilou and her friend Zeny(a former math teacher) picked me up and brought to lunch in the Rockwell Powerhouse mall at the Kaya Korean Restaurant. Zeny (Zenaida ) was not eating meat during lent so we had garlic squid, grilled mackerel and fried prawns. The mackerel was overcooked but the rest of the food was good. I forgot to take a picture of it. For dessert went to Via Mare. A cousin of Marilou franchises the chain. Service wasn't the greatest. Selection of ice cream limited to ube. They had Halo halo and guinomis I did the ube. The servings were a bit small so we did two.

On another afternoon, Hazel, Fergie, Theo and I walked to the BGC (Bonafacio Global City). Theo was entertained by the water show that started in the space between the stores/restaurants. Prior to heading back, we got a healthy snack at Jamba Juice. I got the mixed berry bowl. zz

Saturday, February 25^th:

I wanted to meet Marilou's filipino family to tried to set up an easy hike. The Tagaytay hikes still weren't happening due to the recent activity of the volcano, so we choose a short hike to Pagsanjan waterfall. Marilous grandchildren who participated were: Alfonso, Bettina, Andrea and Ariana. Hazyl and Ferdinand decided to join. Counting Marilou and me, we were 8.

We had originally signed up for the Pagsanjan Option2 Tour. I had picked this option because I previously did the canoe rapids shoot, and the girls wanted to do the short hike with the best views of the falls. When we got there the operators didn't want to let us go because of all the rain and they were afraid the ladder climbs would be too slippery for us. So their description of a short hike might have been misleading. It probably should have been described as a series of ladder climbs.

After some discussion with Tripinas we were able to substitute Option 1: PAGSANJAN FALLS WITH BOAT RIDE. The description: "Hop on a canoe powered-steered only by the arms and legs of two boatmen! Marvel at their harmonious work, skills and strength as they maneuver through tight corners and big boulders to go up the river rapids. ... Then board the man-made bamboo raft to go inside the Devil's cave and experience the best shower you can ever have!" was pretty accurate.

They can take 3 on each canoe, so Andrea and Ariana joined me, and Hazyl and Ferdy had their own canoe. The trip upstream to the falls pretty much matched the description from the web site except the string of the three canoes was dragged by a motorized tug to the shallow water before the boatmen took over.

Hazyl sent me some photos she took on the trip which I include here mostly because they have me in them:

Sunday, February 26^th:

I hired a ride to Pinky's ( Marilou's daughter ) house in Alabang by Kent, a friend of Kim. Pinky and Raymond Marañon are the parents of the children on the Pagsanjan trip. They had a lot of food and it was all good. Kent ate outside with the gardeners who were working that day. Vangie and her daughter also came to visit. I didn't think to take pictures. I returned in time to make the evening mass.

Monday, February 27^th:

The plan for today was to visit the shrine of Padre Pio in Batangas so that Kim and Jessy could join us since he is off on Sunday and doesn't have to work until Monday night.

Kent picked us up in Makati at 6 expecting it to take over an hour to Marilou in Alabang. Traffic was real light. It took us half an hour so we had coffee while Marilou did her shots and finished getting ready. We Arrived at Padre Pio Shrine at 8. Saw all the statues and had breakfast before the 10 o'clock mass.

After mass we did some souvenir shopping. I got refrigerator magnets.

We then went to Tagaytay to the Balay Dako restaurant. It was chosen for the view of the Taal Volcano. It was a bit foggy or smoky so the view was not so good. There was over an hour wait for service. The food was good but we ordered way too much. My Kare Kare is better than theirs. The peanut butter flavor wasn't strong enough.

On the way back we had multiple stops for various fresh vegetables and other goodies including buko pie and an 18 kg Jackfruit.

Wednesday, March 1^st:

Marlyn had me meet up with her cousin, Lotreta's Badal after the 10:00 mass at the cathedral. She was a few minutes late and brought a lot of custom jewelry to go with the jewelry that Marlyn had given to her mother and wanted back. We invited her to the house to eat lunch, but she had gotten a snack on the way and wanted to start back.

That evening the family threw a going away dinner with several gifts for me.

Thursday, March 2^nd:

I spent the day getting ready for my flight. Got to the airport too early and had to wait for the checkout counter to open for my flight. When they posted it opening there was a very long line waiting. Eventually I got checked in and got a snack before waiting for the flight time.

Jessy had given me some of her chocolate brownies to take photos of their journey to Texas, so for my desert I took the first bite at Manila airport. I had a very long layover in Japan, before flying to Houston. Then I had a five-hour drive to Corpus Christi, so it was a very long day.

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