The Badass Travels: 2019

Mt. Mauyog, known for its brain-like rock formation.

We all have different ways of enjoying our days off from work. Some of us prefer to stay at home and relax, while there are some who just can't wait to enjoy the outdoors after being in the office for five straight days. And I guess y'all know I belong to the latter.

It was my mom's boyfriend who invited me to go mountain climbing. To be honest, I was hesitant at first because I just climbed Mt. Lanaya a week ago. I might be an outdoor person, but there really are times wherein I just wanna be a couch potato and stay at home. I wanted to say no to her, but then I realized I had been turning down her invitations because of work. Now that our days off were synchronized, I got no reason to decline.

Tita Rosette didn't have a specific destination in mind. It was up to me where to go. My first choice was Osmeña Peak-Kawasan Falls traverse, but I was afraid we might not finish it until nightfall. After half an hour of scouring in the internet, I decided to go to Mt. Mauyog. I came across a blog about Mt. Mauyog with warnings about the illegal collection of fees by the locals. It's a habit of mine to do research prior to going to a certain place to know what to expect and to get some useful tips. (Thank you, Adrenaline Romance blog!)

7:00AM. Finally out from my last work day of the week! Tita Rosette and I decided to meet up at Ayala terminal. We rode a V-hire (fare: 120 pesos/head) from there and told the driver that we were headed to Brgy. Tabunan. We departed from Ayala around 8:00AM, and arrived at eskina Cantipla after an hour and 30 minutes. From there, we rode a habal-habal (50 pesos/head) and told the driver to drop us off at Tabunan barangay hall.

Once we arrived at our drop off point, we registered in the barangay hall. Based on the blogs I have read, there should be a registration fee of 30 pesos per head. The barangay tanod who was there said they did not have a receipt at that time so there was no need for us to pay. After we registered, we looked for a guide. We had two guides at that time, and they were teenagers: Christian and "Weird Name". I call him "Weird Name" because his name was really unique, that I couldn't even pronounce it at first three tries. According to the blogs I've read, the guide fee is 300 pesos. The guides agreed to the rate even if they'd get 150 pesos each. (They were inseparable hahaha)

when we crossed the river

And the adventure had begun! We started our trek around 9:42AM. The guides led us farther from the barangay hall. We had to walk on the cemented road first. After fifteen minutes of walking on the road, we descended to the river bank where we had to cross the Lusaran River. I had to remove my shoes at that time and folded the bottom part of my leggings so as not to get wet.

Thirty minutes of walking had passed when we decided to rest under the shade of a tree (see two pictures below). I was also awed by our guides because they did not even show any hint of exhaustion. To be honest, the trail was not really difficult. It was the scorching heat of the sun that made us exhausted.

As we trekked, I noticed the diverse flora and fauna of the area.There were some fruits and vegetables like sayote, tomatoes, string beans, and eggplant. Colorful flowers were also planted in the yards of the houses we passed by. Aside from the farm animals, I also noticed some birds in the area such as the Tabunan bird. According to the guides, barangay Tabunan is named after that extinct bird.

hi bee! just keep pollinating.

first time seeing unharvested tomatoes lol

After an hour and a half of walking from the barangay hall, we reached a basketball court. From there, we had to walk on the cemented road. When we got to the foot of the mountain, we were stopped by some of the locals in barangay Sunog (yikes!). Before the trip, I already told Tita Rosette about the blog that warned its readers about the fees and she said, "Leave it to me". That's why I like having her in any trip. Anyway, going back! The locals told us to pay 300 pesos for the guide fee and 50 pesos per head for the "disturbance" fee. Tita asked if they had a receipt and they had none. With conviction in her voice, Tita Rosette said, "Di ko mubayad ana kung wala'y resibo. Kung naa, mubayad ko. Sa gobyerno ko nagtrabaho, ayaw ko'g ilad-ilara diha. Pagtarong mo diha." ("I'm not gonna pay if there's no receipt. If there is, I'd pay. I work with the government, so don't deceive me.") With that, she left the locals speechless, and we just went on our way. (She's not working with the government, by the way. She just said that so the locals would fear her.)

From the foot of the mountain, we trekked for 30 minutes before we reached the top. The first part was mostly soil. Midway from the foot to the peak of the mountain, there were bigger rocks. While we were trekking, I was really anxious thinking I'd see snakes coming out from the gaps between the rocks. (Why am I such an overthinker? *sniff sniff*)

had a hard time balancing since the surface was not flat

When we got to the peak, we ate our snacks there. Tita brought ham sandwiches which we shared with our guides. We also had our pictures taken, of course. After spending thirty minutes there, we started our descent and went back to where we started.

my boyfriend's mom

Another destination that we also considered after conquering Mauyog was Mt. Manunggal, where Ramon Magsaysay's plane crashed. Unfortunately, my body wanted to relax. Instead of going to Mt. Manunggal, we agreed to do a side trip to Gining falls. Why Gining falls? I remembered a friend who posted a picture of him bathing in a river. I was not sure if it was in Tabunan, so I showed the guides his picture. The guides just said that the picture was in Gining.

From the barangay hall, we still had to walk 25 minutes to reach the falls. We had to walk along the river bank to get there. When we got to the place, the first thing I noticed was the amount of trash in the area. When will people ever learn not to leave any trash? *sigh*