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My Birthday Hike @ Mount Pamitinan Montalban Rizal

Hi Guys! It's good to be back! I've been really busy this past few months and I haven't been able to update my blog.. Anyways, I'm writing about my birthday hike with my friends last March 2, exactly my birthday... enjoy reading polks! :)

I've been wanting to hike for so long... I just don't have the time and maybe the courage to even start planning about it. And then a few weeks before my birthday, I really felt like I needed to accomplish something I've been longing to do at least before I turn 24, and hiking was the first thing that comes to my mind, so I spent hours searching about the nearest mountain to hike in our location and of course a simple path specifically for a beginners like me. :)

What can I say? Seems like Rizal won the internet! I was bombarded with a lot of reviews about hiking in the mountains of Rizal, there are mount Binacayan, Pamitinan, Hapunang Banoi and a lot more, during my research I also found the most recommended tour guide of my fellow bloggers whom they called Kuya Ronald, which I found to be true, he is indeed the best tour guide you can find in Montalban Rizal, you can text or call him at his number 09124496971.

A week before our hike, I already contacted kuya Ronald to make an arrangement, we are a group of 8 and all of us are beginners. :) I first plan to have a twin hike of mount Pamitinan and Hapunang Banoi, pretty tough for a beginner huh? Hahaha.. so he told us that we should be there by 6am or earlier so we can make a twin hike and he also told us that a group of 8 should already have a 2 tour guide but since he can manage it, we just have him.

It was 5:00 am when we depart from Manila through a Motorcycle, yes.. we are a total of 4 motorcycle with 2 people in each, it was a quick ride and we arrived at Brgy Wawa to meet kuya Ronald and register at their Barangay Hall, we paid 50php each for their hiking fee. Also, if you are looking for some hiking gear, there are stores at the front of the Barangay Hall that sells a very affordable hiking gear, I got a gloves for only 40php.

So we start our hike, we pass through some houses of people residing there and they are very hospitable especially with the hikers, every resident we bump in to will always greet us and give a big smile, some will also say "Ingat po!", that was really refreshing and amazing, though we know that Filipinos are really hospitable.

We pass through a wooden bridge, and climb up to a never ending stone stairs, kuya Ronald says it was a warm up, but I was already too tired and my sweat is all over me.. poor me! (All of us are first timers but we did not even bother doing an exercise, days before the hike as a preparation, we did not even have a complete sleep the night before.. we trust our strength too much! Hahaha.! Wag kami tularan) We are just starting when I realized It was not really for beginners, we are not even in the junction yet but my legs is starting to ache, considering the bags full of food that each of us is carrying (takot kame magutom so ayun! Hahaha) Anyways, despite of being tired and almost giving up, our hike was full of fun and jokes, laughing while climbing is one of the hardest thing I've done but definitely one of the happiest moments I can keep.

It was around 9am when we reach the junction, there are kubos you can rest and some store where you can buy some foods and refreshments, luckily its weekday so there's just a few groups of hikers we can see unlike during weekends where there are a lot of hikers and you have to wait in a long line to have your picture taken in the beautiful spot of the mountains. We rest for a bit and leave our bags at the kubos carrying only our valuable things and some water (another great thing when there are only a few hikers is they will let you leave your bags at the junction).

It was a real relief leaving our bags in the junction as I can't think of how we can climb up if we have those, in a really rocky path to reach the summit. It was not like the first part, it was not too tiring (or maybe because we already have a warm up) but the path to the summit is too rocky where you really have to use both of your hands to pull yourself to the other side, sometimes you won't even know where to step, good thing kuya Ronald is there to guide us in every way. Some rocks are really sharp so it is really advisable to wear gloves (I've read this in some reviews already so I bought mine in one of the stores in front of the Barangay Hall).

It was already slightly raining when we reach the summit, it was truly fulfilling! We take every shot we can in almost all the spot there is, kuya Ronald is such a photographer, he knows where the good angle is and he is even instructing us of a good pose, I shall say he is a total package, by the way, although I brought a first aid kit, kuya Ronald or I think all of the guides there carry a first aid kit in case of emergency.

And of course! My Buwis Buhay Pose! :)

After taking too many pictures and feeling the amazing breeze of the summit until all of us are satisfied, we went back to the junction to eat our lunch. (In case you want to know, we have rice, daing na bangus, adobong baboy and maling for our lunch..we even have a coffee after.. hahaha) Anyways, since we are too tired and we don't even have much time, we are not able to do a twin hike, and I was really satisfied already. :)

After resting a bit, we climb down back to the Barangay, I thought this will be easier but its not, my legs are cramping already, they said its because we have a little long rest so we can now feel our muscle aching.

Anyways, we just check out from the Barangay Hall so they will be inform that we successfully finish our hike.

Going to the Wawa Dam was really part of the plan and so we went there around 2pm, we rent a cottage, as I can remember for a price of 350php. The water at Wawa Dam is really refreshing and will take away all your muscle pain you acquired from climbing the mountain summit, partner it with some beers and snacks and you can already call it as a perfect get away. Around 5pm when we decided to go home.

And before I even forgot, we paid Kuya Ronald a total of 1,100php. 100php per person as a tour guide fee in climbing and an extra 300php for taking us at the Wawa Dam.

And that's how I spend my 24th birthday, It's indeed self fulfilling and I'll say, this won't definitely the last time I'll be doing this. :)

Thanks for reading and see you on my next post! ciao!

Mountain Lake Resort @ Caliraya Spring

It was nearly December and I was thinking of a quick family escape before the year ends. I suddenly felt like I want a nature friendly vacation instead of just having a staycation to the nearest hotel, and so I search for a resort that offers nature feels ambiance but still enjoyable for kids and kids at heart.

I end up seeing Mountain Lake resort currently having their promo on Metrodeal, I purchase the voucher for 1,999 for an overnight stay for 2 in their standard room with breakfast and activities such as zipline, hanging bridge, fishing, biking and swimming, I just added 800php since Yuri is already counted as an Adult. The resort have many good reviews so I did not think much longer before I picked it. I called their office 3 weeks before to reserve but sadly, all their standard room is already fully booked and my only option is to have their Boat House which has a higher cost, so I ended up reserving another date and moving it to Sunday-Monday schedule, I was also thinking that their could be lesser people on that date so we can enjoy the resort more.

Here comes December 11... we woke up early, ate our breakfast and depart by around 7am. We rode at LRT and drop by Gil Puyat station, then on DLTB terminal, we ride on a bus with signage "Stacruz Laguna" fare is around 140php per person up to Stacruz terminal.

The trip took us less than 2 hours before arriving at Stacruz terminal, we ate our lunch first then headed to Lumot terminal and there we rode a jeep with "Lumot" signage then ask the driver to drop us on Caliraya Mountain Lake resort, seems like the drivers there are already familiar with the resort in that area, fare as I could remember is around 35php.

Arriving at Caliraya Spring, you just have to walk a few steps to the guard house and then they will call the shuttle service that will take you to the resort.While riding the shuttle I just figure out that the whole resort looks like as big as a subdivision.

The driver will drop you here (I took this photo before we go home)

Arriving at the hotel, I handed the voucher to the receptionist then we were taken to our room downstairs. Aside from the hotel, the other part of the resort is what they called 'Marina', it's where the activities and camp accommodations were located. When you are check in at the hotel, you just have to tell the receptionist so the shuttle will take you there.

When we were taken to our room, we choose to rest for an hour. Then we go biking so we can explore the resort first, they have a different kind of bikes you can choose from. Our eyes were filled of beautiful scenery and it feels like everything is as green as the leaf of the tree.

This is their standard room

After taking almost an hour biking around the resort, we pack some clothes and foods to go to Marina and do some activities. We tried their swan boat for 30 mins, took some pictures and opted to swim already since kido is already excited on trying their swimming pool. It was raining very light but that does not stop us from enjoying the pool.

After a few hours, we went back to the hotel, order food from their resto and have it deliver in our room. They don't have much food choices that time so we just ordered fried chicken.

The next morning, we had our breakfast on their dining area overlooking the golf course, a kind of morning I always imagined...

We just rested a bit while sipping on hot brewed coffee before going to Marina again.

At Marina, since it's slightly raining again, we were not able to try their Zipline because the staff said it's slippery, so we just tried Kayak for 30 minutes and took a lot of picture on their hanging bridge. After that we proceed on their boat house and try to catch some fish, we were assisted by the staff and teach us how we can catch a fish, and yeeaahhh! we were able to 'Find Dory' and catch them as well!! You can opt to buy the fish you catched for 150 per kilo and have it cooked in their resto for some charge. We catch two Dory and have it grill for lunch.

While waiting for our food, this kido go for swimming again while me and chi is having a relax time sipping a coffee and watching Yuri swim.

Here is our food serve at the dining area of Marina with the view of the lake, I never thought this fish was this delicious.

After eating our lunch, we rested for a while, pack our things and get ready to go home.

This was a total adventure, we enjoy our stay and we will surely go back here! One thing I noticed, all the staff in this resort are very polite and accommodating, one factor most of us considers when finding a very good resort like this!!