Daraitan Hike of Alvin

I just want to share one of Alvin's adventures with his friends. One that he made before he and I got together. He was quite a mountaineer before. I don't allow him anymore to climb mountains because I feel na baka atakihin ako sa puso while I wait for him from his climb. Ang dami kong naiimagine na bad things na pwede mangyari! Like baka kagatin ng snake ang lolo mo, or baka may magka-crush sakanya na lamang lupa at hindi na makabalik sakin, or baka malaglag sa bangin!! Diba?!

Anyways, i promised him though that he can climb in the future as long as he takes me with him. I can't mountain climb without a portalet (kadiri kaya jumebs sa grass!!!). So i guess, not unless may magdala ng portalet sa Mt. Apo, baka matagalan pa ang pagakyat namin harhar!!!

Here is what happened during their trip to Daraitan:

They left Manila at around 4am. Took a bus to Shaw Blvd and a jeep to the local market of Tanay, Rizal. They waited for 1 1/2 hours for a jeep to Daraitan because ang daming sumasakay and ended up riding top load. OMG, sa taas sila ng jeep sumakay! Kaloka! They arrived around lunch time at their jump off.

They then had lunch at one of the carinderias at the jump off and registered their names at the local baranggay. This is a relief at least they keep track pala of people na umaakyat. They started their trek at 1pm. They trekked for 1 1/2 hours which Alvin calls a leisure climb. It was so hot daw because the trail has no trees. They passed by an old school cementery. They crossed the river on their way to the campsite. The water naman daw is low kaya no need for the rope that they bought sa baba. Although, he advised others to be careful because the river rocks' edges are sharp and slippery kaya dapat ingat.

They reached the campsite at around 4pm. They pitched their tents, cooked sinigang, had few shots of hard liquor and lights out at 9pm.

The next day, Alvin woke up at around 6am, went around to take pictures, had breakfast then walked again to the entrance of the Daraitan cave. The entrance of the cave is roughly 3x3 meter wide with a depth of 6 meters. He was surprised because when he entered the caver from that tiny hole, the cave inside was as big as a cathedral! They walked for 30 minutes from the entrance of the cave to the lagoon. Again, the rocks were slippery and sharp. The cave was pitch black so their head lamps were very useful. When they got to the lagoon, the water was very cold and sweet. Fresh na fresh daw talaga. After taking a dip and taking pictures, they headed back to the campsite.

They had lunch at the campsite, break camp and then headed back to the foot of the mountain. They arrived back in Manila at around 7pm.