3 Months: 8 Destinations=Best Summer Ever!

Summer 2012 had been sweet to me and pampered my lust for wandering and sight seeing. God made me pasyal to not only 2 destinations but to 8 summer getaways! So you could just imagine my cheeky face goes like this ----> ^______________________________________________^
I'd be blog posting about those 8 summer wanderings so let's get this ball rolling, shall we?

My first summer trip happened mid March in Mt. Maculot
I thought my March-April would really be dull because I've no climb but thanks to my sweet pea, Jojo who gave pity on me and invited me for a couple of day hikes. :)

Tarak

Part of the Mariveles range accdg. to a mountaineer friend. It's considered a major climb but we're so hardcore we decided to have it on a day-hike-- KIDDING!:P It's just that it was a training climb for the other group that sent out the invites, who were preparing for a more difficult "major-major" climb so we had to day-hike it. Glad I joined this day hike; my endurance was really put onto its edge, plus, the trail was really fun and beautiful with its very jungle-ish feel on it, like going under or over huge logs that were blocking off the trail. There were rocky parts of the trail where it looked like a mini-rock climbing segment, only it wasn't too high for a rope. And the part that I mostly enjoyed was when we had to climb through a wall of these really huge roots of the trees going up to the summit! Really enjoyed it even though my face at that time doesn't seem to show my happiness because I felt like a dead  log already with exhaustion finally taking its toll on me.

These are just some of the logs we had to go over or under during the trek:

And the other good parts of the trail:

So I had a funny conversation with my mother one Monday morning. It was a day after our Tarak hike; I just got off from the bathroom and she saw most of my skin. I saw her facial expression, and I knew what was coming. And boy was I right, she looked at my body and then go, "Bakit ka may latay sa shoulders mo? May mga gas-gas nanaman braso't kamay mo. Look at your legs, ang daming pasa. Nahulog ka sa bundok no?! Samantha ha, yang pagbubundok mo" Oh the beauty of a mother's concern haha! I couldn't help but laugh while she was saying those words because... I guess I got amazed by how she have managed to thread down a story/conclusion to the bruises I've acquired. At the end of our conversation, I assured her that I'm perfectly fine and that I didn't fell off a cliff or a ridge, or some rock. Getting bruises is just really inevitable especially with a klutz like me. Seriously, I could just be sitting on my desk at work and the next thing you know, I've already fallen off my chair---that's my kind'o klutziness I'm talking about. ANYWAY! Let's move on to my next getaway, which happened last Holy week.

Bicol
Bicol, is where my father's hometown is. I've been bugging the old man for years already to take me back to Bicol because the last time he brought me there was still during my Elementary days when I would go sing and go loco over Backstreet Boys. Get the picture? That's really a long, long time ago I'm talking.

We went back to Bicol together with several other relatives for a mini/impromptu-reunion. And Bicol didn't fail me. It is still beautiful with its green fields and friendly locals. :)

My 98 y.o. granny! She sure is still sharp!:D

I think I gained a lot of weight during my stay there because we do non-stop eating!

Then I enjoyed wandering...

And I bugged paps some more to take me to CWC to go wake boarding w/ my cousin Jammie.

My epic fail wake boarding form

AND my epic plakda moment, which gave me peklat! BOOOOOOO!

I wanna go back to Bicol every summer. I wish I could. It was an epic Bicol vacay!

After a week, I went back again to Bicol with my outdoor club: Society of Lost Explorers (SoLE)
Destination: Calaguas Island


Photo by: Pao Albis

Meet Pao, my male version in so many ways...

This Calaguas trip was epic for the beauty of the island. It's worth the travel. Not as crowded and as expensive compared to a Boracay trip, but it offers the kind of sand that everybody's raving about Boracay. I liked Boracay when I went there, don't get me wrong, and it's really fun there and all... but Calaguas is way way way more serene and well... preserved.

Photo taken minutes before I almost drowned thanks to the Hulk that saved my klutzy arse, though =*

He saved my life a lot of times already. He saved me from the cliffs I almost fell from different climbs we've had, from the hypothermia episode I had in mt.Pulag, and from drowning.... tsss. Thank youuu Jojo =*

We played by the shore and I had loads of fun running and diving on the sand to catch this spinning toy-i-forgot-what-it's-called so I won't be burot haha

Then we went side-tripping at Bagasbas beach and to Sinagtala Park back in Daet, Camarines Norte.

I love you SoLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Next stop: Mt. Manabu
Well this one was a bit unplanned/spur of the moment and kilig climb-Chos!:P

Jojo, have been telling me about the free kapeng barako drink in the middle of the trail 30mins. away from the campsite, plus there was an up coming major climb that we need to prep our knees up, so here we went trekking!

The famous mt. Manabu free kapeng barako trail-drink:

The day after our mt.Manabu climb, I unpacked and re-packed again for the following day's trip.

Destination: Corregidor Island

My co-teachers and I originally planned/booked for a Coron trip but due to Clever Buy's "un-cleverness", it did not push through. We had our last minute planning and we all agreed to go to Corregidor since most of us are curious about the place's history anyway. Glad that's where we decided to go because it was so worth it!! Sun Cruises is very efficient by the way. And I must say, Corregidor is such a tourist friendly place--the locals and staff there are all so friendly, accommodating, and always flashing their smiles to their guests. The whole tour happened while riding the tram around the island. Corregidor now offers a lot of activities like hiking, biking, ATV, zip line, kayaking, etc... anyway, here's their website for more details: Corregidor :)

Now, how "awesome" this trip was, you ask? Okay, hahaha here's how: 

The place where we stayed:

And the whole adventure began!

This is us after all our kakulitan and ka-hyperan:))

A week after Corregidor I went packing with my back pack for a another weekend trip.

Destination: Morong, Bataan

We celebrated papa's milestone: 60th birthday, and we decided to celebrate it at Anvaya Cove.

Buffet eating for 2 days/food coma, family photo ops, laughter, and surprises took place.

The surprise:

Here's our old man very much happy with his gifts:

Another week after this Bataan trip came the highlight of my summer!! My most awaited 3rd major climb for 2012!! Destination: Mt. Ugo (traverse)

Here's a map to give you an idea of how far did we trekked and why did it became a major climb:

It was very tiring; like what I used to say after the climb, it was a shoulder and knee breaking 2 days of trekking but it was all worth it. The view from the top was amazing. Sobrang thank You God for letting me see such grandeur. :) Whew talaga!:D

Then a side trip to Baguio:

Photo by Pao Albis

Epic summer is epic!!! It was soooooooooooooooooooo SUNNY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Thank You God, sobrang You pampered me and I was able to make the most of my summer! 

Now it's time to focus on my priorities for the next few months of the year. I just pray that You are honored in every little things that I do and through the places I go and every mountains I climb.

Tomorrow, another chapter's going to start: S.Y 2012-13!!!!! Whooopie!:D