Monday, April 19, 2010

Mt Tangisan, San Jose, Tarlac



crime buddies

My friend Ivy, has a client who’s a member of a mountaineering group in Tarlac. For that weekend, we did not have any plan in place, and since anywhere is a better option to staying at home, we thought about taking the invite.
This will be the first time we, along with my drinking buddies, will be taking a hike as a weekend activity. The hike is expected to be completed in less than 2 hours. We, along with my buddies, agreed to meet by 8am at Ivy’s house in Mabalacat, Pampanga, and from there, we shall meet the mountaineers by 10am in Mcdonalds in Tarlac City.
It does not come as a surprise though that my buddies come delayed. We got completed at Ivy’s house by only 9:30 and had to leave late from Mcdonalds Tarlac at past 11am.
From Mcdonalds, there was a chartered jeep to get us to San Jose Tarlac. By 2pm, we were at the hill and wasted to no more time. The seniors were asking us if we’ll get porters, but that’s never on our limited budget. Besides, being the younger ones, we prefer to take the challenges as is.

kicking it off
Within only 20mins of treck, and perhaps less than a hundred steps from the hill, one friend Julie was having her asthma already; Another invitee, Gelo, was feeling his cardiac; Another, Joanne, was complaining how tired she is and that she wouldn’t want to proceed.

starting with the slopes
The senior mountaineers were surprised and said this will be the first time there will be someone to quit. Meantime, Dra. Go was saying since it is our first time, we’ll just have to rest every so often, and take more water.  It was compelling how she tries to motivate us to complete and see what it feels like up there...further, perhaps, to get us into mountaineering as a habit. Since Julie’s asthma is the more serious of all complaints, I took her luggage to loosen her up.

rest after 10 mins... :-)
Indeed, we stopped at every place possible. We took all pictures we could at the view. Midway through, we had only 3Liters water for 7 people.  Everyone was saying that the next time we’ll have to hike, apart from our luggages, we’ll get 2 extra porters to carry each of us in a hammock, like we were madame Cleopatra, or Queen Tamad.

tonton's shoes giving it up
We reached the summit at almost 5pm. We’ve set up 2 tents for the 7 persons, both loaned by Dra. Go. We reheated the prepared asado, and had our dinner. At 7 pm, we started the socials. The seniors were having the san Miguel light in cans, and we the juniors had 4 D’bar vodkas.


and some more rests

....after all that much alcohol, I am excused for not remembering anything

and finally getting there
It was roughly 7 am when we woke up, brushed, and had breakfast. Right after, we set to pack up and explore the nearby Bungkol Baka etc.

and my neglegted feet
Compared to what we’ve gone through going up, moving from mountain to mountain and eventually downwards was probably 5 times more difficult. Some slopes would be too lean, and either they’re slippery dry sand or hard rock where you can’t hold to anything. I bet if I’d fall there, there’s not even time to yell for help as i’d drop directly to some sharp stones which I could see from where I stand.

socials
By 11 am, the senior were already at the host in the village getting ready for our assumptous luncheon; Where, we, well...we were still working our way through the bushes and trying to figure out how we can get to the host house before the seniors finally give up waiting and think about leaving us. 
the crime buddies again

We were 2 hours behind the seniors and as I had been dehydrated, and all my mates were with the guides anyway, I thought about going ahead. I took the rest of the trail myself through the cemetery and then through the villages. When I got there, the seniors were almost done with their lunch and i was too shy to join them. By the time they arrived, we were all asked to finish lunch asap as the seniors will have some other affairs later in the afternoon.
now with everybody else





crime buddies

My friend Ivy, has a client who’s a member of a mountaineering group in Tarlac. For that weekend, we did not have any plan in place, and since anywhere is a better option to staying at home, we thought about taking the invite.
This will be the first time we, along with my drinking buddies, will be taking a hike as a weekend activity. The hike is expected to be completed in less than 2 hours. We, along with my buddies, agreed to meet by 8am at Ivy’s house in Mabalacat, Pampanga, and from there, we shall meet the mountaineers by 10am in Mcdonalds in Tarlac City.
It does not come as a surprise though that my buddies come delayed. We got completed at Ivy’s house by only 9:30 and had to leave late from Mcdonalds Tarlac at past 11am.
From Mcdonalds, there was a chartered jeep to get us to San Jose Tarlac. By 2pm, we were at the hill and wasted to no more time. The seniors were asking us if we’ll get porters, but that’s never on our limited budget. Besides, being the younger ones, we prefer to take the challenges as is.

kicking it off
Within only 20mins of treck, and perhaps less than a hundred steps from the hill, one friend Julie was having her asthma already; Another invitee, Gelo, was feeling his cardiac; Another, Joanne, was complaining how tired she is and that she wouldn’t want to proceed.

starting with the slopes
The senior mountaineers were surprised and said this will be the first time there will be someone to quit. Meantime, Dra. Go was saying since it is our first time, we’ll just have to rest every so often, and take more water.  It was compelling how she tries to motivate us to complete and see what it feels like up there...further, perhaps, to get us into mountaineering as a habit. Since Julie’s asthma is the more serious of all complaints, I took her luggage to loosen her up.

rest after 10 mins... :-)
Indeed, we stopped at every place possible. We took all pictures we could at the view. Midway through, we had only 3Liters water for 7 people.  Everyone was saying that the next time we’ll have to hike, apart from our luggages, we’ll get 2 extra porters to carry each of us in a hammock, like we were madame Cleopatra, or Queen Tamad.

tonton's shoes giving it up
We reached the summit at almost 5pm. We’ve set up 2 tents for the 7 persons, both loaned by Dra. Go. We reheated the prepared asado, and had our dinner. At 7 pm, we started the socials. The seniors were having the san Miguel light in cans, and we the juniors had 4 D’bar vodkas.


and some more rests

....after all that much alcohol, I am excused for not remembering anything

and finally getting there
It was roughly 7 am when we woke up, brushed, and had breakfast. Right after, we set to pack up and explore the nearby Bungkol Baka etc.

and my neglegted feet
Compared to what we’ve gone through going up, moving from mountain to mountain and eventually downwards was probably 5 times more difficult. Some slopes would be too lean, and either they’re slippery dry sand or hard rock where you can’t hold to anything. I bet if I’d fall there, there’s not even time to yell for help as i’d drop directly to some sharp stones which I could see from where I stand.

socials
By 11 am, the senior were already at the host in the village getting ready for our assumptous luncheon; Where, we, well...we were still working our way through the bushes and trying to figure out how we can get to the host house before the seniors finally give up waiting and think about leaving us. 
the crime buddies again

We were 2 hours behind the seniors and as I had been dehydrated, and all my mates were with the guides anyway, I thought about going ahead. I took the rest of the trail myself through the cemetery and then through the villages. When I got there, the seniors were almost done with their lunch and i was too shy to join them. By the time they arrived, we were all asked to finish lunch asap as the seniors will have some other affairs later in the afternoon.
now with everybody else



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Thursday, April 8, 2010

Pangasinan: Tondol & Bolinao: Distances, Expenses, Etc

TimeKm ReadLocationNotes
9:27 PM0Angeles City
Tondol BeachP5 per head; Free Parking: cottages @ P150 and P200 for day stay and +P50 for overnight; P10 for rinsewash; P5 for toilet use. There are variety stores from private houses, and some of these rent rooms @ P1000 for overnight. They said it was good for up to 10 persons. The price is apparently super negotiable as not so many know this place yet. Maki Pulido's family also lease a bungalow, 3 bed aircoon rooms with videoke and a balsa cottage for P3500 a night. For the route from Quezon Road to Anda, if you're travelling at nightime, make sure head lights are all working. It's totally dark out there. We had coffee at the ANDA market where there was a bakery open. From there on, expect the pavement to be rough. It seems it has been cracked by an earthquake. When we arrived, there was nobody in the beach resort, though the gates are open for pedestrian. We came in and took an early morning snack. After that, we took a nap and waited for the light. Around 5:30 AM the caretakers arrived 1 by 1, and that's when we paid our fees.
8:48 AMDepart Tondol Beach
9:23 AM208Quezon Road -Anda T Junction
9:36 AM219Germinal Public MarketChow Time: We spent P165 for 4 rice, 2 seafood ginataans, 1 pork viand, and Monggo. Water is served free. Bought some stuff and had seafood especialty brunch. My mom can't cook good seafood except for tilapia, bangus, squid, and other more common ones, so I took the chance to try out their culinary, under the assumption that they should be good at their craft. Indeed, it was a hot spicy and creamy delight for their ginataans.
10:13 AMDepart Germinal
10:38 AM226.3UP MSIclosed for renovation so head straight to Patar beach with Balingasay River on the route
10:55 AM242.5Balingasay River
11:50 AM247.3Cape Bolinao LighthouseYou'll pass by Enchanted Cave and Cindy's cave en route to the lighthouse. We had to scout for a resort to stay in overnight that's why it took us an hour from balingasay river to Cape Bolinao, but it shouldn't take everybody else that long, though consider a rough road on the way.
12:26 PM249.3Cindy's CaveP150 for 5 people. Cindy's cave is somewhere before the Ligthouse and before the White Sand Beach. We thought that the water at Cindy's cave is most ideal when sun is high up as opposed to swimming in the beachfront
1:43 PMDepart Cindy's Cave
2:00 PM253.7Patar White Sand Public BeachP30 Parking Fee; P100 for Cottage (regular P200 but since the cottages are good for up to 20 persons and there were only 5 of us, we nogitiated for half price); no entrance charges but be ready with a lot of coins for you'll have to pay for P5 per pail when brushing or doing call of nature. Think twice before rinsing because the underground water is no different from the sea water. Hence, the rinse isn't really a rinse. In our case, we though about spending the night there instead, but the caretaker said we'll have to pay another P200 for the cottage, on top of the P100 we initially paid, and another P300 for something like overnight fee. That equals P500 and it wasn't worth it compared to the rate we got at D'Odero Resort for a more comfortable lodge.
8:07 PM257.2D'Odero ResortNegotiate the Room RatesCall Beeboi 09204526157. He's overly kind. Because of the discount and hospitality he's shown us, we invited him to drank, and his wife got him spanked the morning…
2:21 PM284.2Depart Odero'sleft Odero Resort. The odd thing about the kilometer reading was due to the fact that we had to travel that much kilometers out to the town proper and back to get ice for our alcohol session the night before.
3:21 PM295.1St James Church (Bolinao Church)This is just along the germinal public market at the town proper.
4:01 PM313.2Bolinao Falls, Samang NorteRough and dusty Road and slopes. There is no entrance charge to the falls, and the house closest to it has a wall painted: Parking Area for Bolinao Falls, though that wasn't really necessary as very few go to this place and you can literally park everywhere...it's a forest. There are no toilets and washrooms...so, that should  be a clue..dump everything that has to be dumped beforehand.
6:09 PMDepart Bolinao Fallsleft Bolinao Falls
6:37 PM317.9Quezon Road (highway)
7:31 PM361.9SUAL Public Marketscout for Shrimp Pastes and anything else. We got mangoes and surprisingly, we had multiple free tastes...something like 1/4 of what we actually bought.
8:00 PMDepart Sual Marketleft SUAL PUBLIC MARKET. There were a number of huts just right after SUAL Market that sells your pasalubong. A lot of Watermelon vendors on the way to tarlac too.
11:32 PM456.7Shell Station (Jehovah's Witness), Tarlaccoffee and Balut (don't buy here, it's P13, and the duck fetus is quite huge..i mean huge. And, the egg is in El Nino mode). From the roadside vendors, you can get Crab Pastes along the way.
2:35 AM534.8Angeles CityFinal Drop. Everybody Else has been dropped at their respective homes by this time



Carpool: Hyundai Getz model 2007. Passengers: 5 including driver. Gas Loaded: Unleaded @ Flying V Clark for P1500 enough for the back and forth trip. Date of Trip: 4/8/2010


break @ Anda public market

coffee @ bakery next to the public market







entrance to tondol beach










TimeKm ReadLocationNotes
9:27 PM0Angeles City
Tondol BeachP5 per head; Free Parking: cottages @ P150 and P200 for day stay and +P50 for overnight; P10 for rinsewash; P5 for toilet use. There are variety stores from private houses, and some of these rent rooms @ P1000 for overnight. They said it was good for up to 10 persons. The price is apparently super negotiable as not so many know this place yet. Maki Pulido's family also lease a bungalow, 3 bed aircoon rooms with videoke and a balsa cottage for P3500 a night. For the route from Quezon Road to Anda, if you're travelling at nightime, make sure head lights are all working. It's totally dark out there. We had coffee at the ANDA market where there was a bakery open. From there on, expect the pavement to be rough. It seems it has been cracked by an earthquake. When we arrived, there was nobody in the beach resort, though the gates are open for pedestrian. We came in and took an early morning snack. After that, we took a nap and waited for the light. Around 5:30 AM the caretakers arrived 1 by 1, and that's when we paid our fees.
8:48 AMDepart Tondol Beach
9:23 AM208Quezon Road -Anda T Junction
9:36 AM219Germinal Public MarketChow Time: We spent P165 for 4 rice, 2 seafood ginataans, 1 pork viand, and Monggo. Water is served free. Bought some stuff and had seafood especialty brunch. My mom can't cook good seafood except for tilapia, bangus, squid, and other more common ones, so I took the chance to try out their culinary, under the assumption that they should be good at their craft. Indeed, it was a hot spicy and creamy delight for their ginataans.
10:13 AMDepart Germinal
10:38 AM226.3UP MSIclosed for renovation so head straight to Patar beach with Balingasay River on the route
10:55 AM242.5Balingasay River
11:50 AM247.3Cape Bolinao LighthouseYou'll pass by Enchanted Cave and Cindy's cave en route to the lighthouse. We had to scout for a resort to stay in overnight that's why it took us an hour from balingasay river to Cape Bolinao, but it shouldn't take everybody else that long, though consider a rough road on the way.
12:26 PM249.3Cindy's CaveP150 for 5 people. Cindy's cave is somewhere before the Ligthouse and before the White Sand Beach. We thought that the water at Cindy's cave is most ideal when sun is high up as opposed to swimming in the beachfront
1:43 PMDepart Cindy's Cave
2:00 PM253.7Patar White Sand Public BeachP30 Parking Fee; P100 for Cottage (regular P200 but since the cottages are good for up to 20 persons and there were only 5 of us, we nogitiated for half price); no entrance charges but be ready with a lot of coins for you'll have to pay for P5 per pail when brushing or doing call of nature. Think twice before rinsing because the underground water is no different from the sea water. Hence, the rinse isn't really a rinse. In our case, we though about spending the night there instead, but the caretaker said we'll have to pay another P200 for the cottage, on top of the P100 we initially paid, and another P300 for something like overnight fee. That equals P500 and it wasn't worth it compared to the rate we got at D'Odero Resort for a more comfortable lodge.
8:07 PM257.2D'Odero ResortNegotiate the Room RatesCall Beeboi 09204526157. He's overly kind. Because of the discount and hospitality he's shown us, we invited him to drank, and his wife got him spanked the morning…
2:21 PM284.2Depart Odero'sleft Odero Resort. The odd thing about the kilometer reading was due to the fact that we had to travel that much kilometers out to the town proper and back to get ice for our alcohol session the night before.
3:21 PM295.1St James Church (Bolinao Church)This is just along the germinal public market at the town proper.
4:01 PM313.2Bolinao Falls, Samang NorteRough and dusty Road and slopes. There is no entrance charge to the falls, and the house closest to it has a wall painted: Parking Area for Bolinao Falls, though that wasn't really necessary as very few go to this place and you can literally park everywhere...it's a forest. There are no toilets and washrooms...so, that should  be a clue..dump everything that has to be dumped beforehand.
6:09 PMDepart Bolinao Fallsleft Bolinao Falls
6:37 PM317.9Quezon Road (highway)
7:31 PM361.9SUAL Public Marketscout for Shrimp Pastes and anything else. We got mangoes and surprisingly, we had multiple free tastes...something like 1/4 of what we actually bought.
8:00 PMDepart Sual Marketleft SUAL PUBLIC MARKET. There were a number of huts just right after SUAL Market that sells your pasalubong. A lot of Watermelon vendors on the way to tarlac too.
11:32 PM456.7Shell Station (Jehovah's Witness), Tarlaccoffee and Balut (don't buy here, it's P13, and the duck fetus is quite huge..i mean huge. And, the egg is in El Nino mode). From the roadside vendors, you can get Crab Pastes along the way.
2:35 AM534.8Angeles CityFinal Drop. Everybody Else has been dropped at their respective homes by this time



Carpool: Hyundai Getz model 2007. Passengers: 5 including driver. Gas Loaded: Unleaded @ Flying V Clark for P1500 enough for the back and forth trip. Date of Trip: 4/8/2010


break @ Anda public market

coffee @ bakery next to the public market







entrance to tondol beach










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