Now this was a real hike!!! But don’t let me get ahead of myself… this is just one of the many trips us 3 Musketeers (Rachel, Cynthia and me. Niki was our D’Artangion on this trip) have planned but not really had a chance to implement. Even I was skeptical we would follow through. The weather was kinda bad and we didn’t really know exactly how to get to the beginning of the trip.
We rode a bus to somewhere in Tarlac where on accident we met a tour guide who’s group ended up not making it and we got to fill their spots. We proceeded off the beaten track to a Barangay close to some military base where we waited for another 4X4 jeep to take us to the beginning of the hike.
Our start began at 5:30am and our first bus left at 6am. By 9am we were on the jeep making our way to our drop off point. The hike there took about 3 hours and we were hungry and beat by the time we got there. We traipsed through water ways, over dried river beds with ash that turned into sand, up through the jungle over a ridge and ahhh a view of the beautiful lake within Mt. Pinatubo. I can’t even explain the exhilaration I felt when I saw the lake. I was awe struck by the size and the color of the water against the walls of the volcano. The water was not clear and even when we went to put our feet in you could barely see them. You could lose someone if you weren’t careful. The water was green signifying it was more alkaline. If it is blue it is more neutral (or do I have that backwards???)
I was told by a guide the water color was grey sometime ago causing an influx of volcanologists come in and take a look. Mt. Pinatubo is still an active volcano. The last time it erupted was in 1993 causing extreme devastation and death. In my province alone it caused damage up to about 45 min by bus towards my house. You can see an old church that only has the top sticking out because of all the ash and lahar covered the town. Instead of digging the community out, they built right over the preexisting Barangay (Bacalor). Because of the amazing building quality Pampanga has been able to quarry this natural resource left by the eruption. My host dad said the highway used to be much more built up between our house and San Fernando but not everyone has rebuilt. Many people relocated because their community could not be rebuilt. There are no fish in the lake but plenty of algae.
The way down also took us 3 hours. Once we got to the river bed we heard a hug swarm of bees above us but we could not see them. Our guide looked a little concerned which made him walk faster. Niki got stuck in some quick sand half way up her calf and I had to fish her foot and shoe out. Our guide on the way down was not the same and kept a rather fast pace. I’m not exactly sure of the mineral that was seeping out of the rocks but it was a goldish yellow. In one of the pools of water with algae the mineral caused the algae to be this yellow color. It was really interesting.
It was a really fun trip and a perfect time just before I headed to the US.
