pedaling again..

About 60 kilometers under sun & rain,

to a hotspring to soothe my way-worn legs,

from pedaling a bike for near 3 hours o' strain

for but to sit for bout an hour long,

in a pool of hot water in a bowl of stone...

The trip took nearly 3 hours, beginning at 8 am and ending 11 am. Rain caused mud from the road to transfer to my cogs & chain. It got so dirty that it started making disturbing noises. I had to stop once in a while to wash the dirt off the chain. Water I used was from my water bottle.

Taking stops at 7-11 in Tagaytay, the AUP Gate, Paseo de Sta. Rosa, Burger King in Calamba, and finally, Dona Jovita Garden resort.

oh.. this was for a company retreat. I just decided to bike there..

Mt. Pinatubo: Trek for a Cause

Update: for more pictures, check out my gallery at Picasa Web Albums Mt. Pinatubo: Trek for a Cause

Photo: The Expedition Team

Taken by Mr. Tripod before going home.

The main objective was to distribute goods (food and clothing) to an Aeta village in the Pinatubo region. These are the people who we consider our neighbors - those who truly need our help. They are lucky to receive these kinds of blessings once a year.

With the Society of Active Volunteers and Explorers (SAVE), I tugged along for this experience. We left Friday afternoon, August 22, 2008, in a van of the Southern-Asia Pacific Division (SSD) of Seventh-day Adventists loaded with sacks of clothes and 10 people headed for Capas, Tarlac. The rest of the 19 went by bus from Manila.



Reaching Capas later in the afternoon, 3 sacks of rice was purchased as well as foodstock for the weekend. We, then, continued the journey to Barangay Sta. Juliana where we were to stay the night. After settling down in the rented house, all the baon popped up. It was definitely supper time! An event we all enjoyed. There was a lot of everything -- rice, fish, fish and fish... and some bread and corned beef. After the feast, we started packing the rice into plastic bags for easy distribution. Still only the first ten that arrived, but we had enough man (and women) power for the job. It was a simple task that was soon finished and put out of the way. When the rest arrived, we gathered for worship lead by the team leader sir Jerson Paican before we went to bed. He gave a talk and mentioned something like this:

"Before we give sermons about 666 we should first learn how to give 555."

Meaning: Before we tell the people about the devil and hell and dying and redemption (really scary stuff), we should first learn to give 555. 555 is a known Filipino brand of canned sardines. Really wise words I will remember for a long time.

Photos
Together with paragraph: kuya Ken buying rice.
Left: Supper Time
Right: kuya Pikes leading worship.



Giving 555

Photos
Top Carrying goods up to the village.
Bottom: Not afraid of cameras anymore. Kuya Ken poses with the village kids.


Waking up at 0415 the next day (Saturday), I started preparing myself and cooked rice for lunch. It was going to be a long day. After breakfast, all goods were loaded onto four 4x4 vehicles and we were ready to start our mission.

It was about an hour or so of off road fun before we reached the Aeta village. The path was no joke! It was a river valley filled with volcanic debris and rock from the June 1991 eruption which is considered the 2nd largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century. Walls of on each side rising to more that 100ft. There was no permanent path to pass. the valley was kilometers wide and water was running everywhere. The terrain in this parts constantly change. The 4x4s may need to look for a new path the next day.

Reaching the small Aeta village, we were greeted and the goods were unloaded from from 4x4s. Aeta people are strong! One person carried a sack of rice, weighing around 32 kgs, all the way up to their village all by himself. Amazing!!

It was nice seeing the reaction of the village people. They were excited especially the children. You could see the big smiles on their faces. At first the children didn't like the digital cameras. But after kuya Ken showed them the picture, they were so excited to see themselves captured on the screen!! Oh the simple joys of life -- it just makes me smile.

Queues where made for food, another for clothing and another for children's foods and clothes. The children actually got so excited that the line couldn't be stilled. They were shoving and pushing each other but everything went well. Sir Jerson Paican had an interview with the chief who gave his gratitudes and thanks for the goods. He said it wasn't everytime that people come to give goods and that they were lucky if they got it once a year. This tribe was relocated after the eruption but they decided to come back because this was their land so they have been back there since then. After distributing the goods we made our way back down to the waiting 4x4s to start the next stage of our trip -- the cause was done, now for the trek.

Photos
Top-Left: Strong Man. An aeta villager carries a 32kg sack of rice.
Top-Right: Relief. A mother with a smile on her face.
Bottom-Left: Community Outreach Program.
Bottom-Right: Ate Gai in front of Emilia School Building. The school was donated by the British embassy.




The Expedition

Photo: Valley of Death.

This beautiful scene was a result of a terrifying past.

Mounting the 4x4s again, we went on another hour of ride to the jump off of Mt. Pinatubo -- the point were the 4x4s couldn't go any more and we had to go on feet. This time, the valley was narrower. We had to make our way crossing the same stream now and again. I loved my Arnuva 100s. They were Gortex and waterproof...until the ankles. I was "trying" not to get my feet went but that was quite impossible. I finally got my feet wet and resorted to using sleepers the rest of the hike. Most everyone were wearing sandals. The hike took more than 2 hours. It was a very different landscape then I was used too. This land would have been a desert if it weren't the stream that ran there. A good thing it wasn't that hot. A cool breeze was blowing which I think would blow on other days. We were just fortunate it was blowing for us.

The hike was far and it got tiring and then you see stairs heading up. You get to the top and you see the bluish-green lake from above. Phew!! It really worth it. The view is just spectacular; so peaceful; so calm. The contrast of the jagged cliffs forming the caldera and the lake itself was really rare... at least in the Philippines. And I loved every bit of it except for one thing. Some stayed up on the "view deck" while we went down to the lake and rested and ate lunch under some trees that had grown there. It was really relaxing to have the lake as a view. After a while, the guide told us we had to go back since rain was coming and it wasn't good if rain caught us there. 9 of us decided to make our way back to the 4x4s while the others decided to stay.

Now that's the thing I kinda missed. I wanted to take a swim. The water was so inviting! Kuya Lloyd, kuya Pikes and others explored the lake and I thought that was really cool and I should have gone with them but no use anymore.

Our way back was pretty fast but still over two hours of hiking. There were clouds gathering in the sky but no signs of rain. The others were already far ahead as I swept accompanying ate Joy at the back. A while later we were left far behind by ourselves. Near the end of the trip, we noticed a sudden increase in the volume and the speed of flow of the stream. I actually noticed the flood passing. Luckily we weren't in the water. But crossing was difficult. A point came that there was no more flat ground to walk on and we had to do some "rock climbing" climbing over rocks to get to a the other side. The flow of the water was quite frightening with rolling rocks also. We're glad we got back safe. I lost my shades. It dropped into the stream.

Back at the 4x4s we found out we couldn't leave without the others so we had to wait for some hours for the others to come down. Then, we saw rain at the distance coming towards us. We braced for the rain. It came in hard -- a sudden downpour. We took refuge in the 4x4s. We were worried about the rest still on the mountain specially with the swelling of the stream. Good thing the rain didn't last for very long but the sun was setting and still they weren't back. At dark, three got back with one injured at the ankle -- probably from the rocks rolling with the stream. At around 1900 the rest came in. What a relief. All accounted for. We could head back to the Barangay.

The trip back was an interesting one. The 4x4 we were riding was running really fast. I recon he was going around 60 kph except when we had to cross water and when there were big rocks around. Then at the flat grounds, the driver would push the vehicle to around 80kph, I would think. It was a really fast off road experience. Finally, we got back to the house safe and sound.

Photos

Top-most-Left: 4x4. This jeeps were ideal for the terrain.

Top-most-Right: Charge!

Middle-Left: Kuya Ken, Little Ken and Me.

Middle-Right: Cliffs of Hardened Volcanic Ash. 100+ feet wall of volcanic debris.

Bottom-Left: Kuya Lloyd stuck. Water is everywhere.

Bottom-Right: Ate Gai wades through the stream. There's no way of keeping your feet dry.

Death March Shrine

Photo: Capas National Shrine.

In memory of the brave American and Filipino soldiers who had to go through the cruel Death March.

The next day we were on our way home. Now there were 14 people in the SSD van and no more goods. On our way home, we passed by the Capas National Shrine. A shrine built to remember the soldiers in the famous Death March. In a wall surrounding a tall pointed tower were engraved the names of the soldiers. Instantly, everyone was searching for someone with the same family name although not necessarily related. We had some photos shoots and continued on our journey home.

What a fun weekend!! I don't even feel tired at all. Monday morning, I went for a 12km run under heavy rain and it was still good. The weekend trip was a retreat -- a recreational activity. It recharged my body with renewed strength. I'm looking forward to the next trip.

Photo: Circle within a circle.

Thanks guys for making the trip so much fun!

..AIIAS y0utH LeaDeRs & fRiEnDs Baguio TriP..

On May 30 - June 1 some of the AIIAS Youth Leaders, together with some friends, went for a retreat to Baguio City. We left at midnight May 29.. Maybe even considerably early morning of May 30 boarded on Victory Liner. Around 7 hours later, we reach the Victory Liner bus station in Baguio City.

Our main agenda? Go to SM Baguio! No kidding!! We spent a lot of time in SM. Haha. On friday, we spent some time in the arcade. That's right!! The ARCADE!! haha.. and then some videoke.. which was great fun!! Well, we did go around a little. Boating in Burnham, and walking around Session Road other than that? Not much.

Next agenda? Eat!! This was major!!! Mama Oyette kept our stomachs filled!! She cooked most of our meals including the overflowing bowl of curry!! Yah!! Lasted for 3 meals. haha. We had so much food that we had some left to give to the guards of the condo.

Speaking of Condo. We (thanks to Michael), got to stay in the Europa Condominium in Mines View Park. it was such a spacious place. We were supposed to stay down at the mission but after checking out the condo we decided to move in. Below are the shots taken during the "scouting". You see, there were four of us who went to scout while the others went to SM to buy the groceries. This was Friday.

Our Top Priority Agenda, though, happened on Sabbath. Waking up at around 8:30AM, eating, taking a bath, and everything else, we started our own worship service right in the condo at around 11AM. We started off with songs and was introduced to new type of worship.. forgot what it's called. We just had the Spirit come in and when one felt like singing a song, he sings, when one feels like praying, he prays, when one feels like sharing a testimony, he shares. This went on for some time. Sharing, singing, praying.

Then, we had a little activity that I felt fused our bond to each other. We shared with each person, what we remember about them, what we will miss about them. We also shared what our dreams were. It was such a blessed time we had. Our program ended at 3PM. So you could imagine.. we were hungry!!! So we had lunch.. at 3PM!! Hehe..

The rest of the weekend didn't quite happen as planned. We got out at sunset, so we weren't able to see the view of Mines View Park. We decided to go on to SM (again) and do some stuff. But since we weren't able to do much, we just decided to buy a movie and speakers and go back to the condo and watch. When we got back, though, everyone was pretty much sleepy and went to bed while Aimee and Oyette stayed up and watched.

Sunday morning, I started off with a run around Baguio. I went from Mines View, down to Burnham Park then back up. It was around 10km. We were cramming in the morning since we had to be on our way back to Manila right after lunch and everyone woke up late! So while others went around shopping for souvenirs, Obed, Mike, and I went to the bus station to book our tickets.

Well, after all the time we spent in Baguio, I think I can say that we have created a strong bond between all of us. Distance will not matter anymore.

May God always bless you -- Michael, Aimee, Hiro, Betty, and specially Oyette and Obed. And also those who weren't able to make it with us. We missed you guys -- Pastor Jonel, Ate Gay, Kuya Ken, Ate Janice, and Abishek.

"The Rock" - Corregidor Islannd

May 26, 2008

The AIIAS family went on retreat to the Island of Corregidor. Also known as "the Rock" because of it's rocky land formations, it withstood heavy bombing from Japanese forces in World War II and again by American forces in the retaking of Corregidor in the same war.

To read more about this historical icon click the link below.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corregidor


The boat ride to the island took around 1 hour & thirty minutes. Having nothing much to do in the ferry, we played some games of Uno while eating some snacks. Others just slept during the trip. The ferry had a viewing deck where the picture at the left was taken from. While on the travel to Corregidor, Bataan could be seen on the right and Cavite on the left.

Getting off the ferry, there were buses (jeepneys? trolleys?) waiting for us. We got into bus number 2 with the driver - Ceasar and tourguide - Armando (cool! I still remember their names..haha). We went around the island on a tour visiting gun batteries, barracks, memorials, shorelines and other spots.

One of the really interesting places we visited was the Topside Barracks aka "Mile-Long Barracks." At its time, it was the longest barracks in the world. Although not really a mile long, it was still really long at 1,520 feet. It was really great that we stopped here because, according to our guide, tours usually stop at Middle Side barracks which wasn't as long and as magnificent but we skipped that one to get here. Plus, we were allowed to climb it. You have to be cautious climbing the steps since they were crumbling. Climbing to the third floor and looking across to the other side caused some weird feeling. You could really see to the other end. This barracks used to be a magnificent building. I'm sure alot better than the Molave Hall of AUP. This was actually luxurious in a way with recreational rooms and such. I perceive it used to be pretty too.

The guns were another interesting site. They were already painted green but you could still see the chips on the barrel caused by splash damage from the bombs dropped. These guns were the main strong point of Corregidor; what made it impregnable. That's why it was important for the Japanese to get a hold of it no matter the number of casualties. The guns could shoot to anywhere in Bataan and Cavite ranging up to 29,000 meters vertical range. And since it was right at the mouth of Manila Bay, it was the main defense of Manila Bay.





The end of our tour was the Malinta Experience. The sound and light show inside Malinta Tunnel. The tunnel served as a bombproof shelter and a path through the hill. During the bombing, the tunnel remained intact. The tunnel sheltered most everyone during the bombing of Corregidor. The reason why it is now ruined is because, during the retaking of Corregidor, the Japanese blew themselves inside the tunnel creating a massive explosion crumbling most of the tunnel and even destroying and American tank in the process.

Below are some pictures taken. Thanks to my sister, Aimeem for some of the pics.





Other places we visited were the Pacific War Memorial, the Eternal Flame of Freedom, a really nice piece of art and the Spanish lighthouse.