Sanchez Peak

A baby trek according to the pros but this definitely was one of the adventures of my life. My friends and I took the 3-hour trail from Brgy. Olympog to the highest spot in General Santos City. We were armed with 3 plastic bags of food, a liter of water for each, two tents, a trekking stick we picked up along the way, and Fres candies with such motivational words. Those words helped. Really!

For a non sporty human being, the trek was a challenge for me. A month of jogging and leg exercise kept me alive. It was no joke but the view was all worth the pains. We started at 3 pm and reached the top shortly after the sunset then set up the tents. We woke up at 6 am (but it's best to wake up at 5) to see and savor the amazing view of mountain ranges.

MSU Travelbugs we are!

To wake up to this beauty. How great is Thou art!

We are on top of the world!!!

Probably the steepest part of the trail. Thus, the hardest.

Overwhelmed!

Almost there!

View from the peak at sunrise.
Mt. Matutum is hiding behind the clouds.

Just yesterday we were there.

Let us dance the day away.

Breathing in the serenity.

Worshipping Thy wonderful works

We are such a tiny part of this world.

I was here.

Take a walk and enjoy the path.

We made it. Hurray!

My favorite photo. Surreal!

Magnificent Gensan city lights at night.

It is time to go home.

First-timer tips:

1. It is better to take the Olympog trail because of the existence of several trees that will shelter you from the sun. :)

2. You won't really need too much food. There is a small sari-sari store at the peak for some midnight snacking. Bring extra water instead if you have a sensitive stomach. The store does not sell bottled water.

3. Keep yourself warm. It is cold and windy at night until dawn.

4. If you are not a sporty person like me, give your legs and lungs a little warm up days before the trek.

5. No proper restroom. Ooopps. The store sells water for washing for Php 40 per gallon.

6. Enjoy the journey. Do not rush in making it to the top. It really is the journey, not too much of the destination. :)

P.S. I hope the local government will help take care of this beauty. 

Have an exciting climb friends! 

MSU Travelbugs

Our travel barkada just got more awesome with the addition of three new members. Trips have never been so much fun and exciting but this post is not about another getaway. This is a photo diary of that one random night of craziness and seriousness caught on cam. Enjoy!

P.S. Say hello to my short hair, the shortest I've ever gone. :)

Jubilant January

They say that how you spend the first days of your year is very important because it determines how you might spend the remainder of your year. I don't know if that is true but I'd like to be believe it is. I went for a mini out of town trip hoping that this year, I will be spending more time out of my hometown. Hihi. Redundancy alert!

I love waiting for the sunrise. I love sunrises more than sunsets. I am rare, you know. :) When sunsets are said to be for hope, sunrises are for  new beginnings and there is something so fascinating about beginning again. 

My January in one word is FRIENDSHIPS. I am blessed with such loving, thoughtful and funny friends. How awesome it is to be reunited with wonderful friends from the best high school years. More than a decade! Just wow!

I think it is cool when a barkada has a name. Batang '90s we are! We are a generation of boy bands and girl groups so I think a barkada name is a must-have. I have a girl group called Healthy Babies and a "boy band" called Pugad Baboy. 

Lunch Date with HB

Our conversations have evolved from puberty concerns and broken hearts to mommyhood and fulfilled dreams.  I am inspired by the lives of these beautiful women. 

We also gave Rhea, the balik-bayan, a midnight harana for her 30th birthday. So glad it turned out to be successful after all the bloopers which even required a 2-minute rule to pacify us all. We are all turning 30 this year!!! Yay!

These old photos from Rhea's baul make my heart melt. I love old photos. These unfiltered treasure give me magical feelings. We love bihon and pandesal from Canteen A. We like having 2 meat breads in Kimball Plaza. We hang out at Home Radio. We go swimming at Lagare Spring Resort and Maharlika Extension. Good ol' days!

All Kinds of Trippin' with Pugad

We visited a relatively new place in Gensan, The Peak. Love their broiled chicken!

Our water tubing trip in Maitum started with an unplanned surprise visit at our City High beloved. So many changes in the school, including its name. From General Santos City High School, it is now General Santos City National High School. Kakaproud!

Photos by Bents and Edgar

We stop by anywhere we like stopping by or actually, anywhere our driver Borj commands. It was a martial law kind of roadtrip. Haha!

My dream shots in one frame! Oh, Maasim you've been so sweet! :)

Next stop is Kiamba. I have been to Kiamba several times. It is one of my favorite destinations on my city escapes. The place is so peaceful and clean. I will never get enough of it. 

It is my first time in Maitum. People are so warm. They make us feel like real tourists. :) We drop by a mini museum located in the Municipal Hall. I love museums! I hope to visit Gensan's. Does it have one?

We also went to a Pawikan Nesting Sanctuary but we were a month earlier from the release of the baby turtles to the sea.  We mingled with the locals instead. We got a little peek at making Maitum's famous dried bangsi (flying fish). It's one of my favorites!

The children got some lessons on posing wacky and using GoPro from Borj. This was fun!

Water tubing in Pangi River at Maitum, Sarangani Province was incredible! It didn't feel as life-threatening as the white water rafting in CDO so I enjoyed it a lot. Bitin! 15-20 minutes of this kind of fun isn't enough. For the first time ever, my kinda adventurous self was screaming for more. I will really be back, Maitum!

I was supposed to write that the highlight of that day was the water tubing but I was brought back to the non-activity moments. The singing and dancing was a blast with an impressive playlist of Bent's sister, amazing voices and energy of Luv and Borj, and a not so special participation of Bents and Guimo. Our favorites were All About That Bass, Fireball, MMMBop, Bring It All Back, Stop. The 5-word storytelling game, whatever category - love story, suspense or hardcore drama, always ended up a comedy. The countless crazy side-trips were exciting. We met 7am and reached our main destination at 2pm! Thanks to our tour guide, Edgar. The no-napping rule was memorable for me. Fifteen hours of roadtrip were all for belly laughs, songs, dances, stories, craziness. We lived by the words: It is not the destination but the journey.

New Hairstyle

Cut my hair really short and had it colored for the first time evah! Not so happy with it though so I am not posting a photo here. Hihi.

Now, on to the next chapter of this year. Hello Love month!