15-Mt Pinatubo

A fellow AYAD, Meagan, has been working in an NGO in Manila for the past 12 months assisting in setting up their Human Resource Management systems (a similar role to my housemate Aruna). Her placement has come to an end and she is heading back to Australia, but to ensure she went out with a bang she organised a fantastic ‘despedida’ weekend. About 20 people joined in – mostly AYAD’s but also a couple of US Peace Corp volunteers, a couple of European volunteers and a Canadian volunteer. Aruna and I flew up to Manila on Friday night conveniently only a 1 hour flight. We were reminded how grateful we are to be based in Bacolod though when it then took us 3 hours to get across Manila to Meagan’s place where we stayed for the night.

On Saturday morning we all headed for a permaculture farm established and run by a Belgian guy 90km north of Manila. We had a tour of the farm and an introduction to the principles of permaculture which I found particularly appropriate for the work we’re doing in GK. And ironically, it is a system developed by a couple of Australian’s! The best part was walking barefoot through the rice fields, mud squelching between our toes! They cooked up a delicious meal of farm produce and we settled into the bamboo farmhouse for a night of Karaoke.

We were up bright and early Sunday morning (6am) for the highlight of the weekend – climbing the famous Mt. Pinatubo Volcano. Mt Pinatubo last erupted in 1991. At that time the slopes and foothills was home to some 30,000 indigenous Aeta people who had fled there to escape the Spanish in 1565. In April and May of 1991 they had to evacuate to the lowlands to flee the imminent eruption. More that 8000 homes were destroyed and a further 73,000 damaged. The ash in the atmosphere produced spectacular sunsets around the world for several months. Looking at the landscape now, it is hard to believe it was once covered in a dense jungle, scattered villages and rice fields.

In true Filipino style, the journey was an adventure, but when we eventually got there it was all worth it. We got away from the farm an hour later than planned because we were waiting for the jeepney Meagan had hired which we hadn’t realised had been sitting out the front for the past hour. Part way into the drive it became evident that the driver didn’t actually know how to get to the tourist office at the base of Mt Pinatubo. But after stopping to ask directions from several bystanders, we finally reached the place. From here you can hire guides for the walk. It was at this point we were told that due to a typhoon that ripped through recently, the track had been damaged and it was necessary to take a different route. So what is normally a 1.5hr return walk just became a 5hour return walk! But we’d come this far, there was no way we were turning back now! So we all piled in the 4WD’s for the 1 hour drive across the surreal and rugged volcanic landscape to the start of the walk. On the way, one of the 4WD’s broke down and after some deliberation, the passengers squashed into the other 3 vehicles while the driver remained behind to fix the broken one.

We commenced the walk at 12.30, at the height of the sun, on limited sleep, no lunch and only a few bottles of water between us. What were we thinking? But luckily, the temperature was very pleasant, the track was shaded by the steep ash deposits and everyone put mind over matter to enjoy the adventure. The track follows the river the whole way, requiring constant crossing and re-crossing through the refreshing and often knee deep water. In contrast to my expectations, it wasn’t actually steep – it was a gradual ascent all the way. That is, until the very end where there is a short steep section. On reaching the top of this short steep section, you are looking down into the crater and its breathtaking aqua blue lake.

The lake gets its surreal colour from the high mineral content and it feels kind of soapy to swim in. After a brief swim, we re-traced our steps to the awaiting 4WD’s. We were doing the last section of the walk in the dark aiming for the light of the fire the driver of the broken vehicle (now fixed) had lit. The drive back to the tourist office was taken cautiously in the dark across the rugged terrain but this time, one of the other vehicles broke down and again the passengers squashed into the other 3. Back at the tourist office the tables were spread with rice, vegetable dishes, chicken dishes and noodles and I can safely say it was the best meal we’d ever had!

Amazingly our trip back to Manila (jeepney then bus then taxi’s) after dinner was relatively smooth! We arrived at Meagan’s place exhausted but happy just after 11pm. Aruna and I were glad we’d had the foresight to change our return flight from Sunday night to Monday morning. Given our experience getting to Meagans on Friday night we got up at 5am to be on the safe side, but of course, it only took half an hour to get to the airport this time! At least that gave us time before our flight for some airport coffee’s to wake us up for a day at work once we arrived back in Bacolod! What a weekend!