Which is better, Kapurpurawan or Biri?

To that person who googled "which is better, Kapurpurawan or Biri" and got to my blog, let me make it clear for you – BIRI ISLAND IS BETTER!—
R. Luis Flores (@liquiddruid) May 27, 2012

The context obviously is on which place has the better rock formations.

What’s the name of this mountain?

Can anyone help me find out what the name of this mountain is?  This is the first mountain I’ve ever climbed but I don’t remember its name.  All I remember is that it’s located near the town of Jalajala, Rizal and is in close proximity to Laguna de Bay.  It’s about the same height as Mt. Batulao or shorter.  Much of the base and the middle part is forested but the top part is pure grassland.

Slideshow: Pahiyas 2010

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Today, May 15, is the feast of San Isidro Labrador, the patron saint of many Catholic communities in the Philippines and no doubt, a lot of fiestas are currently being held in his honor.  It is however the annual celebrations in the town of Lucban, in the province of Quezon, which has gained renown for having the biggest and most colorful fiestas on this particular feast day.  This is the called the “Pahiyas”, where every year, houses lining the parade route are decorated with the freshest harvest of vegetables and other crops.

I had the chance to visit, witness and experience the Pahiyas back in 2010.  Here’s a slideshow of pictures I took on that day.

Preview: A different kind of backpack

For my first trip of 2012, I joined HLGG for a weekend day hike to Mt. Batulao last January.  That was my 3rd Mt. Batulao climb and I thought I already knew the typical Batulao crowd until I came across that Japanese woman below.

Hardcore Mountaineering Mama from Liquid Druid on Vimeo.

“Nakatulong ka na, nakagala ka pa.”, part 3

One plank and two beached whales. (Photo courtesy of Ivan De Castro)

Lying down in a small tent without a makeshift pillow and with very little cushioning was quite uncomfortable, and I don’t think I would have been able to sleep if I wasn’t tired from the previous days activities.  I woke up ahead of all the others with a very painful back, making the act of sitting up excruciatingly painful.  I afterwards spent some time just soaking up the pre-dawn silence before the next person awoke.

“Nakatulong ka na, nakagala ka pa.”, part 2

The gift-giving activity only lasted until mid-morning.  After exchanging farewell pleasantries with some of the older scholars, we then prepared for the climb.  The skies looked like it was going to rain soon, so it was settled that we would not go camping at Mt. Malindig.  Instead we would just spend the night at the foundation’s premises later, once we’ve descended the mountain.

“Nakatulong ka na, nakagala ka pa.”, part 1

Returning to Marinduque wasn’t really in my plans for 2011, even though I thoroughly enjoyed my visit during the Holy Week of 2010 (Moriones and all.)  What made me accept the invitation of my friend Madz Crisostomo to return to Marinduque is the prospect of doing some charity activity while traveling.  This is something that I’ve never done before, but which I was very much interested in doing.

A Heritage Tour of Butuan

(photo courtesy of Gwen Librodo)

Butuan has gotten a raw deal from our group.  We’ve used it as a home base of sorts, having gone to this city 3 times in the past 5 days of our northeastern Mindanao swing, yet we’ve never really treated it as more than a jump-off point going to other destinations.  On the penultimate day of our tour, we decided to at least give Butuan the attention and appreciation it deserves.

Slideshow: Mt. Pulag (2010)

Since my friends Fung and Teri posted photos of their recent Mt. Pulag climbs, this got me a bit envious because I’ve always planned on making a return climb to that mountain and once again conquering its summit.  It’s one of the most exhilarating experiences one can have that’s quite doable and accessible even for non-mountaineers.  Here are photos of my climb last May 22-23, 2010.

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An Afternoon in Hinatuan

The municipality of Hinatuan in Surigao del Sur is located north of the city of Bislig.  Like most of the province, it is a coastal municipality but with large areas of forest cover and mountainous terrain.  The only reason why we intended to go here was the Hinatuan Enchanted River.  It is, quite frankly, the only thing that Hinatuan is known for as far as I can tell.  But as we later found out, Hinatuan had other things to offer.