Mt Pinatubo : A Seductive Beauty after the Horrible Destruction
Cristina Fajardo (aka Clue)
Tagged as the disastrous "Sleeping Giant" after its extremely furious eruption in 1991 that killed hundreds of people and destroyed thousand kilometers of mountain ranges, virgin forests, rivers, plains, valleys, and properties, Mt Pinatubo has turned out to be a very charming pearl that came out from its clam shell. I was in my grade school when Mt Pinatubo erupted and I didn't even know by that time that an eruption ever did occur until I was required to read archived volcanic reports for my geology subject. That's how deep my social awareness had been, ironically! I had watched several local films documenting the outburst. When I first saw the video that showed how the thick ashes almost covered the sky and a mudflow of volcanic fragments just went crazy, I imagined a worst aftermath. There must be nothing left but a distorted, rocky, flooded area, just like a badly wounded face after a car accident. An old, beautiful shape of a mountain must have been gone.
Note: if you have not seen an explosion video of Mt Pinatubo, you may watch this:
So, when I heard of Mt Pinatubo in my earlier age, all I could think of is an awful devastation - families who were buried alive during the eruption, farms and other livelihood that were lost, etc.
And then the next thing I knew is that, Mt Pinatubo which is located in Capas, Tarlac, North of the Phillipines, has been considered as one of the top spots for tourism. How could that even be possible? I wondered and that curiosity got me. I must see it myself.
After several attempts of planning a trip to Mt Pinatubo, I finally got my chance last year. I joined Tripinas, a local tour organizer, in one of its trips. It was November 12, 2012 when I'd seen Pinatubo the first time, and it is indeed a wonderful tour destination in Philippines. There were tens or maybe a hundred of people in the tour, and most of them were foreigners. What I like the most is an awesome experience to swim in the crater. Wow! That was so heart pounding!
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| The Crater lake: Me and a German lady I had chit chat with on the van that brought us to Capas |
So when Gord, my BF, heard of Mt Pinatubo, he got interested in it and the idea of being able to swim in a crater made him more excited. That's going to be a new experience for him. Thus, I planned for the trip and worked on the itinerary. I thought of joining Tripinas for the second time. Inclusive of its package is registration and guide fees, rental fee of the 4x4 vehicle, and a round-trip van transfer from Manila to Capas, Tarlac where Pinatubo is located. Hence, that would be very convenient and cheaper to join. Unfortunately, due to a conflict on our schedule, joining a public tour with Tripinas couldn't be possible. We were available on weekdays but the organizer does hold its tour on Saturdays. We had other trips booked already and so it would not be possible to make some changes without paying extra fees, and I don't like paying extra as much as I could. In order for the trip to push through, I had to organize it myself. I searched on facebook for Pinatubo tour and I found Kuya Mer's page. Kuya Mer is an owner/driver of a 4x4 vehicle in Capas and it's his business to bring tourists to Mt Pinatubo. I got his contact # and phoned him.
The Negotiation Process
The first time I went to Pinatubo, the so - called "Skyway" was not passable after it was washed out by the typhoon Ondoy, and so I, together with other tourists, had to trek 7 kms to reach the crater lake. Our tour guide said it's only a two-hour walk but since it was really hot and crowded that time, it took me less than 3 hours to reach the crater.
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| Nov 12, 2012: the 2-hour trek just started |
Right now, it takes only about 15-30 mins to reach the crater. The tourism and the local government office of Capas, Tarlac created a diversion, removed the gigantic rocks that could block vehicles, and this makes the 4x4 vehicle able to get through the rocky canyon part, all the way to the waiting shed. Shortened duration of trek means additional cost for the 4x4 rental fee. Operators used to charge 3000 pesos for the rental fee and that's good for 6 persons. Now, the rental fee is 3500 pesos which for me is still a good and reasonable fee for a more convenient trip. At least you wouldn't have to walk for 2-3 hours just to get to the destination. So, that's not bad at all.
Then I booked the trip. While negotiating for the actual cost with Kuya Mer, I took advantage of the opportunity while I had him on the phone. I asked him of the details on how to get to Capas from Manila and from Capas to the jump-off point. There are buses in Cubao and Pasay terminal that have regular trips to Ilocos or Cagayan or Baguio and they pass through Capas, Tarlac. I knew some like Partas, Dominion and Victory Liner. From the passengers' drop off point, in McDonald's Capas branch, one option to get to the tourism is via trike for 300 pesos and that's for an hour ride. Another option is to hire a jeep. Kuya Mer has jeepney service too at a regular rental rate of 1500 pesos. I can ride a trike at my convenience for an hour or so but my BF won't. Nah, I don't think he could. He's a big guy and trikes here are designed for an average Filipino people so I don't think he would feel comfy getting stuck inside it and I'm not even sure if road would be rough or smooth. Hence, I decided to engage Kuya Mer's jeepney service to bring us back and forth from Capas Mcdonald's to the jump-off point. As there were only two of us in the trip, I asked for a discounted rate and Kuya Mer agreed to 1000 pesos rental fee. That's the lowest he could give.
Closed deal! Gord and I were both excited for the Pinatubo trip. It was set on Monday, March 4th of this year. We packed up and made some groceries to make sure we have gatorade, water and food trail. Night before the scheduled trip, Kuya Mer sent me a message saying that tour to Mt Pinatubo was temporarily cancelled due to a dispute between the tourism office and the Aeta, the indigenous people who are said to be the rightful owner of Mt Pinatubo. The Aeta were not getting any share from the tourism so they blocked all the passageways and roads to Mt Pinatubo until payment of royalty due is made. Oh no! That was not good. We're both excited and here came the bad news. Tour resumed after a week so we had no choice but to make adjustments. We decided to have it on the 13th of March instead.
The Actual Tour: March 13th of 2013
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| Dominion Bus |
Kuya Mer informed me of the reason why we have to show up at 6:00AM. He said there is a cut-off time at the tourism office. At 7:00AM, the office closes its registration so if we would be late, that would mean no tour until the next day. Then I remember when I joined tripinas, we were also told that we had to reach the jump off by 6:00AM. I didn't know that time it has something to do with the cut-off time. I thought it was because of the sunlight exposure. With clear understanding of the cut-off policy, Gord and I made sure not to miss the 3:00AM bus trip. We reached Dominion bus terminal in Cubao quarter to 3:00 in the morning but the bus left at 3:30 AM. I anticipated being late by 30 minutes. Thinking it's better to notify the tour guide and contact person, I sent Kuya Mer a text informing him of the bus schedule.
As I didn't even know where Capas is, I asked the driver to drop us off at Mcdonald's branch in Capas, Tarlac. Staff of Dominion Bus Line were so kind. Gord and I both fell asleep while on board the bus, and few minutes before reaching Mcdonald's, the assistant (conductor) approached me and carefully woke me up. I heard him said "Ma'am, baba na po kayo!". Oh wow! He's courteous enough to wake me up. I checked my phone for the time and it was 5:15 AM when we reached McDonald's.
As agreed, Kuya Mer's brother would pick us up at McDonald's. I got his number so I called him while Gord went inside the fast food. Kuya Mer's brother gave us few minutes to get something to eat and dine out.
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| The jeepney :) |
From McDonald's, it took us about 45 minutes to reach the tourism office at Barangay Sta Juliana. The last time I got there in November last year, there was no concrete tourism office yet that was built, or maybe I just didn't notice it before. Kuya Mer approached me and Gord and introduced himself. He's very kind and polite guy.
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| Kuya Mer and his 4x4 |
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| The tourism |
The tourism office was closed when we got there. I thought we were early but Kuya Mer said we just came in on time. It was the tourism staff who were late :) To kill the time, Gord walked around and read all the postings and advisories outside the tourism building.
To my surprise, there's an advisory that says swimming at the crater lake is no longer allowed until further notice. I wasn't aware of it! Just last year I swam at the crater together with other tourists. I looked for Kuya Mer to inquire more and he said one tourist was seen unconscious while in the crater lake and so the Phivolcs or the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology made some tests on the water at the crater and found out that it contains chemicals that can damage health. A prohibition against swimming at the crater is now in effect. Oh boy! I hope the water was safe when I did swim last year!
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| The Advisory |
So sad but we had to comply with the advisory.
Few more minutes of waiting and the tourism staff finally came in. Kuya Mer handed me a piece of paper and log book where I had to put our names on it for the registration. There's a waiver form that needed to be signed in too.
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| Gord signing the waiver |
After paying all the required fees, we were all set and ready for the tour. I knew that was going to be a nice trip in a very fine and friendly weather.
What I like about this tour is less trek. I no longer had to walk for 2-3 hours, though I missed doing several river crossings like the first time.
Kuya Mer stopped his vehicle for awhile for some site seeing and picture taking which I like to do:
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| Gord with other tourists |
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| Cute Aeta kids |
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| Gord with the cutie Aeta |
I'm not sure how many hours we spent on the 4x4 vehicle but it was long enough, long but not boring cuz along the way we'd seen different rock formations, the incredible shapes formed after the eruption and the like.
After a bumpy and shaky drive with the 4x4, we finally reached the waiting shed. This is where the vehicles could not go beyond this point as there are no roads going to the top.
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| I though they were kids but our Guide Kuya Rudy said they are aged 20s. They are being hired as local guards by the tourism office for the safety of the guests/tourists. |
This is where the 15-30 minutes trek begins. I would say 30 minutes cuz if you have a camera with you, you can't resist the temptation of photography :) so basically that includes several stops for picture taking.
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| Gord and Rudy - our guide |
The trek starts with an entry to the forest. Trail is rocky so we really had to be very careful, we better do otherwise we might lose balance and fall off.
There are warning signs and I think that help a lot to caution the tourists.
Few minutes more and we reached the Pinatubo Crater Lake:
To get closer to the crater, we went down to its bed. We were the first batch to arrive on that day.
A hut where guests can have lunch or have some rest
A friendly dog. I don't know who owns this dog but it was at the guests' hut
The Best Crater Lake I had ever seen!
When we reached the crater bed, I saw an amazed person in my bf's face. He's finally at the crater!
The weather was so good. Blue sky was what covered the mountain, unlike the first time I went there, it was cloudy. So I guess, March to May are the best months to visit Pinatubo. Excited as he seemed to be, Gord changed his shorts as he wanted to swim in the crater lake, though he knew of the risk. Our guide, however, didn't allow us and said he might get suspended if we would insist. I could feel the disappointment.
Since swimming is strictly prohibited, sun bathing would be the next option then :), together with other things like picture taking and rock balancing.
Other photos:
Mt Pinatubo might be destructive decades ago but if we look at how beautiful it looks now, it's very stunning! This made me believe that not all bad things lead to complete destruction. Some bad things or catastrophes may also result to something amazing, something wonderful!
If you would want to plan your trip and see the majestic beauty of Mt Pinatubo, here's a sample itinerary and expenses that may help you:
NOTES:
> Dominion Bus charges P144.00 per head - Manila to Capas destination.
> You can also ride a tricycle from McDonald's to Jump-Off for 300 pesos, maximum # of passengers is 3; then another 300 pesos to go back.
> If you are travelling by group, you may hire Kuya Mer's Jeep service for 1,500 and that's for 15-20 people.
> The 4x4 rental fee of P3,500 pesos is good for 6 pax
For more information, you may also contact Kuya Mer at
+63-930-540-8399 or message him on facebook
Mt Pinatubo is truly amazing. You might want to see it too!
You may also click here for Marion Erika's Mt Pinatubo write up
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