from the adventure-glutton mind of Ciel who is the culprit of the Pico the Loro trip had once again had fed our cravings for adventure. this time in the Biak na Bato National Park in San Miguel Bulacan. we arrived at the site of the park and we are welcomed by the Madlum river. we asked around the place so we can register ourselves, a shabby yet polite elder said that the registration is in the other side of the river. we almost chorus together saying "on the other side?!", the elder said the we can cross the cable bridge which is the fastest way or we can walk a bit around and cross the river on the part where the water is shallow. eager to start up, we decided to cross the cable bridge. the cable bridge is... well a bridge made of two parallel cables suspended across the river. you'll basically walk on one cable and have your hands hold the other cable on top of you, its like the stuff you in a circus, good thing it was tightly suspended so it didn't shake up much while crossing it but still it was no joke.
we headed to the station where we registered and have a guide for the trek and hike to Mt. Monalmon which is mang Dondi who has been a guide fro the past 12 years. he proudly tells a lot of stories while we passed through the Madlum cave where it was said to be the place where a golden image or statue (not sure exactly what is is) of Arch Angel Michael / San Miguel was found back in 1600, hence the municipality got its name. it was actually an easy trek, the only excruciating on it is the scorching sun, it was almost high noon and it was a cloudless sky and theres not much high trees to cover the trail, only grasses and wild bushes. we finally got to the camp site after an hour and had lunch, the campsite is right beside a huge boulder of rock which is actually the peak of Mt. Manalmon. at the top of the peak a great view of the whole area of the park and the second peak on the area which is Mt. Gola, we're supposed to climb Mt. Gola but we have to budget our time so decided to go down and set for the next acitivity.
we had a small break when we arrived at the station after the trek, freshen up a bit and had halo-halo with yema on top instead of the usual leche flan. our guide said we will be having a different guide which turns out to be his father mang Tonying, an shabby old man on his 70s. we started on a trek on a hill where Bayukbok caves are located, it was a rocky hill, the boulders of rocks are sharp so it was a good thing that i didn't wore my good old vans snickers or else it will face its untimely retirement. there is a slight breeze and the temperature is cooler inside the cave, i even felt sleepy waiting on the mouth of the cave while mang Tonying set up the ropes that we'll gonna need inside the cave but like the saying goes; "theres calmness before the storm". the moment that mang Tonying announces the entry of the cave, we knew that it was no joke, it was crazy inside. i cant even imagine who we were able to got out of the cave, but of course it was through the effort of mang Tonying. we decided to end our day with a zip-line crossing the river back where we started even if it's almost dark, good thing that the guys who were assigned on the zip-line didn't made a fuss when we asked then to set up the zip line. it was a hefty day. my physical body is in pain but my soul is in bliss.
Trip expense report:
Bus fare from Cubao to Kamias, San Miguel Bulacan - P114.00
Tricycle fare from highway to Madlum - P50.00
Registration fee - P5.00
Trekking guide fee - P300.00/5 pax = P60.00
Spelunking guide fee - P150/5 pax = P30.00
Zip line fee - P50.00
Tricycle fare from Madlum to highway - P50.00
Bus fare from Kamias to Ortigas - P119.00
Total : P478.00* per person
*Food, gratuities, and other incidental expenses not included.
Actual itinerary:
0600-620 Meet up time (FIVE STAR BUS STATION, CUBAO)
0640 Departure for SAN MIGUEL, BULACAN
0850 Arrival in Brgy. KAMIAS, San Miguel, Bulacan
0900 Departure for jump off point
0930 Arrival at jump off point (Barangay Madlum)
0940 Monkey cable crossing (two-rope bridge crossing)/photo ops time
1020 Registration
1030 Start of trek to Mt. Manalmon
1115 Arrival at Mt. Manalmon summit basecamp / lunch time
1145 Summit assault/photo ops
1230 Start of descent
1330 Arrival at jump off point / rest / halo-halo time
1430 Start of trek to Bayukbok Cave
1500 Arrival at Bayukbok Cave / start of spelunking
1630 Start of trek back to jump-off point
1700 Arrival at jump off point / free time for swimming
1730 Wash-up time
1800 Zipline time
1900 Departure for bus stop
1930 Arrival at Kamias ES Transport Bus Stop
2010 Departure for Manila
2210 Arrival in Ortigas
05/15/11
