Mt. Buntis | Hiking Up the Historical Mountain

"What will be overlooked again is that our textbooks do not agree on the site of the execution of the Bonifacio brothers. Some books, following tradition, say they were executed on Mt. Buntis; others, towing the official line, say Mt. Nagpatong. I have no clear answer except that they were buried somewhere in this mountain range." (Ambeth Ocampo, 2004)

So where exactly were the Bonifacio brothers executed on the 10th of May 1897? Whether it took place on Mt. Buntis or Mt. Nagpatong, no one really knows, it's an important piece of history lost in time.

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Last April 3, 2012, I together with PKP visited one of the two mountains mentioned in many history books. Mt. Buntis, as rated by PinoyMountaineer, is an easy 1/9 dayhike which can be summited in less than 2 hours.

From Plaza Lawton, we took a bus bound for Naic and told the bus conductor to drop us at Maragondon (fare was P89.00 and travel time was about an hour and 30 minutes). By 06:00 AM, we were already at Maragondond, we alighted somewhere on a highway where there were tricycles waiting for passengers. Then we traveled again by trike (P10/head) to the main jump-off at Caingin Hanging Bridge.

Caingin Hanging Bridge

Our trek to Mt. Buntis officially started at 06:15 AM when we crossed Maragondon River (imbento ko lang yang pangalan, hindi ko kasi alam pangalan ng river na yun) via the Caingin Hanging Bridge. Since none of us have been to Mt. Buntis before, we just relied on the directions given to us by the friendly locals we met along the way.

like all other hanging birdges, we were shaking while crossing - it was fun

In less than an hour, we walked across a flat field of rice, crossed several shallow streams and trekked a not-so-dense forest. At first, we were in doubt if we were still hiking the right trail, but upon reaching the foot of Mt. Buntis at around 07:15, ahh, nakahinga kami ng maluwag. Only then we encountered an ascending trail.

we had long walks across a flat rice field
petiks hike lang ulit

we just followed the path between the fences

we also crossed streams of water
meron pa ngang naliligong kalabaw diyan sa gilid, hindi lang kita

Actually, Mt. Buntis is more like a hill than a mountain. Rising for only about 100+ meters above sea level, we reached its summit from its foot in no more than 15 minutes.

even the ascent wasn't so much a challenge

Nearby mountains, cliffs and forests as well as a faded view of the Mariveles Mountain Range are the scenes we saw from the summit of Mt. Buntis. Grazing cattle are also found at the summit, so cattle poops are common in the area.

 Mariveles Range seen from the summit of Mt. Buntis

us at the summit

We spent only about 40 minutes at the summit of Mt. Buntis. After resting and posing for some photo opportunities, our business with Mt. Buntis was over.

We then had a side trip to Bonifacio Shrine in Nagpatong, as well as a heritage tour around Maragondon Town. 

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After hiking up this fairly easy mountain, we did sidetrips to Maragondon Town and Malibiclibic Falls

Mt. Batulao | An Unexpected Dayhike on April Fools Day

We planned a traverse dayhike at Mt. Arayat, but on the eve of our climb, we changed it to Mt. Natib. In less than an hour, we again changed it to Pico de Loro. On the day of our climb, instead of climbing the Parrot's beak, we unexpectedly ended up climbing Mt. Batulao.

For the fourth time, I climbed with Dane, Agnes and Ron of Tramping Philippines. You may check their version of this story on their post: Mt. Batulao-Tagatay | The April Fools Climb.

Regatta Escape to Luxury

Who would not want a luxury trip to Shangri-la Mactan this summer? Win it by simply joining Regatta's grandest and most luxurious treat with Regatta Escape to Luxury Raffle Promo. All you have to do is to purchase P1,000 worth of Regatta items and register on Facebook.

Viaje Camarines Norte | Preview Post

It was indeed an awesome three-day trip in the province of Camarines Norte. We were able to beach bum on the famous Mahabang Buhangin Beach of Calaguas Island, surfed on the waves of Bagasbas Beach, visited Daet's Rizal Monument, and posed on the cascading waters of Malatap Falls.

| Viaje Camarines Norte is the second out-of-town trip organized by Batang Lakwatsero himself. He would like to thank all who participated in this another successful and memorable adventure.

For the meantime, here are some photos of our recent escape to CamNor. Detailed posts will soon follow.

Dragon Boat Paddling For Me

People close to me knows that I don't play any ballgames, I can't bike, and I can't swim. For short, sports is definitely not for me. But I'm not saying that my doors will be forever closed to learning these cool stuff. More than three months ago, I tried  mountaineering and I surely fell in love with it - outdoor sports truly fits my liking. 

Then just last Tuesday, I was again introduced to another fun sports (thanks Mam Matet) which is dragon boat paddling. I've been training for two days with the Rowers Club Philippines (RCP), and I'm telling you, it's a lot harder than what I first thought.

Rowing is a fun sports

Mt. Cristobal | A Failed Traverse

It's hopeless, we're beaten I know. The rain poured harder and the wind blew stronger, as if we were damned by the heavens. Our situation tells us not to go any further beyond the summit of Mt. Cristobal for it can only make things worse. We were left with no other choice but to trek back to where we started.

The date was March 26, 2012, it was supposedly a Mt. Cristobal Traverse dayhike from Dolores, Quezon to Nagcarlan, Laguna but our plan was ruined by an unexpected harsh weather condition.

Mabuhay Aliwan Fiesta 2012

Am I still hearing those drum beats? Yikes, the much awaited street dance performances of the best fiestas from different parts of the country happened again yesterday from Quirino Grandstand to Aliw Theater. It was again a wonderful showcase of different cultures, devotion, history and products. Thanks to Aliwan Fiesta for bringing our country's best festivals into one big event.

Dreaming The Extremes | My Dream Destinations in the Philippines

Ask me where my dream destination in the Philippines is and you'll find it in its extremes. To climb the highest, to dive the deepest, and to reach the farthest spots in the Philippines remain as my biggest dream explorations in the country.

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Mt. Ugo | Conquering My First Cordillera Mountain

It was a big leap for me... after conquering several Southern-Tagalog Mountains, I headed north to experience my first Cordillera mountain.  

On this splendid Mt. Ugo 2-day traverse from Nueva Vizcaya to Benguet, not only did we trek through a seemingly non-ending pine forest trail and savor a view of sea of clouds, we also got a chance to view Luzon's three highest peaks (aka Luzon 3-2-1) from its summit.

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Day 1 - March 17, 2012

Kayapa at last, after a long butt-numbing ride from Manila - six long hours spent on the bus and another one hour on a chartered jeep - we reached this quaint town in Nueva Vizcaya (perstaym ko makaapak sa Nueva Vizcaya, ito ang pang-22nd province ko).

the jump-off for the 2-day climb.