It is considered a mystical mountain, the legendary home of the fairy godmother Mariang Sinukuan, and was once believed to contain a wealth of fruit.
From L-R: Topey, Norinee, Lakay Ed, Me, my Wife, Ariel, Tey Tey, Theng, Allan. The two guys below are Van Van and James. Ajay and Robert were not able to join us in the picture.--------------------------------------------
"Arayat Adventure"
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After a week of preparation we were able to finalize the climb and we have decided to climb Mt. Arayat. This mountain is one of the highest mountain in Central Luzon. Everyone is so excited because this will be their first climb . Everyone is mentally and Physically prepared. The next day we met at Nepo Mart around 4:30, because our departure time is 5:00 am. We pass thru Mc-Arthur Hiway, Sindalan, Dolores San Fernando, then we turned left and bound to Mexico Pampanga. We arrived at Banio Mexico around 6:00 am and that is where our starting point. We met our Guide there.
All in all we are 13. After we rested for a couple of minutes I have informed my co-mountaineers to check again their Back packs before we climb and see to it that we will not miss something. We also checked our list of items to make sure that we have all the essentials we need. All shouted clear, after a roll call of the listed items we prayed to ask for guidance and to have a safe trip.
Along the way we pass thru a big Tamarind tree, earlier our guide told us that we will be passing that tree and he mentioned that a Kapre lives there, he also told as that before we pass the tree we must say "makikiraan po" to show our respect and so that the entity that lives there will know that someone is passing by.
So we did. Wala na man mawawala, then as we go along we pass on a pile of big rocks, they said that these rocks was put there by a Giant and this Giant is the admirer of Maria Sinukuan. I don't know the exact story why the Giant put those rocks there. Maria Sinukan is the Goddess(Enkantada) that lives in Mt. Arayat.
The surrounding is so calm and you can feel the cold air on the place. What I have noticed is I didn't see any bird or hear them humming. They said that the place is mysterious and I agree with that. We reach the camp site past 12:00 pm. Would you imagine we took 6 hours to reach the camp site. We all look tired but it's worth it once you reach the camp site for you will see the great views that awaits you on top and you will also see the entire Province of Pampaga, Bulacan and Cabanatuan. It's like a canvas panting up there.
You will also see the pampanga river that shape like a snake that passes through mountains. The camp site is small compared to other mountain's camp site. I think you can only put around 7 to 8 tents there and no water source. After a couple of minutes we begun building our tents, each tent can contain 3 to 4 person and we brought 4 tents. While we are building our tents others are preparing food, we ate past 2:00 pm because we waited for the rice to be cooked.
Then after we ate, we took some rest while others are asleep and playing cards. Then after that we went to the side of the mountain to see the view, the view is so amazing that even a money cannot buy. It's a fulfillment on my part that I was able to climb and conquer that mountain and stayed there overnight. This is a rare experience isn't?
The next day we all woke up around 4:30 am, we prepared our food and we ate our breakfast around 5:30 am and pack our things. We done some cleaning on the site and picked up some garbage. We even took some pictures then pray again for a guidance and a safety journey. Along the way we picked some garbage that were left by other mountaineers. This is for us to properly disposed them.
This is quite an experience in my part and you know what? This is one of my dreams when I was a kid. I am so happy that I was able to fulfill my dream. I hope that I can climb other mountains in the future. As the mountaineers saying goes, "Take Nothing But Picture, Leave Nothing But Footprints and Kill Nothing But Time."
All in all we are 13. After we rested for a couple of minutes I have informed my co-mountaineers to check again their Back packs before we climb and see to it that we will not miss something. We also checked our list of items to make sure that we have all the essentials we need. All shouted clear, after a roll call of the listed items we prayed to ask for guidance and to have a safe trip.
Along the way we pass thru a big Tamarind tree, earlier our guide told us that we will be passing that tree and he mentioned that a Kapre lives there, he also told as that before we pass the tree we must say "makikiraan po" to show our respect and so that the entity that lives there will know that someone is passing by.
So we did. Wala na man mawawala, then as we go along we pass on a pile of big rocks, they said that these rocks was put there by a Giant and this Giant is the admirer of Maria Sinukuan. I don't know the exact story why the Giant put those rocks there. Maria Sinukan is the Goddess(Enkantada) that lives in Mt. Arayat.
The surrounding is so calm and you can feel the cold air on the place. What I have noticed is I didn't see any bird or hear them humming. They said that the place is mysterious and I agree with that. We reach the camp site past 12:00 pm. Would you imagine we took 6 hours to reach the camp site. We all look tired but it's worth it once you reach the camp site for you will see the great views that awaits you on top and you will also see the entire Province of Pampaga, Bulacan and Cabanatuan. It's like a canvas panting up there.
You will also see the pampanga river that shape like a snake that passes through mountains. The camp site is small compared to other mountain's camp site. I think you can only put around 7 to 8 tents there and no water source. After a couple of minutes we begun building our tents, each tent can contain 3 to 4 person and we brought 4 tents. While we are building our tents others are preparing food, we ate past 2:00 pm because we waited for the rice to be cooked.
Then after we ate, we took some rest while others are asleep and playing cards. Then after that we went to the side of the mountain to see the view, the view is so amazing that even a money cannot buy. It's a fulfillment on my part that I was able to climb and conquer that mountain and stayed there overnight. This is a rare experience isn't?
The next day we all woke up around 4:30 am, we prepared our food and we ate our breakfast around 5:30 am and pack our things. We done some cleaning on the site and picked up some garbage. We even took some pictures then pray again for a guidance and a safety journey. Along the way we picked some garbage that were left by other mountaineers. This is for us to properly disposed them.
This is quite an experience in my part and you know what? This is one of my dreams when I was a kid. I am so happy that I was able to fulfill my dream. I hope that I can climb other mountains in the future. As the mountaineers saying goes, "Take Nothing But Picture, Leave Nothing But Footprints and Kill Nothing But Time."
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