Mt. Gulugod Baboy and Sombrero Island

My feet is again eager for another adventure so me and my friends decided to have a day trek in Mt. Gulugod Baboy. Nothing can stop us continuing in our adventure even with our light pockets. As a dependent student my budget for that particular day is only 1,200 pesos and there are  nine of us who joined.  I packed an adobo as a lunch for the whole gang to make our expenses cheaper. We decided to hire a van as our transportation to go there for comfort. The trip going there is fun because we manage to hire ourselves a handsome driver I don't know if its fate or stroke of luck and with handsome guys it can't be helped that one of us finds herself a secret crush. We take pictures at the town center of Mabini were my friend decided upon himself during a suppose to be group photo with our driver to take pictures of only the driver and our friend with a crush to him. We have our own session of laugh (our driver is not included) when we saw that particular picture it's like they have a romantic relationship. How sweet! (>.<)
I decided to not post that picture here because it's suppose to be a secret.

Arriving to our destination felt so fast, the time sure flies when you have good companion with you. When we arrive there we were greeted by our contact Mr. Globert and his wife. His wife guide as to were we were suppose to register. The trek going only for the registration is one heck of a walk because it is a slope going up we are supporting our own weight there. When we arrive to our destination my knees are already tired and it wasn't even at the beginning of our climb. I'm not a professional climber by the way and I'm only a hobbyist were we decide to lead our destinations anywhere from mountains to seas and even under a cave.   
After a short break from walking into the registration. We started our hike going up to the mountain without any guide. We're short on budget so it's a given and a guide to Mt. Gulugod Baboy will cost us another 400 pesos. So we started our hike there and for me it's more refreshing than the hike going for the registration. During our climb I notice lichens are abundant there that in some cases trees are covered with it particularly fruticose type of lichens that look like green shrubs. If I have known there are that much lichens in Batangas I would have included it in my thesis  locale. What a bummer. There is also store were you can buy drinks to refresh yourselves to the walk Climbing beginners are welcome to try hiking in Mt. Gulugod because it is not that hard a climb. Just always watch your steps because there are part were you might get slip and slipping is dangerous in a hike going up a mountain. It's better to be slow and surely you can get there safe and sound. Slowly but surely. (^_^)

Reaching the top of the mountain we were greeted by a grassland with cows lurking everywhere.

With cows comes their huge poops so watch your feet if you don't want stepping into one of those.
Going up and down Mt. Gulugod Baboy only takes us for two hours with stops.

 Unfortuantely some part of the mountain looked like are being civilized because we have seen tractors working in building a road at the side of the mountain. The mountain is overlooking the sea were we can get a glimpse of some beautiful small islands while on the hike.

Speaking of island our budget is enough to hire a boat going to sombrero island. It's a given that sombrero island are named after a tagalog word for hat because it certainly depicted the shape of a hat.
 
Hiring a boat going to the island cost us 2,500 pesos. You certainly need to bring pack lunch because there is no store selling food in the island only a small cottage consisting of tables which cost around 800 pesos. But since the tables are not included in the computation of our budget for this trip we decided to make it free by eating in the large stones found at the side of the island. Eating in there is fun but hard because we get to experience scavengers in the form of two dogs and crows waiting to snatch our foods.

 

We use the huge rock there as our makeshift changing room. We change our clothes to our swim wear at the back of the huge rock 
Don't forget to bring slippers with you because the shells and stones there can probably inflict wounds to your feet. Walking at the side of the island without any footwear hurts. We go there during November 30 and the waves there are strong that I can't help being swept by it. Snorkling there is also great because you will not need to go far to see fishes under the water. Apparently the town is a popular diving site and according to the locals fishing there is not allowed to conserve marine sanctuary. It's great to know that and if I ever have the chance to learn how to dive I will remember this place.

Enjoying this particular trip once in a while is always refreshing from all the school work that I have been doing lately and it becomes more fun enjoying it with friends.

One's destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things. - Henry Miller