JOURNEYING SARAH: HUNDRED ISLANDS AND MT. PINATUBO

When it comes to Luzon Trip, I am always incharge in buying tickets, making itineraries and arranging accommodations for the group. This time, its a 2 days tour to Hundred Islands and Mt. Pinatubo.

When we arrived in Manila our hired two (2) aircon van were already waiting for us at the airport. Together with my 19 outdoor buddies from Manila and Davao, we departed NAIA 3 at 1:30am and arrived in Alaminos, Pangasinan at 6:00am.

Our first stop was a day tour in Hundred Islands in Barangay Lucap, Alaminos, Pangasinan which is composed of 124 islands at low tide and 123 islands at high tide but only three islands were developed namely Governor Island, Quezon Island, and Children's Island. Everything went well except that after lunch our tour operator called us asking if we will pursue our trip to Mt. Pinatubo for the next day since it was closed for the day due to heavy rain and no assurance if we could get the chance to climb the next day.

Late Lunch in Dagupan City

After our tour in Hundred Islands, we had our lunch in Dagupan City and had our meeting for any back up plans for the next day activity but we can't make a final decision since we have different decisions. It was a headache for me. Our dinner and overnight stay was sponsored by NIA Office in Tarlac. We are so thankful for their warm accommodation. Our group decided to have a tour on the next day in Tarlac.

AT NIA Office, Tarlac

Dinner at NIA Office

But, thanks to my friends Tina, Cheryl, Marj and Tupe for pursuing to Capas, Tarlac the next morning and when the weather was nice they give the climbers a go signal to trek Mt. Pinatubo. We were so happy since it was our main target why we were in Manila. The 4x4 vehicle ride took us around an hour via skyway and the trek is thirty to forly minutes depending on your pacing. The trail was easy even kids are allowed. In the end, everything turned out right and we were back to Manila with satisfaction in our faces.