Pinatubo AdvenTORture

A friend from Maldives visited the Philippines recently. As with the case of the other friends we made in Japan who's come to the country, we, of course, were happy when she told us about her visit and gladly volunteered to show her around.

When the initial euphoria we got from the thought that we'd be seeing this good friend again after two years died down, it dawned on us that we had a pretty big problem. We usually take our guests to the different beaches in the Philippines, but how do you wow someone with beaches when she lives in one of the most beautiful islands in the world? We needed to show her something she's never seen before.

"Let's take her to Mt. Pinatubo," my friend said. "It's just a short hike, about 45 minutes."



It took us three hours to go up, and another three hours to go back down.

Apparently, the short trail my friend knew has been washed away by a storm, and what was left was this grueling seven-kilometer trail that involved walking on sandy/rocky soil and crossing countless of streams.

It wasn't easy, especially considering how I was wearing strappy hiking sandals and rough sand got between the straps and the skin of my feet, essentially giving my feet a very, very unwelcome sandblasting.

It doesn't mean that I regret taking the trip though.

The trail has got to be one of the most dramatic (you'll know what I mean when you see the pictures) I have ever seen, and the crater, well, it was just beautiful! And I wasn't not alone in thinking this. I'd never forget what my friend said: "It's so unfair. Yes, we have beautiful beaches in Maldives, but you have beaches and THIS too."

you ride one of these old school 4x4 jeeps for an hour before you start you "adventorture"