I am swamped!

I am officially swamped with stuff. I don't know what to call this things i'm doing right now so I would call them stuff for now. And as you can see I am no literary genius since I can't even replace the word stuff with something more accurate. First of all I have a full time job and I do this 8 hrs a day 5 times a week. I also have a bunch of part time jobs. One is mostly a per task thing so it's not taking up too much of my time. The other one is only 3 hrs a week thing. And the other one is also a per task thing. And the last one is a 12 hrs a week thing. Oh, and I also have this fiverr gig that I need to do. With all the part time jobs I have you would think I would not be able to fit anymore stuff in there right. But no, because I have this Certified Accounting Technician certification thingy that I still need to study for and I travel to Manila every Saturday to get my brains hammered with knowledge and learn more stuff.

Oh men, I feel tired at times just thinking about all the stuff I need to do. I basically have no time for myself nowadays and I try to refrain from downloading new games to play because I just have no time for that now. I sometimes wonder if maybe I need to slow it down and say no to some of the online jobs I have in line. But I know I need them also since you know, i need the kaching! Hopefully, I pass the CAT exam. And I swear when I do, I will treat myself to a Chez Karine macaron and I will savour every bit of it. So universe, please be kind to me and let me have this one.

The Descent to Silanguin Cove

Before our descent to Silanguin Cove, we were able to eat lunch and able to rest a bit. I thought I was ready and will have no trouble since the hardest part, which was the ascent, was over. But boy was I wrong. I actually believe that I had a harder time with the descent since my knees were buckling and aching so badly. Each step down was torture to my feet.

I can barely take notice of the beautiful scenery because I was in pain for most of the way down to Silanguin Cove. I was also out of water and I was not keen in getting my drinking water from the water sources we passed by since I have a very sensitive stomach.

I don’t know how I was able to keep walking since I was so tired during the last few hours of the traverse. I kept hearing crashing waves and I assumed the beach was near.  But those last minutes before Silanguin Cove came into view are by far the longest minutes I have ever experience. I think it took more or less 6 hours when I was finally able to see the beach and the Silanguin Cove camp.

We had a delicious dinner of inihaw na liempo, buffalo wings and chicken curry. I slept early and did not leave the tent until 6am.  I felt like my body has been rolled down the mountain when I woke up and had breakfast. I took a quick dip in the beach and disappointingly, the beach shore is full of corals and sharp stones and it was a pain to walk on. But it was nonetheless beautiful.

By 11 am we were all set to leave Silanguin Cove. We rode a boat to Cawag and it cost about 300php per person.

I am pretty proud of myself for having endured a 12 hr hike. I don’t really know if I can do something like this again. But at least I can say that I once was able to do a 12 hr. hike and survived.

The Ascent to Mt. Cinco Picos

The truth is I was nowhere near prepared for the Mt. Cinco Picos to Silanguin Cove traverse. I thought I have read enough articles to prepare myself but nothing really prepares you for the actual pain of this climb. We were supposed to meet up at 3 am but I actually overslept and I was there 45 minutes late. But I was not the last one to arrive and we left Olongapo before 5 am and arrived at Cawag before 6 am. We were hoping for little rain and cloudy skies can also be a good thing but our wish was not granted and our traverse has been hellishly hot to say the least. And as a heads up to those who plan to take this traverse, here are the essentials that you need to do and bring.

Do:

Exercise before this traverse. It is a must if you don’t want to be too much in pain afterwards.

Make sure you have every part of your body covered with SPF. (I actually have a sunburned backhand right now due to my carelessness)

Have at least 2 liters of water (1 liter for the climb up and 1 liter for the climb down). Although there are water sources along the way, it is best that you still have enough water in case the water sources have dried up.

Make sure that you have comfy shoes and that your bag is not too heavy that within an hour of hiking, your back is hurting bad.

Bring:

Plastics (to waterproof anything that might get wet)

Extra Clothes

Mosquito Repellant

Sunscreen

Water (2 liters)

Flashlight

Medicine (preferably Ibuprofen and Paracetamol)

Snacks (you will get hungry during the traverse)

Extra Cash (for the boat ride to Cawag)

Food

Tent

Slippers

Personal hygiene stuff (there are no convenience stores in Silanguin Cove)

There were 20 of us on the group and we had to register before doing the traverse at Cawag. We hired 3 guides to help us through the climb and we started at approximately 6 am, which is pretty late by the way.

We had to cross a couple of rivers on the way. And during the first hour, we could only see grasslands and stony dried up rivers.

I tried not to think too much about how many hours we still needed to walk to get to Mt. Cinco Picos. The first few hours was an easy enough traverse but once we got to those uphill areas, I was swearing like crazy.

There are moments when I just drop myself into any available shade when I become really tired. And the resting part was actually one of the best parts and you just look at the landscape and you eventually feel your heartbeat return to its normal pace and feel that the climb really is worth it even just for the view.

After 6 hours of fighting gravity, we were eventually able to reach the campsite in Mt. Cinco Picos. And here you can finally see the beautiful Silanguin Cove, which is our final destination.

PART 2: The Descent to Silanguin Cove