It has been two weeks since that fateful day and I can still indubitably remember the struggle of my first climb, the shivering cold of my first camp and the grueling 3- hour trek I had on the mountains of Dalaguete and Badian. It was after all my birthday and I celebrated it differently- no candles, no cakes, no birthday wishes nor the opulence of food- it was no ordinary day. And for those who were with me, you know for sure it was one hell of a moment to remember. haha.
This is the first part of our our 3 day- 2 night adventure, bear with me as I relive every moment of it.
We boarded the Ceres Bus for Liloan, Santander at the Cebu South Bus Terminal at around 4:00 pm(fare: 105php for aircon bus). We had to disembark at Poblacion, Dalaguete in order to catch the habal- habal for Mantalongon which would take us to the base of the mountain. From there we have to climb the slope in order to reach the camp site.
The travel from Cebu City to Dalaguete took us almost 3 hours instead of 2 since we were caught with a traffic at San Fernando, Cebu. There was a fiesta ongoing and the buses have to slow down to accommodate the influx of people at the celebration. Hence, we arrived at the Dalaguete junction at around 7:30 pm.
From there, we rode a habal- habal to take us to the mountain base (travel time is 1 hour, fare is 100php/person). Tell you, the ride was smooth for the first 30 minutes but after reaching the Mantalongon Public Market, everything from there went bumpy and tortuous. I salute the habal- habal drivers who are able to jaunt that kind of terrain and take the campers safely to the base.
doreen the explorer 