Bantakay Falls

It was a triple A for The BACKPACKERS' Atimonan Adventure this August. The adventure was quite unexpected due to Typhoon Maring and the Southwest Monsoon. The deluge brought destruction and flooded most parts of Mainland Luzon. The adventure was almost abolished because of weather's grit until sun shone the day before the trip. Weather forecast reported a hundred percent suspension of the monsoon and although there was a low pressure area in PH's trerritory, it was still distant to cloud effects in the country. "Push with the Atimonan climb and adventure!," I told myself.

ATIMONAN ADVENTURE
Part 1: Bantakay Falls

Bloggers Night with Apl.de.Ap

The BACKPACKERS attended the Bloggers' Night spearheaded by no other than international hiphop artist Mr. Apl.de.Ap. Hosted by the officials of the Apl.de.Ap Foundation, the invitational event aimed to get to know Pinoy's pride Apl.de.Ap as a person, an artist and an ambassador of peace in the country. The bloggers also got the chance to talk and mingle with Apl.de.Ap's team in the reality show, The Voice of the Philippines.

Apl.de.Ap (center), Team Apl of The Voice and the twenty selected bloggers who attended the meet

Dingalan, Aurora

The mountains and the sea represent the town's vicinity,
the shack with its simplicity,
and the pretty flowers with its exquisiteness

DINGALAN, AURORA: 

A Secret Paradise in the East

by Ivan Ignacio

photo courtesy of the official website of the town of Dingalan, Aurora
http://www.dingalanlgu.gov.ph

Hidden behind the mountains is a precious gem worthy of visiting: Dingalan. This southernmost town of Aurora province is a natural paradise sandwiched by mountains and the sea. As of this writing, getting to the town (and generally to the province of Aurora) takes approximately three to five hours from Manila regardless of being just a part of the neighboring Central Luzon. It is bordered by the mountainous part of Nueva Ecija (through the towns Gabaldon and General Tinio), the mountainous Dona Remedios Trinidad in Bulacan and pardon the emphasis, the mountainous General Nakar in Quezon province. Yes, the town is kept secret by the mountains of the Eastern Sierra Madre. But once you take on the challenge of pushing through despite the long and grueling travel, you will be amazed by the combined simplicity and allure that the town can offer.

Ifugao Outreach

SENDING LOVE TO EVEN GREATER HEIGHTS

by Ivan Ignacio

The BACKPACKERS and Guests woke up that morning feeling blessed and refreshed from the tiresome hike the day before. This was no ordinary morning for us as we knew that we would be affecting the hearts of the simple but beautiful community on top of Mt. Humalophop. The locals  especially the teachers were already touched upon seeing our arrival in their elementary school. They could not believe that people still care - I mean, they've been living their humble lives for years and did not catch a glimpse of any tourists or visitors of some sort in the area. The only support they witnessed was two years ago when PNP conducted a medical mission in the school, estimated to be a thousand meters above the ground.

Mt. Humalophop

MT. HUMALOPHOP:
A HEAVEN IN IFUGAO!

by Ivan Ignacio

Probably one of the greatest feats of The BACKPACKERS is the discovery of a remote but very beautiful mountain in the province of Ifugao. Mt. Humalophop (or Mt. Palo for some), is located in the town of Hingyon and is a haven to spectacular rice fields and terraces. According to the locals, they were surprised to see a group of mountaineers as the place had no visitors except for the PNP who conducted a medical mission in 2011. Our Mt. Humalophop climb was part of our Give Love Ifugao: Sending Love to Even Greater Heights where we brought school supplies, goodies and sandals to the kids of Humalophop Elementary School and nine other schools in Hingyon, Ifugao.


THE LAST ACCESS ROAD 

From Brgy. Mompolia where we had another round of pampering, we geared up for the major activity in our Ifugao adventure: the hike to Mt. Humalophop. At some point in the last access road, we bade goodbye to Ma'am Ermie and to the three KaEskwela volunteers. They were assigned to distribute the donations to the elementary school in the shorter and lower mountain in Sitio Ubuag. We were taking on the longer, higher and more challenging Mt. Humalophop which is nestled at 1,190MASL in the eastern part of the amazing Cordilleras.