21 May 2007

Pico de Loro


We had our first trekking trip early this year, and it was in Pico de Loro located in Batangas. Pico de Loro is so named because the outcrop above looks like a parrot's head, hence the name which also means Parrot's Peak. Can you see the the parrot?

This trek was made possible by the Anino Mountaineering Club located in Baclaran. They have close ties with the Baclaran Church, and this was a benefit climb for the street children. A fun climb with a community awareness goal to it, both activities I like doing. So why not join? And join we did. A lot of people signed up for this activity, resulting in close to 80 participants. They rented two buses for the trip going there and back.

The trek going here was more difficult than the previous climbs we have done (and that's considering we stick to level 1's). An hour's trek from the magnetic road going to Caylabne Resort will lead you to the camping site.

Hold on... a magnetic road?
Yes, a magnetic road. The road goes uphill but if you turn off your car's engine and set it to neutral, your car will move upwards. Strange huh? Bit I can attest that it's true. We have done it years ago.

Back to the story
We were overjoyed when we saw the camping site. Yay! We haven't full broken out into sweat and we were already there! We later realized that we were just taking a break there and have our lunch. So while the organizers cooked lunch for the huge crowd, we whiled away the time taking photos, making small talk, playing cards, and goofing around.

Time for lunch!


After lunch was when the "fun" began. There were medics in the group (from the Philippine Red Cross) and when we broke off into groups, a couple were left with us. Soon my comrades were taking breaks more frequently (not that I needed it too... I realized then how badly out of shape I was) and the medics urging us on.

There were a lot of interesting things to see along the way. Nature tripping!

After about four hours we finally made it to the top. At first glance I didn't see the parrot resemblance. You actually have to be in a certain area to see it. After a few steps, the parrot emerged. Amazing. It was windy and fresh, and you feel like you're on top of the world! The view was spectacular, the company amusing.


This one goes here, that one goes there, right?

Breathtaking views
Here comes the sunset

That night, we had socials. We had a group prayer, and sang songs and had sharing of sorts about why we joined in this activity.


The Parrot worshippers of the morning after
We dropped by the falls in our descent. We were a bit disappointed to see it reduced to a trickle (which they said happens in the dry season) but we still took a shower here to cool off.

This was quite a long way down from the summit. We learned that this was where the organizers got the water that night and in the morning. I must say, I salute them for their dedication to the activity. This was really a long way from the campsite!

Thanks, Anino Mountaineering Club, for this memorable trek.

20 comments:

  1. I admire you guys... hiking in such a heat !

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  2. i like hiking pero hiking doesn't like me...hehehe.
    Nice photos...

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  3. Sidney: It was still early in the year so it was not summer heat that we had to "endure".

    jho: Fun trekking lang naman kami. We don't over-exert ourselves. It's fun!

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  4. Anonymous6:18 pm

    Di ko makita yung parrot, balikan ko mamaya.

    SBD kaya kita tito nick, bilog ka na...hehehe.

    Medyo scary naman yung puno. Saya siguro sa ganyan, medyo kakaiba yung experience.

    Sarap mo kasing i tag...hehehe. suki tayo ha? Basta meron ako for sure damay kita...hahaha!

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  5. Ann: When you look at the photo, the parrot is looking at the left side. Concentrate on the big, rocky formation in the middle. Yung pinakamataas ay yung feathers sa head nya, tapos the broad face below it is the beak. And then you can see the eyes na. It's really remarkable.

    Oo nga e, na-tag ulit ako. hahaha

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  6. Anonymous11:29 pm

    uy, mas lalung umiigting ang pagnanasa kong mag trekking, hehehe. dapat talaga ma try ko to...

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  7. Lino: Oo try mo! Marami namang lugar na categorized as fun trek.

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  8. Anonymous5:50 pm

    Oo nga. Kita ko na yung image ng parrot. Thanks.

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  9. There are several of the so called "magnetic hills" here in the United States. They aren't magnetic at all and you can verify this with a simple compass that will still point north. They also aren't uphill but actually downhill as you can verify with a simply level. The surrounding topography gives the illusion that you are going uphill when you are actually heading slightly downhill.

    Looked like an excellent hike!

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  10. Ann: Galing ano? Freak of nature ba ito?

    Ed: ooooh.... thank you for that explanation on "magnetic hills". Really? We were really going downhill instead of up? Very interesting.

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  11. hike while the sun is still up. i hope to see pico de loro in the near future, we'll do anawangin this weekend (sana matuloy, sana matuloy).

    love the sunset picture. :)

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  12. Wats0n - You were going downhill and the laws of physics were still working. One of those surveying levels is all you need to prove your eyes that they are wrong.

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  13. Glad you had a great hike. Thanks for sharing those great photos. I've never been on a real hike before. I don't think I have the stamina for that.

    I tilted my head left and right and I think I somehow saw the parrot. :)

    I was amazed the first time my husband brought me to the magnetic road.

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  14. ganda ng sunset *haaaaay*

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  15. hi nick, yup you're right, the view from the top is amazing! pico de loro was my and bebert's FIRST climb and it certainly wasn't easy. pero sobrang worth it. uy pls let us know pag meron kayong climbs in the future ha? thanks.

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  16. fafa nick! nice shots from the "parrot's beak", heheh. oo nga, it'd be nice to go hiking again. pico's a great trek.:D

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  17. Anonymous2:02 pm

    dont

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  18. Anonymous2:46 am

    gud day sir!!!

    This is filmann, from anino mountaineering club!!! for the truth I was amazed of what you did for the group!!!! for posting the climb for a cause on your blog!!! I for one would like to thank you for doing so...I would also like to inform you again, that we will be conducting our 3rd invitational climb for a cause on November 24 - 25, 2007 at mt. daguldul san juan batangas.
    our registration booth will start on october 31 - november 4,7,11 and 14,2007 at the redemptorist church baclaran. As usual proceeds of the climb will go to Sarnelli Center for Street Children Foundation Inc.,
    pls email us at anino_mc@yahoo.com and our newly created website will be available soon.
    thank you very much and god bless!

    regards from:
    ANINO mountaineering club inc.

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  19. Anonymous5:49 pm

    hello, nick!
    I am fascinated by your pico de loro reminiscences. I am even surprised to see myself in one of the photos (the one wearing grey outfit and with a white cap). thanks for that.

    by the way, i am more fascinated by your ufo accounts based on your research since you were a kid. it brought to my mind my own first-hand encounter with this phenomenon.

    it was october 15,2006, 11 pm. i was on my way home from a despidida party for a neighbor. my attention was caught by some kind of light coming from above me. instinctively i looked up and saw two, yes, ufos(?) i couldn't believe what i saw because ufos are far from my mind as i am not interested with such. due to curiosity, i again looked up to really check that what i was seeing was not something else. a neighbor was with me. she walked me home and she herself could not believe what she saw - two jellyfish-like structures hovering above us for about 15-20 minutes. i ran inside my house to get a pair of binoculars. just when i was back with my neighbor on the street, one of the objects vertically flew away going to the northern direction. one was left and it was then that an airplane passed by above the remaining object. it was then that i called another neighbor who just arrived and told her what we were seeing above us. she also was amazed when she looked up.

    we noticed that the two objects did not have blinking lights like airplanes but steady reddish ones. after about 5 minutes, the remaining object did its own vertical maneuver towards the direction that the other one took earlier.

    will this encounter make me believe that indeed there is such thing as ufo? if only others can pick up this reaction and further enlighten me on this matter, i would appreciate it. but to you, thanks a lot, for making me interested in this subject.

    i hope you will come up with more on this. keep it coming, pleassssse!

    last but not least, i am a struggling member of ANINO mountaineering club. thanks!

    marigal a.k.a babes

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  20. Filmann: Yes I do remember you! Kasama namin si Yoyo na makulit! I have a copy of the group photo somewhere; I'll include it in this article when I get more free time.

    Daguldol? Hmmm... Galing na kami dun pero I'll check with Yoyo. Perhaps he'd like to go.

    Babes: Talaga!? Yun ang kakaibang experience! Hindi ka ba natakot na baka ma-abduct kayo?

    We also had a wonderful time at Pico de Loro. In fact, I have a landscape photo of the mountain displayed here at the office.

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