CEBU, Philippines - This would be our first time to ride a 4×4 jeep in a real rugged setting so we were excited. But it was not that easy. We had to depart from Clark Freeport by 4AM along with my son Ice and cameraman Noel Verula for the one-hour private van ride to Capas in Tarlac so we can meet up with our friends from R.O.X. led by Sharon Salvador.
We arrived at Pinatubo Spa Town in Barangay Sta. Julianna just a little past 7AM. The team arranged and paid for the 4×4 rides of the group and we were off by 8:30AM.
We passed through level dessert-like roads for about half an hour. The next half consisted of uphill climbs on mountain sides. Downhill followed each of those. There were minimal boulders along the road since the roads were pretty much ready for the 4×4s. We passed by mini-streams, which was a cool break from the smoke of ashes caused by the other jeepneys.
Nonetheless, it was a joy ride as almost all of us were first-timers in the group.
We passed by several mountains first before reaching the stop point for the 4×4s. The jeepneys could only reach up to this point, which meant it was the start of our trekking. (FREEMAN)