Alright. So I have been feeling adventurous lately so me and my friends started making plans to go places - it doesn't matter where, but just a place to reset our moods from the mundane routines. Being a single mom, I am limited to places around the metro and as much as possible, no overnight stays nor long travels. After doing much research on the net and asking around, we got curious about the viral video posted by When in Manila. It showcased a place called Masungi Georeserve in Baras, Rizal. It looked fun, exciting, lots of heights (eek) and most of all, it's just a stone throw away from the metro. So we hurriedly went to their website only to find out that all their weekends for the year were already booked. There is also a minimum number of 7 and a maximum of 14 people per group. The entrance fee is Php 1400/person including a tour guide and complimentary snacks. The time slots start 530 am until 130 pm with 30 minute intervals. The full trail takes about 3-4 hours according to the website. I'm not a hiking type person so 3-4 hours seemed overwhelming.
We got booked for August 10 originally but due to the inclement weather, we got rescheduled twice until we finally push through last August 22 on the 9am time slot.
August 22
I woke up around 5am to meet up with my friends at Eastwood. We had a light breakfast then went straight to the place. It took us 45 minutes to get there from SM Marikina.
The view going up was relaxing and definitely much needed break from the metro's city view.
When we got there, the tour guides were already waiting by the gate. They told us everybody in our group should be at the site so we could start our trek. When everybody was there, we were escorted to the receiving area where we were asked to choose our helmets. The helmets had a dried sweaty scalp stench to them since the tour guide told us that they weren't able to dry them properly because that day was the first time it was sunny after long days of rain. It was part of their rules to wear a helmet throughout the trek so we just sprayed them with alcohol. We were given 2 500ml bottles. Luckily, one of our friends packed snacks for everyone which had trail mix, chocolate cranberries, crackers, cookies and candies. This was a lifesaver!
Our tour guide, Kuya Jerome, oriented everybody with the rules and regulations including their "no trash" policy. We were also asked to do our bathroom breaks already since there wouldn't be any other restrooms on the trail. (Good luck to 3-4 hours)
Jerome also told us we were supposed to be lent string bags for our stuff but were unavailable that day since they didn't dry, too.
So off we went. The trail had a lot of rope climbing, going through small cave openings, and thousands of ladder steps. If you're afraid of heights, this is a good place to desensitize yourself since the paths had a lot of support (arm rails, ropes, metal reinforcements). They had different main spots:
Sapot
- gives you the Spiderman feels. Groups are given 15-20 minutes photo-op sessions here
Tatay
The highest peak seemingly formed from rocks piled on top of each other
Ditse, Patak, at Duyan
Air house and a long hanging bridge/web.
It took us 6 hours to complete the trail. We took a lot of breaks and photos! Our bodies felt so sore after with high hopes of developing calf muscles and tighter bums but the view was well worth is!
If you want to get away from the metro, enjoy a great view while having a complete workout, take social media/blog worthy pictures and have fun with family and friends, head over to Masungi Georeserve!
Here is their website - http://www.masungigeoreserve.com/
