[February 2016]

Within the month of February last year, my colleagues and I planned to climb one of the most sought-after mountains here in Luzon because of the beautiful sea of clouds that can be seen at its peak: Mt. Pulag. We decided to do our warm-up climb on Mt. Talamitam in Nasugbu, Batangas.

For me, this is my second warm-up climb before Pulag, the first one being Mt. Manabu. Looking back, I would have told myself to take things easier, because my body might not be able to handle the physical stress I'm putting it into. If only I knew. 😞 (story time on my next posts... stay tuned 😉)

Every hardship has its reward, and for this mountain, it was the best one I could ask for - the view up there was so breathtakingly beautiful. 💓


It was a bright sunny day, the perfect weather for a climb!


There were several first-time climbers in our group during this one. We were able to pull in some of our teammates and other members of our Security team (+ their spouses). It was a unique bonding experience for all of us.

Anne, the dog whisperer. 😜

Honestly, climbing Talamitam was not that hard (except for the steep assault at the last part). This is by far my favorite one. The trail was not that steep and there was a wide flatland half-way to the peak. The scenery actually reminded me of Sound of Music and Heidi.

our guide and his dog

solo shot! 😆

This mountain is most memorable to me for its beautiful scenery. I'd love to go back again to this mountain (minus doing the steep climb).

I tried to have some "alone time" here, meditating and just soaking in all the wonderful beauty that was before me. However it was kinda awkward to isolate myself from our group because we were all happily chatting at the peak. Good thing I was still able to do a few minutes of "me time", and I felt so relaxed, happy, and at peace.



Now we are ready to conquer Pulag!