Suroy-suroy: Dalaguete, Cebu (Osmena Peak Adventure)

D A L A G U E T E

I am not a mountain climber nor an experienced camper but I'll definitely try it for: I am an adventurer!

I have always wanted to try to climb mountains, trek, camp, and experience how it is to dwell and be one with nature. Good thing, God blessed me with amazing new friends and they are the ones who brought me to my first ever mountain climb/trek experience!
Before anything else of course, we went to Simala; the miraculous Mama Mary and prayed for a safe trip and also for our love ones back home. It was after lunch when we left for Dalaguete where the peak is located.

"Osmena Peak is known to be the highest peak in the province and Island of Cebu. Based on actual GPS altitude, it stands approximately 1000 meters above sea level" according to a website where I read about the peak (you can read about other beautiful things in Dalaguete if you click the link).
See the barangay hall and register yourself before climbing -that's the first thing a climber should consider (for safety purposes).

We didn't know that there was an approaching typhoon until we started our trek but we still continued the adventure. It was cold, foggy and muddy. The trail was slippery and I admit, I slipped for about 2 times and my pants were all covered with dirt. If you're not careful enough, one might fall from the cliffs. BE CAREFUL!
It took us an hour and a half to reach the camp site where we saw other teams of climbers who like us, did not know that there was an approaching typhoon.

The skies were getting darker when we set up our tents. The fog was getting thicker as well and was already time for dinner. Cooking with wood and fire won't work so we brought along with us a mini-stove and used it to cook corned beef, pancit canton, and rice. Not until we realised that two of our tents out of the 4 that we brought with us were soaking wet, we found out that our corned-beef was dragged and eaten by a stray dog!!!!

(C) Photo: Warren Manago

This is us cooking our dinner or the dog's dinner :(

After dinner, we already felt BAGYONG BASYANG'S terror coming and we were alarmed for we only had 2 small tents left for all 7 of us! The storm raged on and on and we were already wet AND NO, THATS NOT JUST FROM FROZEN. There was a puddle under our tent and water breached inside. There were already 5 people in the tent designed for only 2 persons and all of us were soaking wet. We got scared and nearly called for a rescue team but we did not forget to pray and ask for our Saviour's guidance. Stories were shared and we were all cheering for each other yelling out #pamilyatayo and #withgoodintentions. Nobody was able to sleep because of the freezing temperature until we discovered that one of our guys was sick. We tried to call for help from the other campers but they too were scared and it was not advisable for us to leave the premises since it was dark, slippery and we didn't have flashlights. It was too dangerous so we stayed, sat for the whole time and waited for the sun to rise. Eventually, the morning came and I was still shaking not because I was cold but because of excitement that finally I'll get to climb the peak and have my picture taken. Then,

THIS. I can't have my picture on the rock..there at my back because other campers were already on it taking selfies and everything. So, basically my wish to take the coolest picture ever wasn't fulfilled. Awa ra gud na akong buhok ug nawng, sanina..tanan OMG :( Hahahahah! Anyways, at least I was able to conquer the climb and the typhoon as well. It's like hitting two birds with one stone!

This is me after all the struggles we've been through! HAHA!

One can also trek his way to the Kawasan Falls from the peak. That'll take you about 4 hours only but we didn't go there because our bodies were as tired as I can imagine. The Obong Cold Spring can be found in Dalaguete too where we went to freshen up. We arrived back in the city by lunch.

I don't know why it took an hour or two to blog about the most amazing and heart-pumping, life-threatening adventure of our lives! Well at least for all of us. I will never forget: on the 31st of January, 2014, I, together with my new friends, conquered Osmena Peak with a twist of Bagyong Basyang. This is an adventure I will never ever ever ever ever forget!