And Down Goes Pinatubo

I have scaled Pinatubo--woohoo!

Well, its not really a feat; an active tourism drive made the pinnacle more accessible. A trip includes two hours of ATV and a 20-minute hike. And that's it. And true enough, the short travel time has attracted the crowd. (You'll know what I mean if you're at the jump-off town.)

The trek from the foot of the mountain isn't tiring for one who's used to walking long distances (i.e. me). According to our guide, visitors of decades past had to walk kilometers from a certain Aeta village in the middle of the lahar dunes to the crater of the sleeping volcano.

Now, ATVs make the travel easier by dropping tourists off at the actual foot of the mountain. Talk about convenience.

History has given Pinatubo a certain level of notoriety. In 1991, it erupted and covered the outlying areas in sulfuric acid haze. Lahar showers (thanks to an incoming typhoon) were experienced in provinces as south as Batangas and displaced numerous locals and indigenous tribes.

The beauty, which was once a beast, is now a prime tourist destination for explorers of the Great North. Last year, Onay organized the trip for the drama writers of GMA. Half failed to show up for the actual trek because of writing deadlines. That's really bad.

But on the good side, the trip was worthwhile. Not too spectacular, but worth gushing about for weeks. Anyway, I am fixated with close-up shots lately. So, my day trip culminated with the following portrait-ish photos:

Michelle

GMA Drama Writers' version of JLC:

Jessie

This is my favorite... The smile, the background, the lights and shadow... This is perfect:

Marlon

And of course, any camera loves a pretty face:

Onay

Here's Michelle's attempt at posing like Amaya:

There's no mobile network signal in the area... Bad for writers and mommies!

Tin

And yeah, almost everyone brought cameras. And I'm a little fixated with how people take photos.

Libay

The experience was not so spectacular. But its a good trip to take with colleagues or with a large group. If you want to see my other Pinatubo photos (non-portrait), visit my photoblog here! - 2/16/2013