Pandoraspace

On the lava trail

This is a picture of Mr. Caloy Chan, the person who brought us to this lava trail.  All around him, the rain is coming down in sheets and steam is rising from the earth.  The jagged black rocks he is stepping on were once hot molten lava. Shrouded in the clouds behind him is the Elusive Superstar, Mt. Mayon.  These were the circumstances we found ourselves in along the lava trail and this is my story.

Although it is not difficult to conceive that people actually hike up to Mt. Mayon, doing it never occured to me.

When Mr. Ketel invited Boktor and me for an ATV (All Terrain Vehicle) ride to the lava trail, I thought that we would just be sitting in the ATV the whole time.  So, I was happy to oblige.  It was much later, when the arrangements were already set, that it dawned on me that the ATV would only take us to where the lava trail begins.  From there, we would need to trek on the lava trail to get closer to Mt. Mayon.  I came to this realization at 2:00 a.m.,  or four hours before we planned to leave for the lava trail.  At that time, Boktor and I were still working, it was raining heavily, I was stressed, tired and wondering how I was going to drag myself out of bed at 6:00 a.m. and will myself to trek under the pouring rain.  I voiced out my thoughts to Boktor and he too was worried about how we would survive the activity.

Despite my reservations, I showed up at the hotel lobby at 6:00 a.m.  Only Mark, our other companion who slept early the night before, was ready. Boktor and Mr. Ketel arrived sometime later.  Mr. Chan did not arrive until 8:00 a.m., when he got word that we were still pushing through with the activity despite the bad weather.

When Mr. Chan arrived, he gave  Mark and Mr. Ketel  a crash course in ATV driving. Boktor and I did not even attempt to drive the ATV.  We were dead tired.  Eventually, Mark ended up driving the ATV that Boktor and Mr. Ketel rode.  I, on the other hand, had the privilege of riding with Mr. Chan, an experienced ATV driver.

Boktor and I wore jeans, rubber shoes and flimsy raincoats that we bought the day before.  We were not prepared to trek and had to make do with what we had.  The raincoat I bought could not provide me adequate protection against the rain.  So, as soon as got on the ATV, I was drenched.

I did enjoy the ATV ride though.  During the ride, Mr. Chan told me all about his projects and visions for Legazpi.  It was obvious that Mr. Chan loved Legazpi and wanted as many people to get to know the place as he does.  The most enjoyable part of the ride was when people we pass along the way to the lava trail would call out to us or greet us. After a while, it became my habit to wave to the people who we would come across.

The rain stopped as soon as we hit the road (leading to the lava trail), which was actually a river filled with the volcanic ash, rocks and stones that tumbles down from Mt. Mayon’s crater each time it rains. I noticed some interesting plants and flowers growing along this fertile road.

When Mr. Chan finally stopped the ATV’s engine, he pointed to a wall of loose earth and told me that the lava trail was on top of that wall.  Mr. Chan then told us to get off the ATV and start climbing the wall. So, I took a deep breath and braised myself for the long trek ahead. The minute I realized that the rocks along the wall were unstable, I l forgot how tired I was and focused on ensuring that I did not slide down the wall.  As soon as I got on top of the wall, I looked towards Mt. Mayon and got a brief glimpse of her foot.  

Mr. Chan quickly moved towards Mt. Mayon while I lagged behind trying to figure out which rock to step on.  The trail was filled with jagged edged boulders and rocks piled loosely on top of each other.  After a while, I had to crouch down and hold on to the rocks, which had become slippery from the rain.  I was lucky that I only had a few small cuts on my hands.  Boktor was not so lucky, his hands were full of cuts and his leg had a big cut.

A few minutes into the trek, the rain came down in torrents.  All my clothes were wet and my camera was damaged. My glasses fogged up and I could not see anything in front of me.  Thoughts like I should get lazik surgery came to mind.  But, I digress.  Things were not looking good and I was starting to think that the Elusive Superstar did  not want to see us that day.

As the rain was too strong for us to move on, Mr. Chan told us to sit on the rocks and wait for the rain to stop.  As I sat on the rocks, I noticed that they were warm and that steam was coming out from under them.  The feeling of being drenched by the cold rain while being steamed by the earth was surreal and novel.  This experience is definitely one for the books.

When the rain still did not stop, we decided to continue on.  After about ten minutes of trekking in the pouring rain, I suggested that we go back.  My senses were telling me it was foolish to move on.  There was no way we could get out of the trail quickly if the rain got any stronger.  Everyone was amenable to my suggestion and we started heading back. The minute we started moving back, the rain stopped completely.  The first thing that came to mind is that Mt. Mayon did not want to see us today.

On the way back, Mr. Chan made me drive the ATV on the river-road.  I had fun but I am sure Mr. Chan almost got a heart attack with the way I was driving.  I recall Mr. Chan telling me, in a very tense voice,  “Huwag masyadong mabilis. (Not too fast.)” and “Huwag mong daanan ang mga bato. (Don’t drive over the rocks.)”  At the end of the river-road, Mr. Chan politely told me that he will drive us back to the hotel.  What can I say?  I’m a bad ATV driver.

Would I recommend this ATV/Lava Trail activity?  For those with a hangkering for adventure and are up to trekking on the lava trail, definitely!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 4th, 2009 at 12:08 am and is filed under The Adventures of Boktor and Pandora in Legazpi, Albay. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.