MT. ARAYAT NATIONAL PARK ESCAPADE

"An extinct volcano measuring 3,715 ha was declared as a National Park in 1933 intended for eco-tourism with overriding concern on conservation and preservation of the natural resources. The park is located at the municipality of Arayat in the province of Pampanga. The lush vegetation of the area nurtures wide variety of wild animals. On the foot the mountain is a picnic ground surrounded by lush foliage, waterfalls, fish ponds, swimming pools and other recreational facilities.The Mt. Arayat National Park is one of the best places to trek. It has two trails going to the peak: peak 1 can be accessed from the municipality of Arayat, while the peak 2 can be access from the municipality of Magalang. There are two trails going to the peak of the mountain. It will take 3-4 hours hiking before reaching the peak 1. This peak has a spectacular panoramic view of Central Luzon: on the west is the view of the Pampanga River and the mountains of Zambales and Bataan while on the east is a magnificent view of the mountains of Sierra Madre range."

Source: http://www.visitphilippines.org

Last Thursday, 7th day of March, a declared holiday in the province of Pampanga, in lieu of the celebration of the 67th death anniversary of Jose Abad Santos was such a great day for me. It was in the evening of tuesday when i texted a good friend of mine and ask her if she can accompany me in Exploring Mt. Arayat National Park... I was filled with joy then when she rapidly replied " Yes". I just told myself " Wow, this is another adventure i should look forward to. Day after, Typhoon Emong came in and draw off heavy rains affecting The whole Central Luzon, Obviously! Pampanga is affected...huhuhu! I felt quite sadden and thought that time that how is the trip the next day, Ow! i'm sure it will be postpone if this turbulent rains will continue... So what happened after, I didn't anymore waited for the next day. I disappointedly texted swiftly my friend informing her that we must cancel the tour the next day due to the bad weather conditions.

Coming thursday morning, The rain is still continuing its flow and as minute pass by it became more and more drastic... Hay! I just said as i woke up that terrible morning. The Holy spirit came in the afternoon, the weather is progressively becoming better, Uhm! as i was thinking during that moment. What if i will visit Mt. Arayat already even though I'm all alone because my friend then is not anymore available in the afternoon... Different decisions came in my mind, that i will just go to angeles and surf the net to research for my term paper, then tour somewhere there, or just stay at home or go on with the original plan of visiting Mt. Arayat. I don't know what happen, but a voice came in saying " Mt. Arayat" so without any more questions, I went to Arayat National Park and the adventure started in...ehehe! adik diba?

While riding the jeepney going to Arayat, The rain came in once again... I felt kinda worried because my travel might be put at risk but still with my strong faith to our dear Almighty, I decided to move on with my journey... eje ( Tapang noh? kahit umuulan susuungin parin!) I always live up by the saying if there is a will there is a way, so there is a way for me to escape and have the travel successful as i was thinking during that minute. I came in the vicinity of Mt. Arayat National Park at exactly 2: 45 pm and the weather is kinda not so good. As i entered there is only few people around 10 in number as i remember ( Syempre, Bumabagyo kaya! wala talagang pupunta... wahahaha) As i view the whole spot, I discover some things, the park is not anymore as beautiful as i've seen in the other pictures before. With that, i feel quite frustrated, but since i was there already and spent money... I just enjoyed my stay thru taking pictures as you have seen now and exploring some sides of the place.

Despite the road that i'm taking was too elusive then, that doesn;t stop me from experiencing stepping up what they call the 100 steps going to the mountain itself... It was enjoy and sort of tired going up but that is ok, what I'm just thinking then was to make my trip more delightful... As I finished taking the 100 steps, it feels quite relieve as i view the other side of it. I wish to go up further but since I'm all alone, it would be of dangerous there might be some NPA's roaming around... ejeje! I still love my life! For safety reasons, I didn't stay in the vicinity that long. What is important i was able to go back there after 8 years.

As i go home, I just realized that I didn't made a wrong decision of unexpectedly going there eventhough the weather is not so pleasant, If you really want to achieve something, act and do it, if that will make you happy... Indeed that is also what my father have told me before " Don't deprive your happiness"

For your information: The Entrance Fee is Php 30.00

Trivia: Matinding kahihiyan muna ang aking naranasan bago makarating dito, habang ako ay nakasakay ng tricycle papunta nga sa bundok, ayun sa di sinasadyang pangyayari, napadaan kami dun sa matubig na daan at naku nabasa lang naman ako at pati mukha ko eh nabasa din...Alam kaya ng driver na nabasa ako, hay suwerte niya at mabait ako kung hindi naku matinding sermon inabot niya! ejeje ( tapang) hay! buhay nga naman bago ang sarap, kasakitan muna! eejeje...Till my next travel!