It was a fine morning when i woke up and i feel strange,. i feel the urge of adventure deep inside me and the first thing that came up on my mind? To climb, yes, to climb some nasty bad ass mountain., that will make me scream my mothers full name like a kid ,. and the first mountain that i think of? Of course, Mt. Guiting Guiting of Sibuyan, Romblon, and this is where it all started.
On my way to work (while stuck in the traffic of course ) I immediately informed my buddies of my plans of climbing Mt. Guiting Guiting (G2), and with luck they just said yes, without having second thoughts.
Mt. Guiting Guiting towering 2058 meters above sea level, is located at the heart of the Philippine archipelago. Sibuyan, Romblon is also known as the Galapago’s of Asia. It is considered as one of the last remaining centers of rich biodiversity and reservoir of endemic species that supports the worlds only population of series of species.
We booked our tickets online via 2go travels from Batangas port to Romblon, Romblon. There are other shipping lines that sail from Batangas port to Romblon, Romblon port but we chose 2go because it sails directly to Romblon, Romblon. Unlike Montenegro Lines, their first stop is in Tablas port in before proceeding to Romblon, Romblon.
Here are the schedules and fees per shipping lines
From batangas to romblon
2go travel
schedule trips:
Every Wednesdays and Friday 10pm @ Batangas port
Montenegro lines
Every Thursday @5pm
from Romblon to Batangas
The day of our climb is near but we have one big problem. SUPER TYPHOON MARCE just entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility, and according to different weather agencies, all models show that the tracks of the typhoon will hit the island of Sibuyan, and will traverse to Mindoro straight( which will also be the track of our ship to Romblon). Filled with frustrations, I immediately informed my buddies of the impending doom. We came up of a Plan B if incase the typhoon will enjoy its stay in the country.
Filled with doubts and uncertainty and only with brave hearts, we took the gamble and headed our way to Batangas port hoping that maybe the schedule would just be delayed and we could leave around 11pm or 12 midnight with the original plan. Because there were no announcement coming from the authorities, we tried to call them but they inform us to just stay put, and wait, (until 10pm) .
The typhoon was already outside of the Philippines and all gale warnings were already gone. but the surroundings feels like there still a storm.
We arrived at Batangas port at 9:30 pm on day 0. Heavy rain showered and strong winds welcomed us on our arrival which added to our frustration. The port was like a ghost town that day, it’s like telling us to go home boys.
Some dudes offered a lodging house and told us that all trips were cancelled. But we didnt believe them. I think they’re just making business out of the situation.
To verify things out, we entered the port and checked the trips ourselves. They told us that “some” trips were already cancelled especially those small shipping vessels. That gave us a bit of hope because we knew that 2go ships are big.
Good gracious! Our trip was not cancelled and would just be delayed for 2 hours (and yeah they didn’t even inform us). Filled with joy and excitement, we immediately submitted our tickets and board the ship. And voila, were are good to go. The ship will leave at 12 midnight and we are 2 hrs late from our schedule.
We went to our respective bunks and 2go didn’t disappoint us. Their economy class was awesome and very clean. I cant help but wonder what to expect with their deluxe cabins. The toilets were cool and clean. And ship’s attendants were beautiful and mean very accommodating.
That night, the sea was rough. The ship was dancing with the waves. Maybe due to tail end of the typhoon. I could’t even walk straight in the hallway. It’s a bit scary, but it was fun. I already felt that the adventure had just begun.
We woke up at 5:30am on day 1 to witness the sunrise and to have a glimpse of the beautiful islands of Romblon. We arrived at the port at 8am.
Upon arriving in Romblon, Romblon, another an unfortunate news stumbled upon us. MV Querubin that supposedly would take us from Romblon, Rromblon to Sibuyan island just left. We thought that there were regular trips to Sibuyan from Romblon, Romblon but were wrong.
We asked the locals if there were alternative routes to take us to Sibuyan; and sure there was. They gave us 2 options. Either to take the big boats anchored to the port which cost around 8k one way, and other one is by small boats which costs for P250 per head. Yep, you heard it right, small boat cruising the infamous Sibuyan sea that sank many ship in the past.
Plan A .We waited at the port for other passengers. But sadly, our number was not enough to fill the remaining seats of the boat. If we would shoulder the cost of other seats, we would be broke. So plan A failed.
Plan B. Take a small boat.
When we arrived at the location of where the boats were, i was shocked because i thought that its a small port. I was wrong its a beach! Boats were still on the shore!
I, and the other guys pushed the boats to the sea. It was really crazy but it was fun! We were all smiling and starring at each other and thinking “What the heck?? Are we really going to do this??”
AND FINALLY WE LANDED ON THE BEAUTIFUL ISLAND OF SIBUYANNN ROMBLON, At the shore Sir Remy Rebiso was there, waiting for us. He is the Olango trail.
(to be continued)
ALL PHOTOS IN THIS BLOG ENTRY ARE OWNED BY TRAVELINGTSINELAS, SHOULD YOU WISH TO USE IT, PLEASE LET ME KNOW AND DON’T FORGET TO PUT CREDIT TO THIS BLOG.
’til next adventure! See you all!
the traveling tsinelas, 