Day 1: Mountaineering Experience: Mt. Manalmon

Every first experience worth a risk, I was invited by friend to try hiking. It’s a minor climb so it’s good for beginners. I tag Chiz along on this trip. So then we found ourselves with Roseann a.k.a. Bheng and her Mountaineer friends on Mt. Manalmon located at San Miguel, Bulacan.

I’m expecting a long and sunny walk already. What else? We arrived at Sitio Madlum Brgy. Sibul community where we had our group explore the area and fix our things up and put a sun block all over. Picture mode rin for us. It was the Juxtapoz Mountaineer Group who organized the hike and took in charge of the registration and the guide.

The trek begins. We first passed the Madlum cave, then the Beach like river, slopes from the cave are quite challenging but exciting.

The cave is part of the Biak-na-Bato National Park and the place itself is also known for other outdoor activities such as swimming, crossing the Monkey Bridge, river rafting, spelunking, diving, rappelling and rock climbing.

With Chiz, my personal alalay I mean boyfriend pla. :p

Meet Bheng!
Tropa ko since college and luckily my office mate din who invited us to join the trip. She’s a runner and a mountaineer. Astig noh. :p

Parang mini beach lang in the middle of rock formations.

The Juxtapoz Pup
Visit them - The Juxtapoz Pup

We rested for a while after taking our lunch, pwede rin daw kami mag camp on that location pero inde pa yun yung peak. Pictorial mode muna kami ni Roseann while others were taking a nap and others were drinking.

We heard from other group na madami daw padating na mountaineers kaya mag set na daw kami ng camp agad so we can find a good place. So without warming ourselves up, nagmadali kami getting to the summit.

At last! Nang hinayang talaga ako for not having enough exercise and preparation before the climb. Dagdag pagod ung init at pressure sa kasunod na climbers. Did I mention galing kami ni Rose sa night shift duty. Kami na ang umakyat ng bundok ng puyat.

Few of those na nag moment sa summit.

It was a rewarding experience to be able to climb a mountain. Now I can say that this is what the mountaineers feel in every hike and why they have the passion to climb. Ika nga kanya kanyang trip lang yan. So for them it’s more than a fulfilment. For me a new challenge, will I hike again, yeah maybe. Why not, Chiz and I are now investing hiking gears pa so no hassle on the next trip, We must be gear up especially for major climbs so it would not be very difficult.

Our camp site, having socials and being able to see the sunset and sunrise at Mt. Manalmon.

Packing up and group shot sa peak before going back. Kami ata pinaka last na nag pack up, kaya again ang init na. No litters should be left behind, kahiyaan nlng kay Mother Earth diba so everybody should do our part.

We thought the climb will end there, easy nalang for us going down as we used longer trail but easier than the first trail. Going back to the Brgy. We ate our lunch again and then had another one of a kind adventure, Spelunking at Bayukbok Cave.



“In every walk with nature one receives more than he seeks.”
-- John Muir

My (Hedgehogs) Amber and Flaky

Meet Amber and Flaky. My Adorable Hedgies!

I didn’t think that I’ll be taking care of exotic pets until I had one. I super fall in love with them especially Amber. Super adorable! After having Amber, we bought Flaky naman to be her partner(named by his previous owner). Medyo malaki na c Flaky nung napunta sa akin so hindi siya ganun ka sociable. Pahirapan kunin sa box and he’s a bit scared of people.

Amber’s characteristics: diet - Cat food and few fruits (choosy na siya ngaun eh kahit matakaw), Like din nya ang pizza crust, loves to play and socialize, technique para lumabas sa hide nya, paamuyin ng catfood. :p

Flaky’s characteristics: favorite treat - Meal worm, safe mode - stuck nya un head nya sa tissue roll, prepare yourself to get hurt pag ginulat mo cya.


Very low maintenance pet for me, it’s not hard to clean their boxes and doesn't smells bad at all.

For those who don’t know what is Hedgehog, here are some facts:

1. African pygmy hedgehogs originate from Africa.
2. Domesticated African pygmy hedgehogs do not hibernate and should not be allowed to hibernate
3. They are descendants of a hybrid of the Four-Toed Hedgehog and Algerian Hedgehog
4. Latin name Atelerix albiventris or African White-Bellied Hedgehog
5. They are a small ball of spiky quills which uncurl to reveal twinkly eyes, gorgeous dark little nose and a soft furry belly
6. They are mainly nocturnal animals
7. They are mainly insectivores eating worms, beetles, centipedes, and moths but are also omnivorous eating plants and animals (cat food is their primary food here in the philippines since you can’t really find Hedgehog food here)
8. They live between 1-3 years in the wild
9. In captivity they can live 4-7 years and in rare circumstances up to 10 year
10. Their first quilling occurs at about 8 weeks of age approximately but can happen a little earlier or a little later but should be done by 6 months
11. Their quills have been used as needles in Roman times
12. They have been bred as pets since early nineties
13. They have a highly developed sense of smell and poor vision
14. Weight wise fully grown ideally they should be 1lb 5oz -2lbs
15. Lengthwise fully grown hegehogs are between 6- 8 inches long
16. There are now 92 different categories of colours for APH
17. Super Sonic character in a video game is a hedgehog


~ Just a thought of sharing that aside from my dog, I have my two babies din at home. :p

More information at hedgehogcentral.com