Mt Malasimbo Puerto Gallera

Its summer again and that means two beach hot spots in the country will once again be crowded. One is of course Boracay, and second is Puerto Gallera.

Last saturday we wen't to Puerto Gallera with an ironic intent. The waters weren't our main goal, but it was to climb Mt Malasimbo.

We arrived at the shores of Mindoro around lunch time, took a 30minute lunch and headed to the jump off point. Mt Malasimbo is a towering mountain which anyone can spot even along the shores of Puerto Gallera.

The climb compared to other mountains was a steep ascent. Our climb wasn't really the most difficult part of the climb. For one, we were blessed to climb a dry trail. It was steep, but it wasn't bothersome. Before our trip to Malasimbo, we were warned of the limatiks (blood leeches) around the area, so I was prepared with an alcohol spray. Good thing that I didn't encounter one while climbing.

We set camped at 750+ meters above see level and had decided to assault the summit the next day. Now, the most difficult part wasn't really the climb, it was the camp. The campsite was open and the gust of wind was so strong. Adrian and I decided to sleep early around 8pm since there were nothing much to do anyway. Not to mention that our camp site was limatik infested and I got bitten twice already on the foot, so it would be wise to stay inside the tent instead of joining the others during their socials.

That was just the beginning, the worse part was about to come when the wind became stronger, and the rain started pouring. The wind was so strong that the pegs was pulled out. Tiny splashes of water came in our tent, and my bag got wet (which was my fault for not putting any rain proofing). The rain and wind never really stopped even on the next day. We decided to postpone the assault to the summit and decided to head down.

Again the trek down was harder than the climb because aside from being steep, the trail was muddy and slippery. But, we all made it in one piece.

Before leaving Puerto Gallera, we had a quick 30minute swim, took a shower and off back to Manila. It was kind of a difficult climb, but a good cross training in preparation for Condura. I had to rest two days after the climb. After two days of rest, a 10K tempo run later will be exhilirating.

Unfortunately no pictures yet... next time when I get my hands on my friend's pictures.