April 9, 2015, I received an invitation from Coby Sarreal and Cynthia enticing me to join them in mountain explorations in Bicol from April 11-15, 2015. They informed me that they are planning to climb at least Mt. Pulag (one of the peaks of Pocdol Mountain Range); Mt. Binanderahan, Mt. Masaraga, Mt. Malinao and perhaps Mt. Asog if the time will still permit.
My schedule permitted me to join only the climbs from April 12 to 14... So, after doing my pre-scheduled activity in De La Salle University- Dasmarinas, I hurriedly went to Legazpi City and arrived there at around 5:00 AM of April 12, 2015.
Around 6:30 AM, I went to Alicia Hotel to meet Coby and Cynthia, and so with Ramel their companion. Together we proceed to Legazpi City Pier at Embarcadero De Legazpi to catch up the 7:00 AM ferry schedule to Rapu-rapu Island in Albay.
While on our gentle journey to Rapu-rapu, we were fortunate to see the spectacular view of Mayon Volcano and take a lot of pictures!
My schedule permitted me to join only the climbs from April 12 to 14... So, after doing my pre-scheduled activity in De La Salle University- Dasmarinas, I hurriedly went to Legazpi City and arrived there at around 5:00 AM of April 12, 2015.
Around 6:30 AM, I went to Alicia Hotel to meet Coby and Cynthia, and so with Ramel their companion. Together we proceed to Legazpi City Pier at Embarcadero De Legazpi to catch up the 7:00 AM ferry schedule to Rapu-rapu Island in Albay.
While on our gentle journey to Rapu-rapu, we were fortunate to see the spectacular view of Mayon Volcano and take a lot of pictures!
While on our way, I tried to talk to some fellow passengers and ask something about Mt. Binaderahan. We were amazed that there was also ‘Binanderahan’ in Batan, the island beside main Rapurapu Island! We were almost convinced to get off at Batan and to climb the ‘Binanderahan’ but another passenger said that the Binanderahan is in main Rapu-rapu Island and could be climbed via Barangay After certain discussion, we decided to take the ‘Binanderahan’ in main Rapu-rapu Island and to hop to Batan Island immediately after descending to explore the ‘Binanderahan’ there. We arrived in Rapu-rapu pier at around 10:30 AM were we asked about the ‘Binanderahan’.
After series of consultation with the locals, we decided to try another trail that would somewhat make our trekking shorter and faster to be able to explore the other Binanderahan in Batan Island. Thus, we decided to take a boat to Barangay Buenavista . After the rough sea boat ride, we arrived at Barangay Buenavista at around 12:00 Noon. Jun, one of our companions in the boat invited us to take our lunch in their house and volunteered to accompany us to Binanderahan. Jun introduced us to some members of the Barangay Council who were all hospitable and glad to meet and accommodate us.
After our lunch at Jun’s residence, we started trekking at around 12:45 PM towards Barangay Guadalupe. We passed through abaca plantations, grasslands and coconut farms. The trail was leading to Guadalupe was generally gentle with some few 5-10-meter high ‘assaults’ and ‘descends’. After an hour, we arrived at the barrio settlement, it was totally surrounded by mountain ranges almost in all direction. We directly proceeded to the house of the Barangay Captain who happened to be Jun’s brother-in-law. There, we were gladly welcomed by the Captain with cold drinks! After explaining our reason or intention in visiting the island, the captain assigned a guide, who is proud to be called “Boy Paa” to help Jun in leading us to Binanderahan.
After series of consultation with the locals, we decided to try another trail that would somewhat make our trekking shorter and faster to be able to explore the other Binanderahan in Batan Island. Thus, we decided to take a boat to Barangay Buenavista . After the rough sea boat ride, we arrived at Barangay Buenavista at around 12:00 Noon. Jun, one of our companions in the boat invited us to take our lunch in their house and volunteered to accompany us to Binanderahan. Jun introduced us to some members of the Barangay Council who were all hospitable and glad to meet and accommodate us.
After our lunch at Jun’s residence, we started trekking at around 12:45 PM towards Barangay Guadalupe. We passed through abaca plantations, grasslands and coconut farms. The trail was leading to Guadalupe was generally gentle with some few 5-10-meter high ‘assaults’ and ‘descends’. After an hour, we arrived at the barrio settlement, it was totally surrounded by mountain ranges almost in all direction. We directly proceeded to the house of the Barangay Captain who happened to be Jun’s brother-in-law. There, we were gladly welcomed by the Captain with cold drinks! After explaining our reason or intention in visiting the island, the captain assigned a guide, who is proud to be called “Boy Paa” to help Jun in leading us to Binanderahan.
We started trekking at around 2:03PM. For about 30 minutes, we passed through gentle to slightly tilted trail along coconut farm and grassland amidst the vibrant sounds of insects and birds. After another 30 minutes, the trail forked to a larger trail, according to our guide, the larger trail is the ‘by-pass’ route to Buenavista , a short cut route that will no longer require to pass through Barangay Guadalupe and will avoid the steep descending and eventually ascending to the said ‘basin-barangay’. From the fork, our guide decided to pass through a ‘hunter’ trail to cut the trekking time and reach the summit before 5:00 PM. We trekked through the very steep (more than 45 degrees) trail along abaca farm and after another 30 minutes along a secondary growth but still vibrant and dense forest until we reached the knife-edge of the mountain range. We eventually followed the ridge leading to the highest part of the range. According to our guide, was the place where the Japanese use as the observation deck for vessels entering Albay Gulf during the World War II. The guide added that this was the place where the Japanese hoisted their flag, and so, it was called ‘Binanderahan’.
We reached the peak at around 4:32 PM. It was covered with endemic shurbs and small trees. To be able to catch the good view, we had to climb one of the small trees. From there, we saw the Island Province of Catanduanes, the nearby Batan Island, and the beautiful contour of the rugged Rapu-rapu Island. We took some souvenir photos and rest for few minutes. At 4:48, we started descending through the same trail until we reached the ‘by-pass’ route after 45 minutes were we extended our appreciation to our jolly and friendly guide for accompanying us. Jun took over the lead and guided us through the ‘by-pass’ route to Barangay Buenavista. We arrived in Buenavista at around 6:48 PM where a very nice dinner (crab, lobster and native chicken) was prepared for us by Jun’s relative.
After learning the ferry schedule to Legazpi City, we decided to call-off our plan to explore the other Binanderahan in Batan Island and to be able to catch up the Mt. Masaraga and Mt. Malinao climbing schedules. We spent the night at Jun’s residence and went back to Legazpi City, early morning of the next day.
The things that made the climb in Binanderahan memorable are the superb hospitality and kindness of the people; the beautiful landscape; the rich flora and fauna; and the good hiking companions!
The things that made the climb in Binanderahan memorable are the superb hospitality and kindness of the people; the beautiful landscape; the rich flora and fauna; and the good hiking companions!