Avisala!
It's been a while since I posted something about Mt. Pulag and our Luzon 123 adventure. I think I posted some photos about Mt. Pulag itself, but I didn't share the whole ordeal. With all the clutter in my mind, I doubt I can post something in long form at the moment. Good thing I still have a lot of photos to share, especially those travels I haven't shared yet. This time, I wanted to share something different.
These photos were taken using my phone because I didn't bring my camera when we were on Mt. Pulag. I thought it would be useless to bring a camera that might not function well because of the cold. Well, it turned out to be the wrong decision. Let me tell you that I haven't touched these photos. I want to share something that's free from editing.
As we were able to settle down at our homestay and then sleep for a few hours, my body was still adjusting to the altitude. I had an early symptom of altitude sickness when I had a mild headache at around 11:00 AM, but it was gone in the afternoon. As the sun was setting, we decided to explore the area near our homestay, and it was one of the best decisions we made.
While Mt. Pulag is a protected landscape, there are still people living within the designated zone, especially the descendants of the original settlers in the area. Their main livelihood is farming, aside from guiding tourists to the summit of Mt. Pulag. So, the area surrounding the homestay is actually farmland with vegetables as their main crop.
It was already so cold, but it was bearable because of the view. It turned out to be the right decision to choose a homestay over camping out in the open. Aside from carrying less load, we were able to enjoy the surrounding area more because we didn't have to set up our campsite.
If you're considering Mt. Pulag as your next mountain to climb, I suggest you opt staying in a homestay rather than bringing your own camping gear. Aside from having a hearty meal, you can enjoy the place more. And don't forget to bring your camera and snap as many photos as you can. Trust me, you won't get tired of looking at your photos.