Musings at Masungi | Masungi Georeserve Baras, Rizal

It was a random -Yes- that I had said to my friend Lianne, who invited me for a day trip at Masungi Georeserve, Baras Rizal. My normal reply would probably be a no or not yet, since I often stayed away from activities that were physically challenging for such a sporty person as me ( bwahaha!). Yet, I believed too that sometimes you need to break your patterns to discover new things and find inspiration.  We were walking to the entrance of Masungi Geo Reserve, at around 6:30AM, and I was already starting to ask myself  “Shocks! What did I get myself into?”. Yet we kept on walking ( and laughing our way through.)

 

Upon entering, the place was quiet…and relaxing… and serene. It’s kinda like the feeling you get when you join a retreat or recollection. Of course, I had to catch my breath both from the beauty and initial hike. But I loved how it reminded me that the only thing  I had with me, was my breath. At that moment, that was enough. Everything else was just a bonus. I could hear the birds chirping, and the wind blew softly, chasing all my sweat ( and worries) away. A rather comforting feeling in spite of what was still ahead, since we’ve only just begun.

Each turn we took, lead us to heights we’ve never reached before, and every step of the way had to be accomplished, no turning back for our team of eight. Some were faster, some were slower but, no one ever gets left behind.

You don’t have to rush. You just have to keep on moving.
We also got to make good memories… lot’s of them! If we moved too fast, we didn’t get to see the nice view. So it was absolutely necessary to pause. To rest when you’re tired. And to walk again when you’re done.

This bridge was made of wooden planks and strings. No Walkalator hear hanneh, but it does get the job done…

To get you to the other side. 🙂

Sometimes it felt like we’re on top of the world…

On other times we’d crawl, slide,  head bang, you know…  rock and roll style  (yes, many thanks to our helmet I’m still alive to write a blog post)…to get to see beautiful caves, like this one.

Everything you see, was once under water. They  had no idea what they could become, thousands of years from the time they were still being pruned and shaped. Today, people like us get to enjoy them as  beautiful piece of history while we to have now the chance to write about ours.

Sometimes, you stumble upon interesting shapes, patterns and lines…

But you also have to lift your head up, to see that there is a bigger picture.

There are times when you have to go on a  route on your own, but you’ll soon realize every person you’re with also has an individual journey. When you meet, you can talk the about the experience together.

You bring in as much life, color and energy to the people around you, but it’s fulfilling if you’d allow them to do the same. You gotta receive.

And instead of doubting yourself…surprise yourself! 🙂 You’ll never know that you can, until you try. 🙂

Now on to more practical tips, just in case you’ll be going to Masungi soon. 🙂

1. Pack Light, Draw string bag/ Sling bag is okay
2. Bring Water.
3. Bring Phone Camera, Adventure Cam ( whatever camera you’re comfy in using).
4. Take Photos, enjoy the scene. Serve one another.
5. If you can, train or do cardio 1-2 weeks leading to your visit, that would be good
6. Powerbars, candies , trail mix (for additional energy)
7. Bring Fun / Funny Friends
8. Extra shirt
9. Keep everything in tact,
10. When you’re tired, Rest and Recover.  It’s part of the game. 🙂

That’s all folks! 🙂