Last weekend, I got roped in to going to Batangas. This isn’t my usual day trip getaway because you all know I want to relax in a resort instead of giving myself more work, i.e., climbing mountains. I happen to really like civilization. 
But my friend S’s mom invited me to go, too, so that S would have someone to talk to. They knew someone who owned two mountains in Batangas. Dalawang bundok daw! Wow! And they wanted to see it before it was developed.
We left Manila at 6:30 am, with only short pit stops. We took the SLEX to Batangas City, and had a short detour because Sabang Bridge was closed. Eventually, we arrived in Mabini, Batangas at almost 11 AM! We expected it to only be a 2-3 hour trip, and it took longer than expected.
MABINI, BATANGAS
The seaside town of Mabini, Batangas, actually has some nice houses! Our host told us that many of the town’s people worked in Italy, and, after saving up, built houses in Mabini that showcased their Italian flair. Pagandahan daw ng bahay. It’s not Tuscany yet, but some of the houses look like they came from a posh village in Metro Manila.
Sorry, no pictures. I didn’t think I was going to blog about this so I didn’t take any pictures.
MT. GULUGOD BABOY
We were welcomed by our hosts, and after some merienda, we went up to Mt. Gulugod Baboy. I was really hoping we weren’t going to be roughing it. Fortunately, there is a steep but paved road going up to Mt. Gulugod Baboy!
If you have a car, just follow the road and follow the signs, or ask around. There are houses beside the road all the way up! Be careful. The road is only good for one vehicle at a time. Keep going past JV’s Sanctuary, and then you’ll see a parking area. There’s a parking fee of P50.
You can also take a tricycle up to Mt. Gulugod Baboy from Mabini. The rate is P250 for 3 people, and the tricycle will take you up to the parking area.
If you really want to, you can hike up the mountain from the sea-level town of Mabini.
After parking the SUV, it’s all on foot to the top. While there are trails to follow, they can be steep in some areas.
I didn’t know that Mt. Gulugod Baboy was a tourist spot! When we got there, there were already several groups of hikers taking pictures.
Don’t know what these two were doing, but it looks like they were taking pre-nuptial photos.
This guy seemed to be contemplating life:
After reaching the top, now I see why the place is such a hit! You can see the water, the islands, and rolling, green hills.
We could see some towns below, but I have no idea if one of those towns is Anilao.
It was about 1pm, but it was so breezy, I didn’t want to leave. The sun wasn’t even that bright, and it was cloudy. At least, it didn’t feel hot. However, the next day, I saw my skin and I was sunburned! I got sunburned and I hadn’t even noticed. And after I had just recovered from being sunburned in Vigan… *sigh*
After about an hour of taking pictures and selfies, we went back down for a late lunch with our kind hosts.
Haha, sorry, #nomakeup. They were trying to frighten me and tell me that we would actually be climbing the mountain for hours, so I thought it best to go without makeup.
None of us, except our hosts, had any idea that we were going to Gulugod Baboy, and I had never heard of the place before this. Apparently, it is a well-known place to local hikers and mountain climbers. I’m glad that by some serendipity, I stumbled onto this beautiful view where land, sea and sky meet.
