So, we are in Naga. Why are we in Naga?
Well there are a couple of volcanoes that look worth a visit and some
(apparently) undeveloped, quiet beaches a few hours away.
We found
something in the out of date Lonely Planet book that we borrowed from
Pat about an outdoor shop run by a guy with the unlikely name of Jojo
who can rent tents and other gear and organise a guide and porters to
climb Mt. Isarog. After traipsing around Naga in the rain we found a
couple of tour operators, but none of them knew anything about
mountains or arranging overnight hiking trips. Everyone was very nice
and friendly and could do us trips to the beach and hot springs.
We'll do that later. We finally found the “outdoor” shop. It
sold flipflops and beads and was staffed by three girls who didn't
know anything about hiking. Hmmm. They gave us Jojo's mobile number
though and told us that he's usually in the shop after 6pm. We
called his phone but there was no answer. Just in case we were doing
it wrong, we asked the receptionist at our hotel to give him a call.
She got through for a couple of seconds before his battery went dead.
He didn't call back. Is this guy trying to run a business??? We
called him later and he told us that he didn't do hiking trips, but
he could give us the phone number of a guide who doesn't speak any
English. I can just imagine how that conversation would go..... Oh,
and he only had one tent and it was broken.
It doesn't look like
climbing Mt. Isarog is going to happen. BUT! He did recommend climbing Mt.Mayon
(2462m) which is according to our book is “considered one of the
most dangerous volcanoes in the world due to its frequent eruptions.”
We had mentioned a possibility of climbing Mayon to some (local)
people we met on the bus at the airport earlier and they had all
laughed: “you can't be serious” We have been reading up on it and
it sounds like a relatively easy climb (apart from the knife-edged
ridge part at the top which we might skip). When we get to the next
town, Legaspi, we will see what the deal is at the department of
tourism office. Don't worry mum – I won't climb if it's about to
erupt (I am picturing that scene at the end of Lord of the Rings...)
