Trip to Mt. Pinatubo

Today, my sister told me that Mt. Pinatubo was supposed to be closed to tourists that day we were there on May 1 because two British nationals died of heatstroke while or after visiting the volcano.  And that, on the same date  there reportedly  was an unusual activity observed in the crater lake.  My sister swore she saw small waves in an otherwise still and silent water that runs deep,  unfathomably deep.

This greets the visitors to prevent anyone from bathing in the lake.

But don't quote me, I just heard it from my sister who heard it from a friend who heard it from someone else. Unsure I may be of the veracity of the news they gave me the necessary push to blog about our Labor Day escape to Mt. Pinatubo.

Mt. Pinatubo is a volcano in  Zambales Province in the island of Luzon, Philippines.  Not many people knew about the volcano until its major eruption in July 1991.  It was dormant for eons; its eruption gave off massive volume of lava and sulfur dioxide that buried vast areas of agricultural lands and thousands of homes in Central Luzon.  Ash fall were so thick and heavy it covered surrounding areas in total darkness including Metro Manila -87 kms. or 54 mi. away from the volcano. Lahar continue to flow every year during rainy season and had killed lives years after the volcano's major explosion.  It also caused dramatic economic displacement for many communities.  After the eruption a crater lake was formed which about 10 years later,  (if my memory serves me right) was turned into a tourist attraction.  

Summit caldera as seen on Aug. 1, 1991, photo from Wikipedia

From the photo above, this one below is what now awaits the tourists.  The lake was magical, the place serene.  The undetermined depth of the crater and the mountains that locked the lake rendered the water sea green.   When you're there you would wonder how such beautiful piece of nature had once wreaked havoc to thousands of lives some 20 years ago.

Pinatubo Crater Lake, May 1, 2013

To get here, there's a short trek uphill

and then downhill.

You stay near the lake for one hour max and then you climb back up those steps you see in the photo.  I'm not telling why, but good luck on that.

The place was quiet despite the steady flow of tourists coming and going.  You could hear happy voices but no boisterous laughters, no screaming nor shrilling.

 

 I could tell that all the people were too careful to trigger soil erosion just because they got too excited being there.  Especially when you know that should you be trapped help could take a while to get there, as it takes at least an hour and a half drive from civilization before reaching the crater lake.

4x4s take tourists close to the crater lake up to the area where
it  is already totally impassable to any type of vehicle. Photo by  Patita.

The more breathtaking part of the trip to Mt. Pinatubo wasn't seeing the crater lake but the rugged ride on a 4x4 jeep as it snaked through imaginary road from Capas, Tarlac where the adventure began, and entered the 7-kilometer gorge.  From this point (Lipit Station) visitors can choose to begin their trek that would take 1 and 1/2 to 2 hours, or at the rest station  which 1 kilometer from the crater. which would take less than half an hour.

Entrance to the gorge, Lipit Station, 7 kms. to the crater.
No shouting or loud noises from this point onward.

End of the imaginary road for the 4x4's.
Rest Station, 1 km. to the crater .  

 The gorge was formed from the lahars that flowed from the volcano and  rise to as tall as  5 to 10-storey buildings high.

Photo by Patita

The closer we got to the crater the bigger the boulders that we encountered.

Photo by Patita

As it was middle of summer, the rivers were quite dry except for several streams that we crossed.

Photo by Patita

According to Jimmy, our guide, the gorge is filled with water during the rainy season and would wash away lahar deposits thus changing the landscape every year.  It's a vast land but nobody lives there, Jimmy told me.  Only grass grows in the gorge, no trees, fruit-bearing or otherwise.

Photo by Patita

The trip to Mt. Pinatubo was worth the  wait, we had planned it one summer ago but because of a scheduled US-Philippine joint military exercises under the Visiting Forces Agreement it was closed to tourists. This year, I wasn't part of the plan, on the last minute someone backed out, my sister asked me if I wanted to go. I didn't even have to think, I just said yes.

After going to the crater.  I actually made it
back to rest  station in just 10 minutes. Photo by  Dillan

Filipino Style Baingan Bartha

One of my favorite dishes while in India is baingan bartha, but it was kinda difficult for me to make, not having the appropriate spices and even if i did, i didn't know how to make baingan bartha in the first place.  but baingan bartha i discovered is the complicated version of our inihaw na talong (grilled eggplant with tomato and onion) so while still in my placement i concocted my own version.

ingredients:
eggplant
sliced tomatoes
sliced onion
ground black pepper
some salt
olive oil
lemon
chili (if you want it hot)

it's easy to make, not much cooking required really.  all you need to do is wash the eggplant and grill.  remove the charred skin and mash the eggplant.  put it in a bowl, add the sliced tomatoes and onions, plus the chili (again, if you want it hot), pour in a reasonable amount of olive oil,  add a dash of salt and pepper, squeeze in some lemon and just stir it in.  wallah, Filipino-style baingan bartha.  It's good with rice or chapati.

Baingan bartha is best served hot, with my version, you can chill it for about five minutes and would still taste good.  

Thoughts on the Delhi Gang Rape

The gang rape that killed Jyoti Singh, a 23-year old student in India hogged the news and shocked the world the past weeks.  It happened during my busiest days when I hardly had the time to read beyond the headlines.   It was not disinterest or callousness on my part that I didn't bother to find out the details of the crime.

That a woman was raped in India is not new to me. An article in Rupee News said one woman is raped every twenty minutes in India but it is a "notoriously under-reported crime because of social stigma and that the culprits in most cases were known to the victims."  I lived there for two years and it isn't just once that case of rape was reported by the media.  Except that such cases were hardly discussed at length or addressed a as crime.  At best, the governments would respond by beefing up security for women, like ensuring that female BPO employees have shuttle service from work to home or by making arrangement for Ladies' Special buses in high-risk areas for women.  The issue would always boil down to security and safety rather than combating violence against women  

I also didn't religiously follow the news that Indians were angered and came out in throngs to protest the crime and demand action from the government.  Paradoxical it may seem but it was good news, it's about time this was talked about in public.

What finally got me to read about it was when the the Jyoti's friend, Awindra Pandey, came out to talk about their ordeal.  What jarred me was the fact that hardly anyone stopped to help them for almost 20 or 25 minutes when  Jyoti was bleeding profusely. Those precious minutes could have made a difference in her  chance of survival.  Awindra said it could have been fear that prevailed among the passersby that if they helped they would be made witness to the crime.  Equally appalling was sluggishness of the police who finally arrived,  their reluctance to take immediate action; didn't even bother to help him carry Jyoti to the van that took them to a distant hospital, because "they were probably worried about their clothes."  

Rape is rape, whether the rapist or rapists, in this case, used just his junk or more. It is violence.  It is not just wrong, it is unforgivable.  But I'm afraid to say that in my view, it was not just the rape that eventually killed Jyoti but the fear and apathy that prevailed, when courage and concern were required.  I do not blame those passersby but the reality is Jyoti is dead, it just makes me ask, what if someone helped the first minute Awindra cried for help?  What if the police acted promptly and responsibly?  Sometimes, what takes the life of a human being isn't just the action committed but the action that is omitted.  As Awindra had said,  "If you can help someone, help them.  If a single person had helped me that night, things would have been different."

Jyoti who could still smile when she saw her friend in the hospital would have survived the social stigma had she lived because what happened to her raised the social consciousness of Indian society.  It made them fearless to demand justice and action for Jyoti's rape and other women who are still victims of gender-based violence. As of date, the suspects have already been arrested, a commission has been set up to recommend measures to combat sexual violence.

Indian President Pranab Mukherjee called Jyoti a 'true hero".  I hope that her death would not be in vain, but instead would lead to reforms both in the system and the attitude  towards sufferings of other people.