Day Four: Saturday 26 November 2016

The entire team had a break from construction, painting and feeding as we travelled to Taal Lake, an active volcano, and climbed an extremely steep mountain in order to see one of the most sensational views some of us have ever witnessed.

At the crack of dawn, 5 am, the whole team was up nibbling on the classic breakfast of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and apples, all eager for the near 4-hour bus journey. Our first stop was to pick up the Journey kids. The majority of us slept on the bus trip, but those who were awake, got to see the City of Manila gradually change into a lush green landscape full of busy workers and relaxed animals.

We hopped out the bus, and into jeepies, Filipino public transport, to travel a steep winding road descending a mountain. A few minutes in them, and we were ready for a boat ride across the misty Taal Lake to an island where we would make our epic climb. As we ascended, we had the opportunity to gaze over and appreciate the luscious green landscape surrounding us, while dealing with the continuous downpour of rain, drenching us to the core. Our gradual descent of the volcano left some members extremely muddy and embarrassed, as the endless rain had made everything extremely muddy and hard to climb down.  On arrival to the base, most of the team members dipped into the hot geothermal springs and enjoyed themselves, relaxing their sore muscles after such a challenging three-hour climb.

We were then faced with the awesome challenge of lunch, which was a mix of musical serenades, pigs face, deep fried dried fish, pig brains, and in Yami’s case, an entire red chilli which ultimately made him cry.

It was an awesome day, going from lush green landscapes, to incredibly long bus rides filled with old cliché action movies, (we still don’t know how San Andréas ends, no spoilers please). It was definitely a memorable day.

Stay real Perth,

Reho OUT.