I woke up to the sound of calm waves moving closer and closer to where I decided to sleep that night. It was one of the most peaceful sleeps I had in years. I was totally awakened by the ruckus the other tourists staying in Ate Sheila's homestay started. "It was time for breakfast", I realized. A statement expressing my understanding of why they're voices were starting to get loud.
There were three other solo travelers staying at Ate Sheila's and that day all four of us climbed Tawi-tawi's sacred mountain, Bud Bongao. After stuffing our stomachs, we rode a tricycle to the jumpoff point. It's not too far away from Sanga-sanga but it was a good decision to reserve our energy for the trek that day.
We were early but a flock of tourists, both locals and those coming from other provinces, were already there at the jumpoff point. This actually made me happy knowing that locals patronize their own destinations. After learning what this mountain meant to them, I understood that they usually make trips to this place, it's like a pilgrimage site to them.
I was told that the trail was relatively easy and that I shouldn't worry at all if I hadn't practiced before this trek. It's easy peasy! I believed them and looked forward to reaching the top without a trace of sweat in my body. Our trek commenced when we walked by this arch welcoming all trekkers at Bud Bongao.
I enjoyed the first few minutes of the trek given that the trail was covered by massive trees and all other vegetation that normally grows in tropical forests. Along the easy trail, a handful of friendly monkeys were in the open and playing with some tourists who kept handing ripe bananas. The monkeys were natural entertainers; they'd even pose for you.
I was about to believe Ate Sheila's "It's just an easy climb" remark until I reached a point when I had to frequently stop to take quick rests. I was out of breath; my sweat was dripping everywhere. Good thing I wasn't alone; everyone else was either behind me taking their much-needed water breaks or was with me taking breaks, too! 🤣 Although the trail is cemented and has railings (that you could count on when the going gets tough), the steepness of the trail still posed some challenges for people like me who don't usually hike a lot.
After a few minutes of steady and slow walking through the steep trail, the exhaustion left my body when I saw the first clearing. This made me curious about what else I could see from up here so I kept going.
Bud Bongao is a sacred mountain in Tawi-tawi; locals come here every now and then more than tourists. I think it's for the same reason that the local government really invested in sturdy shelters with comfort rooms scattered all throughout the mountain and its trails. If I may, this is an established and well-kept destination. Kudos to Tawi-Tawi for their management of this destination!
Not long after my first time seeing the view from atop, I reached one of the shelters with a bird's eye view of Tawi-tawi's neighborhood and beaches. I was alone then as there were various ways to reach the main peak of Bud Bongao and I think I took the route with fewer tourists.
More photos...
At this point, the trek was easier than the nonstop assault in the first 15 minutes of the climb. Walked some more and reached this part of the trail that told me I finally made it to my destination. You might be wondering why it seemed like I hiked alone when in the beginning I was with 4 other people; along the way, I decided to follow my own pace to enjoy the place more. I told everyone else that I'd catch up. And I did!
The main peak of Bud Bongao has a massive shelter that could easily house a hundred tourists. It's completely cemented, too. It's overlooking the ocean which made it a perfect place to recuperate from that surprisingly tiring climb.
With the view from Bud Bongao's peak, it's likely you'd feel refreshed in an instant. It's free from any obstructions that why fresh and, at times, strong winds rustled everyone on top. If like me you decide to go down from the cemented platform, keep a safe distance from the edge of the mountain; if you slipped, you'd be rolling all the way down to the beach. I tell you!
During our stay at the peak, a few people climbed out of the railings so I decided I should do it, too! It's not entirely prohibited, but take photos at your own risk really. Here are some awesome photos of me at Bud Bongao's Peak.
More photos this time at the shelter..
For the last time, I went down and asked a group of kids to take photos of me. When you are traveling alone, you need to be creative and friendly, all of my photos would be boring selfies in my phone and GoPro if not for strangers who, based on experience, have been kind enough to offer to take my photos. A tripod won't work here as the surface is uneven. You could lose your phone and tripod with one heavy blow of the wind. 🤣
Here are the photos featuring Bud Bongao's famous peak.
I was reunited with the rest of the team. We decided to spend more time there before climbing down.
If there's one thing I won't forget about this climb, it's that I found ways to take photos of Bud Bongao. I'll leave this photo here and let your imagination figure out what I did! I didn't regret doing this and risking my life. LOL! 🤣
On our way back to the jumpoff point, we saw these signages that said we could tie a ribbon or paper or leaf in the trunks or branches of the trees at Bud Bongao. Tying these signifies that we are leaving our problems, diseases, or whatever difficult stuff we're going through in the hands of Bud Bongao. I tied a dried bamboo leaf in a small branch.
Going down was the true easy peasy but with hunger and extreme heat, it was still challenging. Nevertheless, we managed to finish the trek.
They say that a trip to Tawi-Tawi is never truly complete unless you visit Bud Bongao and that day I was just happy that I was able to complete the trek safely.
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