KT in Kalinga: Ullalim ning Fatok (Part 1)

31 10 2012

text | Carla Ocampo

photography | Carla Ocampo

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(This is the ullalim, the story, behind the fatok etched today on my forearm, and Lester’s. I have tried my best to recall everything clearly by memory, as I had no chance to write things down during the blur that was: these were days we were working as audio-visual artisans under the direction of young filmmaker Lauren Sevilla Faustino, shooting a persona-driven documentary on the woman called Fang-od, the last of the Kalinga “mambabatok” elders.)

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Traffic on Kamias Road was as usual that evening, August 29th. Usual, meaning heavy and blood-curdlingly hopeless. What could have been five short minutes from Sikatuna BLISS (the current KT headquarters) to the Victory Liner Station in Kamuning, now ticked at an alarming 35 minutes. “Manong, maiiwan na po kami ng bus,” an uncharacteristically worried Lester intoned, with his watch announcing 6:53PM; and the bus leaving at 7PM flat. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Culture, Mountains, People

Arayat: Aring Sinukwan’s Mountain | A Guide to Hiking Mt. Arayat National Park

12 04 2012

text | Carla Ocampo

photography | Yo Muan, Carla Ocampo and Lester Valle

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LOCATION | TRAILHEAD: Mt. Arayat National Park | Bgy. San Juan Baño, Arayat, Pampanga

ELEVATION | DIFFICULTY: 1,030 meters above sea level (MASL) | Class 2

COORDINATES:  15°11’47.94″N 120°44’37.68″E

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The Filipino hiker is quite unique. Beyond following the established Leave-No-Trace principles, we also add another facet to respecting the Great Outdoors.

With animistic spirituality, deeply ingrained in the Filipino psyche, we make it a point to pay our respects to deities — spirits — that may be inhabiting the trails we tread on.

Some offer silent prayers before the start of every trek. Some call out “Tabi po!” excusing themselves for disturbing the ground. Even the most hardened atheists — and Catholics! — among local hiking circles do not question these practices, if only in the name of camaraderie.

These spirits, it would seem, appreciate sincerity. For one, Aring Sinukwan (or, The King, Sinukwan) was such a benevolent deity during Team KT’s trek up his lushly vegetated home, Mount Arayat.

Perhaps, as a token for our hushed behavior, the spirit king and his daughter Mariang Sinukwan gifted us with great weather, a spectacular sunset, and a clear view of the farthest plains of Central Luzon.

But we’ll tell you the story later. For now, here are the particulars. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Alternative Education, Mountains, Travel and Adventure

“Why is Mt. Arayat called Mt. Arayat?”

3 01 2012

text | Carla Ocampo

photography | Carla Ocampo

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The name “Arayat” denotes a couple of things: one, the municipality in the province of Pampanga; and two, the inactive volcano lording over the vast plains of inner Central Luzon.

Conventional stories about how Arayat got its name have been propagated by several online sources, and even by the municipality itself. But after much thought and research, Team KT offers a different idea.

In popular texts, the name of Arayat the town is attributed to a certain Fernando de Arayat, an encomiendero who governed this part of Pampanga and its surrounding towns during the Spanish Era. He was born in peninsular Spain, in a place that was— allegedly— called “Arayat”. But…

Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Alternative Education, Mountains, Travel and Adventure

Claveria in Pictures: Nu Haan Nga Agtudo, Here’s What to Do!

9 11 2011

text | Carla Ocampo

photography | Lester Valle

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Summer is still the best time to go to Claveria; on these days the weather is predictably sunny for weeks.

See, the Wet Season brings in quite a lot of rain along the northern Philippine coast. This could be a real bummer, since Claveria (a coastal town) is more of an Outdoorsman’s Playground than a here’s-a-shopping-mall-so-it’s-perfectly-fine-to-be-indoors kind of place —- not to mention the damage to the crops and the meager fish catch in the aftermath of typhoons, which are not too welcome news for the town’s simple folk, whose lives depend largely on the gifts of earth and waters.

For an easy-breezy trip, you’d most probably opt for a pocket of time without rain. Once you nail the perfect schedule, though, Claveria WILL give you the time of your life, and that’s a guarantee.

Nu haan nga agtudo (and that’s “If it ain’t gonna rain” in the Iloko language), here’s what to see, and what to do! Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Alternative Education, Beaches, Mountains, People, Travel and Adventure, Waterscapes

KT in Kalinga: Tinglayan’s Treasures

2 05 2011

text | Carla Ocampo

photography | Carla Ocampo and Lester Valle

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Kalinga‘s terrain is marked by vast agricultural plains framed by mountain ranges of igneous and sedimentary rock. On these ranges, extensive rice terraces have been carved out by human hands, a Filipino Cordilleran legacy admired the world over.

The inner part of the province, meanwhile, is carved by the force of Nature itself. The Chico River, meandering across Kalinga, sliced through the mountain sides for millions of years, gradually forming a picturesque river valley.

Today, tucked within this river valley is the tribal municipality of Tinglayan. Lower in elevation compared to Kalinga’s other municipalities, a visitor can expect warm, humid days here. Expect, as well, days full of memorable adventures amidst strikingly beautiful gray-and-green panoramas. Team KT proudly brings you the particulars. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Alternative Education, Festivals, Mountains, People, Travel and Adventure, Waterscapes

KT in Kalinga: Tabuk Basics

30 04 2011

text  |  Carla Ocampo

photography  |  Carla Ocampo and Lester Valle

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Largely in partnership with the Living Asia Channel, The Kayumanggi Trails has penetrated one of the more storied parts of the Philippine Cordilleras: the province of Kalinga.

Befuddled local tourists who might still be sticking to what they remember from elementary geography could say Kalinga Apayao, but here’s the tale: in 1995, Valentine’s Day… then-president Fidel Ramos signed Republic Act 7878 which bifurcated the territory into the separate provinces of Kalinga AND Apayao.

(“bifurcated” word borrowed from the Cordillera DILG. Another day of higher learning. Rakenrol!)

On the urgency of this territorial parting, we quote KT friend and true-blue Cordilleran lady May “Adit” Butoy, “It really made sense to separate them because the two have distinct peoples and cultures.” Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Alternative Education, Mountains, People, Travel and Adventure, Waterscapes

KT in Kalinga: Outsider’s Guide to Kalinga Sensibilities

27 04 2011

text | Carla Ocampo

photography | Carla Ocampo and Lester Valle

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A story goes that once, among the highlands of the Philippines’ Gran Cordilleras, a people of great might and grim ferocity gradually became known to their neighbors as the KALINGA.

The name was not in any way cordial. KALINGA, to the different tongues of this region, had meant “headhunter,” or “enemy.”

Through the years, the Kalinga have come to accept this badge with uncompromising pride; the name is a reminder of their days of legend, when justice for every vanquished kin was delivered by the blow of an axe, or the flight of the spear of brothers out to redeem their family’s honor. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Alternative Education, Festivals, Food, Mountains, People, Travel and Adventure

KT In-Betweener: That Glorious Thing Filipino Bikers Call “SEMPLANG”

26 03 2011

text | Carla Ocampo

photography | Yo Muan

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Semplang. A Bahasa-sounding Filipino street word used to connote crashing unto the ground while on your bike. Er, technically not always ON your bike… but you get the drift. Semplang is, simply, a bike crash.

Since I think this onomatopoeic term rhymes more closely with the sound of narrow wheels running out of control (“sss-ss-sss…”) and then light metal frames and helpless, flailing limbs finally hitting concrete or mud (“‘em-plang!” or sometimes, “em-plak!“)… I would wish to limit this post and exclude motorcycle crashes. Those types would sound more like Skrimbogkratas. “SKREEEEEEEEEEM-BOGGG!” (KRATAS would be the part where the broken glass parts scatter on the pavement. Mommy…) Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Alternative Education, Cycle Touring, Mountains, People, Travel and Adventure

Cuenca’s Maculot, The KT Chronicles (Part 1)

19 02 2011

text | Carla Ocampo and Lester Valle

photography | Carla Ocampo, Wing Larase and Lester Valle

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“Ay, Maculot… Paboritong bundok.”

- Axel Pinpin, Pilipinong makata

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LOCATION | TRAILHEAD: Bgy. Poblacion, Cuenca, Batangas, Philippines

ELEVATION | DIFFICULTY:  Maculot Rockies: ~ 706 meters above sea level (MASL); Maculot Summit: ~ 830 meters above sea level (MASL) | Class 1

COORDINATES: 13°55’14.44″N 121° 2’30.95″E

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Not too many people would realize that the view from Mt. Maculot— one of Batangas‘ most celebrated mountains— is world-class beauty.

With its oft-mentioned toothed Rockies gifting hikers with an unobstructed vista of the Taal Lake and Volcano (a geologic wonder, cited in books the world over), the perspective that Maculot offers is a hundred times better— and fresher— than that of tourist-frequented, infrastructure-defaced, smog-invaded Tagaytay City in the neighboring province of Cavite (although the lure of Tagaytay is an altogether different story). Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Alternative Education, Food, Mountains, People, Travel and Adventure, Waterscapes

The Evolution of Totoy Tutong

29 01 2011

text  |  Carla Ocampo

photography | Lester Valle

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January 29, 2010… long-time friends and hiking buddies Elton Chua, Lester Valle and Wing Larase met up at a white-walled and noisy Krus na Ligas hub notorious for lukewarm beer, for a little pep session over bottles of ale. There came the usual banter about life, career and geology shiz (all of them being geol majors at one point in their lives).

But one thing set this night apart: at the moment they started talking about their plans for the future, they actually began jotting things down.

It was the first formal, WRITTEN recognition of their common passion: The Great Outdoors and Traveling. They have realized, it was time to put their practical skills to good use… and that it was high time for graduation, from being hobbyists to educators. Alternative educators. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Alternative Education, General, Mountains, People, Travel and Adventure

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