Mt. Pinatubo

This past Sunday, myself and seven other group members went hiking at the top of nearby Mount Pinatubo.

In 1991, this long-dormant volcano had one of the largest eruptions in the 20th century. Tens of thousands of people were evacuated from their homes, about 300 people died, ash rained down heavily, and the nearby American Clark Air Base and Subic Naval Base were severely damaged and abandoned by the U.S. shortly thereafter.

Today, you can do what we did, and hire a 4 by 4 to take you up the bumpy, steep road to the mountaintop, hike through a passage to the crater lake, and then go swimming. The hike was short, at most two hours each way, and then we returned to R's host aunt's house for a big meal, tsismis ("cheezmeez," gossip) and relaxation.

Here are pictures of the lake, the bizarre landscape, and the 1991 eruption, as well as two of me with M, and then me with H and M.