Up and down Hibok-Hibok

Resiliency

I’VE followed the TV series "Survivor II: The Australian Outback," and admired man's resiliency in the face of hardship and deprivation. I've always wondered how it would feel to be a member of one of the "tribes." Last April, I found some answers.

Our group arrived at the island of Camiguin on April 8, and we were billeted in air-conditioned comfort (complete with private bath and cable TV) at the Cabuaan Beach Resort in Mambajao. We sampled what the island had to offer—the breathtakingly beautiful Katibawasan Falls, the icy Sto. Niño Cold Spring, the dazzling White Island, the white-sand Kibila Beach and historic sites such as the old Guiob Church and the Sunken Cemetery.

Through it all, the pear-shaped island's volcanic origin was paramount. And somehow we felt that our stay there would not be complete without climbing one of its seven volcanoes.

There are more volcanoes than towns in Camiguin. The king—and the only active—of them all is the 1,250-meter-high Mt. Hibok-Hibok, whose name is derived from the word meaning "that which heaves."

Hibok-Hibok, which dominates the northern half of the island, has a moss-encircled crater lake. Steam outlets can be found on many parts of the peak. Its first recorded eruption was in 1827. It continually smoked and rumbled between 1948 and 1951, with minor eruptions in ‘48 and ‘49 (79 killed in landslides). By then a dome had formed.

On Dec. 5, 1951, the volcano erupted without warning, issuing steaming hot gases and killing 3,000 people. A glowing avalanche of lava devastated many villages and covered about 10 square kilometers. More than 30,000 people left the island after the eruption.

Now, almost half a century later, we were going to test our mettle by climbing Hibok-Hibok. We put the prospect to a vote by our "tribe" of seven men and six women—freelance artist V Sevilla (fondly called "Ate V"); Randy Ypon, a balikbayan from Canada; advertising executives Lulu Siguenza of Warner Home Video, Henry Chua of Pizza Hut, Carl Allen and Goni Gonzalez of McCann Ericksson, Jake San Diego of Ace Saatchi, Tey Abonador of Harrison Communications, Rose Pantoja and Nubbin Beldia of Aviacom and Karen Rosel of Publicis-AMA; and myself and my son Jandy.

It was a sure "go" for the men. Carl and Randy are seasoned mountain climbers while Jandy and I have climbed Mt. Makulot ((Cuenca, Batangas) twice and hiked up to the Batad Rice Terraces. Lulu and V, our original Makulot companions, were also in. Tey, Karen and the "flower girls" Rose and Goni (short for Begonia) voted themselves out.

We decided to make the climb on Wednesday, April 18.

We woke at 7 a.m., had our usual Filipino breakfast, dressed casually and were collected by our usual hired "tourist van" (actually a passenger jeep driven by the ever reliable and friendly Camiguinons Charlie and Rico). For provisions we each brought bottled water, and two loaves of sliced bread and canned chicken spread bought at the public market.