Treks, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions

On our way to Mount Pinatubo, I said: I know this may not be the right time to bring this up but I feel that something weird and unstable is happening beneath the earth’s surface.

In fact, I have been thinking about this for a couple of days now. Although, unless faith would really have it (what with better scientific warning technology these days) that the volcano erupts with us swimming above its crater, I know I’m more or less just talking paranoia.

But hey, you can’t deny that since the start of the year there have been too many earthquakes all over. There’s Haiti, China, Chile, Sumatra, Japan, Taiwan, Ilocos, Mindoro… (It says in Wikipedia there have been 42 earthquakes from January to April 2010.) Then, there’s Mayon and Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull, which erupted for days and left all those Europe travelers stranded.

Does it not seem like there's something amiss with the earth, something geothermal perhaps?

But, as to not, put some bad vibes to our (then) upcoming Pinatubo trek, I said: ok, moving on….

The Pinatubo Crater is surprisingly gorgeous:

Albeit the way up there was definitely not glamorous. It was 1 1/2 to 2hour uphill/downhill ride (that wasn't really comfortable nor secure) on a very bumpy terrain, through the lahar, after which you will be able to see a layer of ash all over your body. And then, there's the hike to complete your climb of Pinatubo. It says at the bottom of the volcano that it would take a senior citizen only 20mins to reach the top. And, I call that sign on it's mind conditioning agenda!

A normal person like me, who does not regularly exercise but can probably walk effortlessly for 2 hours straight wearing heels, can do it at a comfortable pace for about 40mins. Note that there were varying sizes of rocks that you had to step on and maneuver through. It wasn't one of those treks where there's a decent trail. But once you get there, I suppose you can say its worth it.

For a moment there, my friends and I were glad to see some touristic development in the area, or in the country for that matter. (I actually saw a group of French tourists) To turn a disaster, the stagnant former plantation fields, into an opportunity... exceeded our low expectations. That is, until, someone told us that the outfit was managed (or partly managed) by Koreans... Then, our sense of pride vanished.

But overall, it was still a good day. The weather cooperated and I was proud of my so called outdoorsy self. But when I got back home from the road trip, I logged on to the net and guess what I see?

Lo and behold: Magnitude 4.5 quake hits Panay, Negros islands – and it’s just May 1!