2013 TRIPinas expedition : Out of Africa

Hello TRIPinas friends,

Finally, a time to write! Last month's team adventures were truly epic and it will be challenge to use words to describe the exhilarating feeling that we all had while on the trail.

Before I proceed on dishing our adventure tales, allow me to answer a question that we keep getting each time we end the season - why we don't operate from June to October. The most obvious answer to it is the weather. Bad weather, that is. There is an important safety issue that can't be overlooked when one heads to the outdoors during this period. In fact, one quick glance at the news during the rainy months and it's easy to realize that doing outdoor activities during these times is unsafe. Who wants to get stranded (or worse) while hiking, anyway? Safety is of utmost importance to our group and we will never put anybody in danger by organizing trips with iffy weather.

So what does Team TRIPinas do during its 'off-season'? We Explore More, of course. That is, we go and organize international expeditions. These trips are meant to make the team more solid, meet outdoor groups here and abroad, test and review outdoor gears and to learn new things that are significant in the community.

It may look all fun and glamorous on photos but believe me when I say that for the most part it is hard, dirty work. Organizing an expedition in a country that is very different from where you are is very tricky and costly but it allows us to see things from their perspective.

The past years, we have been to Indonesia (Mt. Rinjani, Mt. Kelimutu), France (Pyrenees, Mont Blanc), Jordan (Wadi Rum) and Nepal (Everest Base Camp).  If you have been following us on Facebook, you'll know that the team went to Africa. Our goal was to summit the two highest peaks of the continent - Mt. Kenya (Point Lenana, 4985masl) and Mt. Kilimanjaro (5895masl). I am proud to say that the team was successful on both goals.

click here to see the photo album of our expedition

In the meantime, let me assure you that the team is busy preparing for the opening of Season 6. We can't wait to share with you all what we learned.

Everybody stay dry now,
A

August 2012? That's eight months ago! Well, time sure flies when you're having fun. 

So what has Team TRIPinas been up to? Since that last post, we found ourselves

-being chased by dogs in Batad, and swimming in the ice-cold waters of Tapiyah waterfalls

-reaching the summit of Bulusan in Sorsogon

-wine drunk-running a full marathon in Bordeaux, France on a 38-degree day

-ingesting mind-blowing vodka (with horrible, horrible food) in Moscow, Russia

-trying the Indian Railway, doing sun salutations in Benares, buying the prettiest silk scarves our wallets can afford and getting speechless and teary-eyed by the sight of the Taj Mahal

-wrestling with burly yaks on the Himalayan trail as we made our way to Everest Base Camp and Kala Patthar in Nepal

We have lost several luggages, spent long hours on the road/air, had our bout of Delhi belly, fought over the silliest things, almost died (thrice!) but you know what, when we look back and realize what we have all done, we'd never have it any other way.

The adventure we had was imperfectly perfect. 

We went back to work recharged and rejuvenated.  TRIPinas Season 5 was launched late October of last year. We were more than happy that we got to have more people who wanted to Explore More! the Philippines. New destinations were launched, old trips were tweaked to the delight of our followers.

As the team inches closer to the end of Season 5, we are excited to know where our itchy feet and restless mind will bring us. 

Sh, listen. Do you hear that sound? It's adventure calling! You know what that means? Time to start a-packin'!