BevVoyage 3: Travel Stories Throughout The Years (Weekend Vibes: Oh My! Paharuhay!)

Hello mga ka-Hive? I hope you had a great weekend. Here's a weekend story from me.

Around May of this year, over dinner, the shuttle breakers talked about hanging out somewhere and chill. It was to celebrate the new friendship and family found. We wanted to create memories with each other aside from playing badminton. That said, we agreed to stay overnight at the beach in Medellin. We already agreed on the place and the most challenging part followed, the date. Since we were all busy with our own lives, we have to set it on our available schedules.

The shuttle breakers having their dinner after the badminton game. Fact: We used to be called as TTH squad because we always play every Tuesday and Thursday.

First agreed date was after the Bogo City’s charter day which was June 22, 2024. As days went by, some of the members were suddenly unavailable due to emergencies. So we needed to reschedule and reschedule further until our schedules meet. Until we finally set it to July 13.

I initiated to book the accommodation. If no one would, it would not be pushed through. Unfortunately, the beach that we have been eyeing on was already fully booked on the 13th. So we made changes and opted for a camping experience instead at Paharuhay Campsite in Tabogon as we all wanted the idea.

I had already confirmed the booking of the accommodation and paid the down payment which was half of the full price of the room. We chose the Peak Exclusive Camp as it was suitable for us with almost 10 people. Luckily, one of the members owns a tent that is good for 4-5 persons and he volunteered to sleep in his hammock. Since we were 5 people up, we will just rent another tent to accommodate all of us.

The said ground is good for 10 pax with free breakfast each and its price is 3k Php. Tent’s price ranges from 300-500 php.

Two days before the camp, one of the members informed me that his uncle passed away so he and his girlfriend could not make it. But we suggested to move it to the next weekend instead and fortunately, all were available.

Finally, we made it to the campsite on July 20, 2024. We were kind of worried the past few days though due to the low pressure area. It might get postponed once again. But thank you Lord, the weather was on our side on Saturday.

We traveled around 2pm and surprisingly arrived at the campsite within less than 30 minutes.

Way to the entrance. You will be welcomed by their Paharuhay Cafe which is along the highway. From North Bus Terminal, just take a bus and instruct the conductor to drop you off at Paharuhay Cafe.

Parking Area

That was how fast we drove. After parking our motorcycles, we immediately went to the orientation area. We settled our balance and were briefed on the do’s and don’ts of the camping ground and the store hours. They informed us about the two trails to the peak, the hard trail which would only take 10-15 minutes of trek, and the short one that would take 20-30 minutes. It was just up to us which to choose.

The orientation.

Then there's me. All smiles not knowing what lies ahead.

All settled to trek, off we went to the peak. The trail was easy at first not until we chose the hard trail. From the name itself, it was indeed hard. It was steep and we needed to take huge steps on rocks. We stopped over in between the trek to catch our breaths.

Way to the peak.

Heavy breaths and big sweat were the main attraction during the trek. I was pretty sure it would cause body and muscle aches in the coming days. With a huge sigh of relief, we reached our camping ground. Since it is peak exclusive camp, we had it all to ourselves.

We had our own kitchen with utilities and comfort rooms.

And as a responsible camper, it is always CLAYGO. Clean As You Go.

We had our bonfire area.

There is a wooden two-storey cabin where you can get a sight of the nearby mountains and islands. And a great view of sunset and sunrise.

What amazed me was that campers who were below the peak exclusive campgrounds could not visit our site. It was very exclusive.

I was all covered in sweat so, I changed into my comfortable clothes. While the boys were busy preparing our dinner, us, girls, were also busy taking pictures of and with the view. We could not stop doing it because it was breathtaking.

Please see photos below:

Got to take instagramable photos.

While doing so, the weather got gloomy and it drizzled. We sheltered into the cabin and patiently waited for the rain to stop so we could continue taking pictures and to see the sunset as well.

Petting the dogs who kept on coming to me. They have a lot of pet dogs and all were kind, gentle, well-groomed, and clean. If you are not into dogs, you will get to love them. I swear.

Thankfully, it did stop and hours after, the sun began to set creating beautiful colors in the sky. My heart jumped for joy. I knew that I needed to capture that moment.

Nature's farewell kiss. 😘

Tired from the trek, we had an early dinner since we were already starving.

Our Dinner.

We then cleaned the table and prepared ourselves for the bonfire gathering. It was getting dark.

Unfortunately, it was cloudy. It would be great and lovely to do stargazing.

Funny how long it took us to set the bonfire. We did not know how since we were not into camping. But in the long run, we had it lit up. Kudos to our effort and teamwork!

Look at my marshmallow! It looked like a fireball. LOL!

And the conversation began over good music, roasted marshmallows, chips, and the main course, liquor. Most of the topics we shared were horror. We all loved to scare each other but failed to because we just laughed it all out and it echoed in the atmosphere. It was all pure joy and fun - the banters and jokes. The bonding went on until midnight and slept in our tents and hammocks.

The day after.

I woke up at 5 in the morning as I really wanted to see the sunrise. And it did not disappoint. The weather was sunny and perfect. It screamed a brand new day. Little by little, each woke up and greeted each other with a smile. We stroll around the place as we want to see it in the morning perspective - when the sun rises.

Good Morning.

Photo opportunity with the sunrise.

Their cute infinity pool.

It was magical. The flowers and leaves were glowing as if they had silver dust. We went to the pool and the ray of the sun reflected in it. We took a dip in their infinity pool whose view was the green mountains and its vast sea. We were just chatting, talking about the places we should visit next while waiting for our breakfast to be served.

A blurry shot to make it aesthetic.

Enjoying the view.

The Tres Marias.

An hour after, we went back to the camping ground and had our breakfast.

Our free breakfast. They have 3 options - Chorizo, Longaniza, and Hotdog.

A very much needed caffeine to start my day.

Meet Bell, we made this name up, because he wears a bell. He was our alarm clock in the morning.

We prepared ourselves for the checkout. We cleaned and took a bath. We chilled for a little while, listened to music, took some photos together, and the mandatory TikTok videos.

The girls chilling at the second floor.

The candid group photo. By the way, some of the people in the first group photo were not able to join us due to their prior commitments.

After this, we trekked our way home.

Paharuhay campsite is listed on my bucket list of places I want to visit since I discovered them years ago therefore, my bucket list is checked. I thought I will be going to visit there alone like I always used to but I guess God has better plans of making it more enjoyable and memorable for me. This is one for the books, another story to tell.

Paharuhay in English means “to relax” and true to its name, my visit there was relaxing.

Until the next blog. Thank you for reading.

With so much love - XOXO,
Bev 😘