Daraitan Weekend Adventure

 

I really enjoy camping. To some people, its stressful, time consuming, exhausting. They are probably right. Who wouldnt want a soft comfy bed with an air-conditioned room with 24 hour room service? In camping, if you dont move, you are good as dead. You will not eat. You wont have shelter. Wolves might eat you. Kidding. I really dont know how to explain why to me its better. Probably the manner of prepping everything your own from food to your bed is actually fulfilling. Plus, being one with nature is something else.  

This is my first time in Daraitan River in Tanay, Rizal. Its quite an experience! We planned this trip probably a month earlier. I really dont know what came to their heads that made them decide to go camping. This is actually the 1st time I went camping with these guys. We usually go swimming at resorts. Hangout in malls. Grab some dinner.  But camping, nahh. Im kinda anxious what might happen. Everything went all smooth. Everyone did their part. We all had a great time. 

The best thing about this trip is that the food is overwhelming. We had so many! We had some BBQ, vegies, soup. We had scrambled eggs. Even fish! Everybody was well fed. We had so much even the dogs and cats enjoyed it. 

Everybody gathered around and did all their thing. Someone is grilling. Another one is prepping the vegetables. Another cooking the rice. I did most of the washing of the dishes and keeping the area clean. Im quite an OC on cleanliness. I just cant stand when everything is a mess. (unless im drunk as hell)

If you love cats, this place has a lot of them. One of the cats even managed to go inside my tent. Woke up with a pussy at my side. Pussy cat it is. They are all over. One even got her claws on the grilled fish! A friend of mine told me that cats not only bring good luck but also keeps the rats away. 

 

This tent I bought from Decathlon is worth it. I just bought under 3k in pesos. Ived been using it for almost 2 years now. Still perfect. It survived heavy rains. No leakage whatsoever. Its quite heavy though. But for under 3,000 pesos, its all good. The brand is Quencha from Decathlon.

 Its been cold. Drizzled a little. Perfect weather for drinking. Good thing the camp area provides a bonfire. We gathered around the fire catching up and even roasted some marshmallows. One of the hightlights of the of night. I had a couple of beers as well. Theres more left actually. These guys, as they grew old, they became weak when it came to drinking. Its probably a good thing.. 

By the way, the name of the place is The Private Camp : Daraitan . Its googable. Just look for it on Google maps for directions. The place is not bad at all. Part of the package are 2 tents that fits 3 each. A kubo where it sleeps 3 to 4. It has a kitchen. Where u can grill and cook. And a dining area. Not bad. The bathroom is common. They dont have running water though. But they have an ample supply of water stored into drums though. Its all good. Best part, it has direct access to the river. 

This is Daraitan River. Water is cold that came from the mountains of Sierra Madre. Its flowing and its not that deep. But when the rains come, it can go deeper and probably dangerous to swim at. Good thing the weather is forgiving. When we checked out, the downpour was crazy. Almost zero visibility. 

There was a bridge before if you want to river cross. Due to bad weather, I guess the bridge washed out. So residents use small boats to cross. It can hold a tricycle with all your stuff. I have to give credit to the boat operators. Tough labor for these guys. I made a video for this trip. Just click on the thumbnail below. Thanks for reading. See you at our next travel blogs.