Trek in Sta Lucia Banahaw

The left photo was taken at  Santo Kalbaryo on top of Sta. Lucia in the mystical mountain of Banahaw, referred to as the new Jerusalem or the Holy Mountain of the Philippines.

I've been to Banahaw several times before but I seriously don't remember climbing up to Kalbaryo, one of the puestos of the sacred mountain  A puesto is a natural feature that is considered holy - such as a rock, cave, waterfall and even the summit. The puestos are visited in sequence and at each stop, a candle is lit.

The trek around the holy sites in Sta. Lucia took us 3 hours and 35 minutes (or 1190 calories burned). The starting point was at Boy Fajado's place who incidentally converted his home to a Bed & Breakfast called "Nature Villa".

From the B&B, we decided to do the long way - which is following a small trail to San Bernardo. The property is now  fenced (well, it wasn't during my last visit). According to our guide Gilbert, the property was recently purchased and will be converted into a botanical garden. We went down the newly built stairs and at the bottom, lit our first candle.

at Sta. Lucia falls

We followed the river, wading through knee deep water and cautiously working our way through slippery rocks and boulders. At the end of the river is Sta. Lucia falls where we went under two falls - the stronger, powerful diyos ng ama and  feminine diyos ng ina.

We then climbed the 269 steps up and headed to the next puesto  called the Kweba ni Santong Jacob, a wishing well where we had to enter through a narrow crevice and shimmy through sharp rocks to go deep down. The cave is lit by only candles. There is an underground river where we climbed down a steel ladder to dip three times in the cold, sulfuric water.

Crosses on Kalbaryo

At this point, we were soaking wet from the falls and well. We climbed up to the next puesto, a cave called inang awa.

From there,  it was an uphill climb through a  rocky path to Kalbaryo (Cavalry). The site simulated Christ's crucifixion with three crosses. Next to it though is a  mound with "Jove Rex-Al".

The next time I visit, I'll make sure to go to Durungawan and do Husgado again or try to climb the mountain again.

Orbs in Banahaw

When I showed my Banahaw photos to Tesa P, she said "what orbs??.. that must be dust from your camera!" It can't be specks of dust because the orbs are perfectly round-shaped of various sizes, colors and there is some kind of geometric pattern within.

If you look closely at the orb in the left photo, you'll see a baby's face in it! Well, unfortunately I couldn't make it out and saw instead a Mickey Mouse-shape.

I took some shots while trekking in Dolores, Banahaw along the river bed from San Bernardo to the falls in Sta. Lucia. The orbs appeared in the first "puesto" (right photo) and kept registering until we reached our destination.

Dave Juliano of the Shadaowlands.net defines an orb as "the energy being transferred from a source (i.e. powerlines, heat energy, batteries, people, etc) to the spirit so they can manifest. This may not even be a conscious thing the spirit is doing, just a natural way they get their energy." He said that this would explain why the orbs are round balls. According to the laws of Physics, energy being transferred like that would assume a natural shape of a sphere. This theory can also be tied into the EMF readings we get during spirit activity.

A dormant volcano, Banahaw is reputed to be a center of psychic energy. It stands on a power point where the ley lines of the earth intersect and experts say that wherever such latitudes and longitudes meet, they create energy fields that allow higher frequencies of perception, physiological or otherwise. People living in the foot of the mountain speaks of apparitions of Jesus Christ, the Blessed Virgin Mary and even Dr. Jose P. Rizal.

Frank Regis of the InterSelf Empowerment Institute said that Banahaw can be summarized into one word which is Healing - this is, physical, emotional, spiritual healing. Banahaw has all the natural healing "OIC" factors - that is, 21% Oxygen versus less in the city, nourishing negative Ions from moving water (falls)and the energy of Chi.

He said that most people who visit Banahaw go for healing to visit the so-called power sites (note: 200 sites) or locally referred to as sacred "puetos." These "puestos" can be a spring, waterfall, stream, tunnel, face of a rock, cave. Regis said the visits to the sites are structured for physical cleansing, inner purification, a connection to natural energies that leads to the experience of relaxation and peacefulness.

The popular areas are Sta Lucia, Yapak, palacio ni Moses (left photo), colegios de santos, jusgado and Jacob's well.

Well, whatever it is in Banahaw, the orbs only registered in MY camera. So, either I'm picking up the energy or my point-and-shoot can record EMF readings and is therefore very high tech! Whatever it is, I find myself going back to Banahaw where its wildness and beauty evoke inner stillness.

Note that Banahaw is still closed for climbers. The areas open are Dolores (low level at 1200 ft) and Kinabuhayan (mid-level).