Abasig Trek

Plants, birds, flowers, insects and the wild have always been fascinated me. After years of chasing a career leading to a different direction, I realized that there is nothing more satisfying than following my heart’s desires. 

Astro at Macodong

So, last Wednesday Feb. 13, during my Dad’s birthday, I decided to form a team to explore and discover what our very own forest and mountain has to offer. Where and when to start was an easy decision to make. First stop would be our coconut farm and other adjacent lots near Abasig river. It is situated at the foot of Mt. Labo, where I grew up and lived most of my childhood. We will focus on Hoyas and Medinillas but when we observe other type of interesting plants, we will not ignore them.

H. crassicaulis

On Saturday, Feb. 16, 2013, I was joined by Denden, Edmar, Kuya Boyet and my ever loyal and obedient Belgian Malinois, Astro on our initial trek to Abasig. First we had to travel from our home at Brgy. Guinacutan to Brgy. Tulay na Lupa before we could commence our legwork. At 5:50am, as the morn was broken, we took off and arrived in Tulay na Lupa at 6:30am. We already noticed Hoya plants hugging a mahogany tree and several other trees on our way there. 

H. crassicaulis

About fifteen minutes after we commenced walking we found our first Hoya specimen with a nice inflorescence dominating a jackfruit tree. There are several other Hoyas on adjacent trees, but apparently, it is not flowering season so we could not decide whether those Hoyas are all similar.

Ground orchid @Abasig

Medinilla @ Abasig river

Right after crossing Abasig river, we noticed red berry-like fruits attached near the base of a plant, after a closer inspection, we concluded that it is a Medinilla plant. Looking around the vicinity, hiding in plain sight are several others of the same plant. Few meters from it is a ground orchid with white flowers. I believe there are several more waiting to be discovered on that spot alone. It would be easier to notice when they have flowers.

Dischidia

As we ascend more, we reached a flat clearing and there was a small tree covered with tiny-leafed vine plant that I could not decide what it was. Later, on our way back, as I pointed it out to my team we noticed the very tiny yellow flower with a transparent-orange ant that is going in and out of it. On this spot, we were joined by a heaven-sent accidental member of the team who served as our guide. He made our expedition more productive and worthwhile. 

Hoya on coconut tree

Moving on, we saw an awesome display of Hoyas! Climbing coconut, dapdap (Erythrina) and other trees. Hoyas and Hoyas everywhere. The leaves come in different shapes and the more exposed plants are yellowish in color. 

 

Vining medinilla

We decided to follow Macodong creek leading up to our coconut farm. Unfortunately the area next to the creek is recently cleared; still there are several ferns and some Medinilla species left untouched. We saw an amazing Hoya climbing a large tree from the ground up with several blooming inflorescence.  It was breathtaking as we approached the boundary to our farm being under the canopy of the trees. The view of diverse flora includes climbing begonias, vining medinillas and ground orchids. 

 We arrived on our destination at roughly 10a.m. We sat a while, fetched and drink the sweetest and refreshing spring water I’ve ever experienced. The same spring is now the drinking water source for the brgy. of Baay, a nearby village.  

Bulbophyllum orchid on Narra tree

One portion of the coconut farm is about two (2) hectares of virgin forest. To get there, we had to cross a neighbor’s farm. On this farm, we saw several epiphytic orchids on a Narra and Malig-ang (Lipote) trees.  Before going in the forest, we had Bicol Express and rice for lunch which is very nice to warm ourselves up against the cool breeze on the mountain.I never ventured in this forest before because looking up, it looked unfriendly, steep and too wild. But, thanks to our guide, we just had to be led through a proper opening in the bush, and next thing we know we were looking at a breathtaking view of large trees and clear ground. It was amazing experience to pull ourselves up the very steep hill. We were crawling over and under fallen trees. We were stung several times by Hantik (Red Ants)  and Astro was not himself all the way back home after brushing himself with Lipa bushes and standing on Hantik mounds.

Abasig River

It is really a fun and exciting escapade, an eye-opener for everyone involved how rich our forest is. Hopefully next time, we will see the monkeys. We were back home and sipping black brewed coffee before 6p.m.