She'll be coming around the mountain, when we come

SHE'll be coming around the mountain when WE come, SHE'll be coming around the mountain when WE come! SHE'll be---

Oops, sorry. Welcome back , fellow readers! We were just chanting our new song, "SHE'll be coming around the mountain.." By the E.T's (That's us.) Who we are waiting for was Maria Makiling , the beautiful spirit of Mt. Makiling, a mountain found in Laguna. But we didn't exactly climb the mountain, we just hiked in her lush "garden"; The Makiling Botanic Garden. But we would like to give you a proper greeting to Maria Makiling by telling you her legends..

 Ginger and Gold

Mt. Makiling

One can go into the forests and pick and eat any fruits one might like, but never carry any of them home. In doing so, one runs the risk of angering Maria Makiling. One would get lost, and be beset by insect stings and thorn pricks. The only solution is to throw away the fruit, and then to reverse one's clothing as evidence to Maria that one is no longer carrying any of her fruit.

Maria is said to live in a place known to the villagers, and interacts with them regularly. The villager in question is often either a mother seeking a cure for her ill child, or a husband seeking a cure for his wife.

The wise Maria recognizes the symptoms as signs not of disease, but of hunger brought about by extreme poverty. She gives the villager some ginger, which, by the time the villager gets home, has magically turned to gold. The villagers love her all the more for her act of kindness.

In most, however, greedy villagers break into Maria's garden to see if her other plants were really gold. Distressed by the villager's greed, Maria runs away up the mountain, her pristine white clothing soon becoming indistinguishable from the white clouds that play amongst the trees on the upper parts of the mountains.

The Three Suitors

Maria was sought for and wooed by many suitors, three of whom were the Captain Lara, a Spanish soldier; Joselito, a Spanish mestizo studying in Manila; and Juan who was but a common farmer. Despite his lowly status, Makiling eventually chose Juan. Spurned, Joselito and Captain Lara conspired to frame Juan for setting fire to the cuartel of the Spanish. Juan was shot as the enemy of the Spaniards. Before he died, he cried Maria's name out loud. The diwata quickly came down from her mountain while Captain Lara and Joselito fled to Manila in fear of Maria's wrath. When she learned what happened, she cursed the two, along with all other men who cannot accept failure in love, and she directed them to a different path and they soon became lost. Joselito suddenly contracted an incurable illness. The revolutionary Filipinos killed Captain Lara.

"From then on,, Maria never let herself be seen by the people again. Every time somebody gets lost on the mountain, they remember the curse of the diwata. Yet they also remember the great love of Maria Makiling."...

 WELCOME EARTHTROTTIES TO, 

The Journey to the Slippery slope

THE MAKILING BOTNICAL GARDEN!

So there! Now it's time to let us share with you our last experience on this trip. Going through her garden was a lot of fun, not to mention tiring. Hiking up and down this garden is not as easy as it looks ( We lost a lot of weight, and some of us were crawling the last steps).We followed the steps and paths along the garden , seeing different types of plants and observing it's wonderful and vibrant resources. 
And here is what we have to say...

Hey guys! It's the Mild here! Looks like it's our last stop, boohoo.. but before we leave, I would like to share my thoughts..

Before reaching the destination, I expected to learn about a lot of different kinds of plants.. I expected a really big garden full of unfamiliar and exotic plants. It's funny though, because the garden was more than expected, bigger,slippier, and most of all; 
DEEPER.

Since it was our last stop, we made the most of the precious time left for this endeavor. That's why we took the chance to go deeper in this very big garden. Shockingly, we didn't know that it was very deep! So everyone was tired, especially me, since I really don't exercise.

But, despite all my exhaustions and complaints (like, I'm so tired!!), I learned that exercising once in a while is good. Good for the body, the mind and the soul. I learned that it wouldn't really hurt... in fact it buffed up some muscles!

Medinilla magnifica: One of the wonders of MBG

After that exercise,I felt very exhausted. But more than that, my mind was saying "Gah, The Field trip is over!" I felt quite sad. The trip was very fun for me that I did not want to leave. It was an escape from the everyday, and even though we see each other everyday, this was the time that I learned a lot of things about my classmates and I was able to "bond" with them more. But despite this fact, I also felt happy. It's because I really had a great time, especially because it is our last exposure trip.  The events of the trip,especially those that surprisingly happened, made it even more fun and memorable.

Indeed my expectations were met! In fact, even more. I was not only nurtured with amazing science facts, but more importantly, I was also given great, long lasting... memories.

In this journey, the greatest lessons I learned were these; first, to take care of our Mother Nature because everything in it are valuable and priceless, and second, "A well-planned and organized trip leads to the most memorable experience of an adventurer's life."

This will really help me a lot with my future life, it will help me produce a better outcome when it is my time to prepare for something like this trip. 

"I will never forget this learning experience because it exposed and introduced me to two new amazing worlds; the world of science, and another world of the 6th grade adventurers and their guru."

Welcome Back guys! It's Wasabi. We just came from our exercise and hiking trip. Haha. Kidding. We are just here again to share one of our last moments together.. But do not fear, my fellow readers! When there is sushi, there is an exclusive and adventurous wasabi waiting somewhere out there! 
Okay, getting back to my old self, same, more things to answer!

Expectations, expectations, expectations. Quite a lot actually. You see, we thought there would be a guide and a nicer way down the slippery slope. But since it rained, and practically we were left alone to explore, let's just say, it was a really tiring journey.

There was plant life everywhere! And at the bottom of the most horrfying path we ever took (Considering that Wasabi is scared of heights), we found a small creek and a really weird water fountain. A classmate of ours found a Lichen and we spotted at small tree which had mushrooms growing on its roots. Don't worry, it wasn't poisonous, after all there was no ring around the stalk.

And after that tiring hike up the mountain (We lost a LOT of weight) we made our way to the bus, which was waiting for us all the way up the slanting road. Worse, some of us left bags at the bus and we had to go all the way down the slanted road again to change in the bathrooms where we found a 4- inch long centipede. Trust me when I say: THAT WAS THE WORST WORKOUT I EVER HAD!!! 

Well, once we went home, we couldn't help but relive everything that happened that day and repeatedly wished that the day could start over and that time would slow down for all of us. Sadly, the hands of time are against us.

The whole trip exceeded our expectations though. WE HAD FUN AND LEARNED AT THE SAME TIME!!!

We learned lots of information and had loads of fun. For me I wouldn't forget this experience because of the many sights we saw and the fun we had with our teachers and classmates. Like that time we tried to push each other down the ravine in Mt. Makiling, how K-pop kept playing over the radio and how the silly question and answer portion in the bus went a little out of hand.

All in all it was an unforgettable experience, and I don't regret going either.

Good greetings, fellow earthtrotties! It's the Wild here, and this is our last stop. Which I have to say, sucks. But what do we do when we have to post? We answer your questions, we share our thoughts we express ourselves, and then, we say goodbye. And sometimes, that good bye can never be the same again. But same old, same old; It's life, right? We gotta keep moving forward. But..

Spathiphyllum hybrid: Another amazing plant

Coming home was never really so fun for me. I always liked going out and playing, and getting crazy, and I am totally nuts about FIELDTRIPS. There was no, and there will never be, any fieldtrip that I hated, that I regreted , that I was down or I was absent or late. NONE.  And this fieldtrip, was my best one yet ( I got a cold during this feildtrip, I guess that does count. But I was carefree! My usual self , of course).

I expected this to be most exciting because, I am a health freak. I love going outdoors and exercising. I love sweating, I love eating fruits and all that healthy stuff. (I eat a bit of junk food, no worries, I am not exactly that kind of alien) and I love nature. But, I expected this to be easy for me. hahahahahahahaha. Then my mind told me to "shut up". I was wrong. I, actually, was the one who was crawling up the last steps of that garden. (Stop laughing, guys. It isn't that funny.--- Let's see you do it then.-- Stop it already!) 

Going back to the topic. 

The greatest lesson that I learned from this was to " Enjoy it while it lasts. It only happens once in a lifetime." I do believe in that. I want to risk things because, you never know, it could only happen once. And, hello?! It's an adventure! Life never happens twice..

And, I will never forget this learning experience because, we had a lot of fun. We got closer to each other, (not to mention the time when they had a confession session in the bus, and the crazy antics and mischievous plans I did.) We actually learned something and, in a good way, it wasn't as pressuring in school (Did I mention my mind is kind of slow when it comes to obeying and listening?). The UrbanGuru, has now admitted he listens to K-POP ( I got really paranoid listening to them, it burned my ears). We went chilling in the bus after we came from Starbucks during our stop-overs. And not to mention, bottles-- I probably shouldn't share that to you guys. Once more, this I will never forget because, by spending all those times with my classmates and the UrbanGuru, I realized that I had already the meaningful life to live.

We hope you will have the same meaningful experience soon, and that you will learn to cherish the gifts you have.Live your life with adventures and have no regrets.  Everyday is a new day, and we have to keep moving forward. Have fun guys, and... take care. ;)

Our batch, soon  headed home..

                                              -The Wild, The Mild, The Child, and Wasabi.

We would like to give our deepest and most sincere thank you to the Urban Guru for the batch picture.
Other References: 

http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/small/42956094.jpg

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_1L3rJqyLvCg/SzXX9PNRyMI/AAAAAAAAANk/nD0eIlm4yCg/botanical_garden_2007_6_003.jpg
http://renz15.wordpress.com/2009/10/08/moutn-makiling-forest-reserve-and-botanical-garden/