A Long Walk To Abandoned Tunnel

You can appreciate the natural beauty all around you when you go for a walk. In addition to helping you enjoy nature, this can help you maintain good health. There are too many advantages of walking to list them all. But rest assured; you can do it because it's healthy for you and will make you feel great!

On Wednesday, my coworkers and I visit our Aeta pupils. As we entered our town's secret paradise, our day was bursting with adventure and excitement.

The grandeur of the Mapanuepe Lake engulfs us as we stroll throughout the middle of the day. According to my previous article, this Mapanuepe Lake developed amid the disaster brought on by a volcanic eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in 1991. When a lahar obstructed the central river systems in the Mapanuepe Valley, this lake flooded towns near San Marcelino, Zambales.

Mineral-rich and heavily forested, the Zambales mountains are located. Perhaps it used to be heavily forested when mining in the province of Zambales wasn't as prevalent.

I discovered beauty and devastation from nature and human activity here at San Marcelino.

There are places on this mountain where careless mining has wrecked, torn apart, and dug up entire areas, killing all the local wildlife. Then, hazardous substances formed an open pit.

We came to a family who had been waiting patiently for the time scheduled to "Sabat," Sabat, or "meet-up," with Aeta and lowland traders. The Aeta exchange their agricultural products for things like rice, coffee, sugar, tobacco, and other necessities of daily life.

One of the barangay officials with us led us on a tour of the Dizon Mining Corporation's abandoned tunnel along our journey.

He claims to be one of the miners that worked on constructing this tunnel. Hundreds of locals initially made this tunnel. They built this mining tunnel over several months. Mining tunnels are necessary to access, extract, and transport subsurface ores.

We are shocked by how chilly the air and the water are when we first enter the tunnel. Our little "Bantay" walked with us through the tunnel.

The striking grandeur of the rock formations astounds us, but the flying bats in the tunnel make us uneasy.
Seeing the light coming our way was reviving because it was dark within the tunnel when we eventually finished after a lengthy hike.

We finally felt fatigued after the long walk, so we chose to talk, relax, and rest for a while. We ate lunch before returning to school because it was nearly noon.

We are walking so far and carrying so much burden due to extreme heat, but it's all worth it.

Our day was filled with adventure as we walked and looked around at new things. This tour benefited us because it allowed us to explore historical sites full of experiences and stories, as well as for the benefit of our school and learners.