Our 4x4 emerged from a cloud of dust and was eaten by a narrow gorge. We were rumbling through the lahar-laden wasteland east of Mt. Pinatubo, our destination a lone resort at the foot of one of the most destructive volcanoes of the 21st century.

Looping around North Luzon for a week, we have seen some pretty spectacular places and most of us were really not expecting much for the last day of the Lakbay Norte 3 tour, I mean what else can they throw at us? A whole lot more, as it turned out.

The jump off point to Puning Hot Spring is at Sapang Bato in Angeles City. Dubbed as Station One, it’s where we chose our 4x4’s. We piled on the back of the trucks and within minutes were racing across the road, passing Station Two and rumbling down the dusty landscapes of Porac.