Are you in for some thrill and adventure? If yes, then this post might give you enough reasons to plan a trip and head to the Philippines to visit the Bicol region where I was born and where the famous Mt. Mayon is located.

I may be an introvert, but because I’m married to an extrovert who loves active sports, I thought I’d give him something fun for his birthday. Besides, introverts have to find a good way to burn all that accumulated fat from those months of hibernating, right? lol

If you’ll search Google, you’ll find a long list on how to shed those fats, but I’ll help you trim your search down and give you one of my best recommendations – riding an ATV. The Mayon ATV tour package is also popular for ATV rides that can get you closer to Mt. Mayon.

Getting Closer To Mt. Mayon

This is not my first time to ride an ATV, by the way. But trying one of the Mayon ATV tours is one of the items in my bucket list, which I mentioned in my previous article (“Those Cracks And Crevices Made You Beautiful Just Like Mt. Mayon”) because I want to experience how it feels to set foot on the volcano itself.

I would’ve opted for a hiking activity, but I am not sure if the local government allows it since Mt. Mayon’s status is on Alert Level 1. So I thought trying the Mayon ATV will be just fine. And it turned out to be the best choice.

The Green Forest Trail

Since I am low on media storage already here on WordPress, I thought I’d share our experience through a vlog I made on the “Green Forest Trail” offered by the Mayon ATV SkyDrive and also show the other places that we visited while we were in Albay.

The “Green Forest Trail” is a new 3-hour trail that they haven’t included yet (officially) on their list of Mayon ATV tour packages. I only found out about this trail because I asked the staff what is their longest ATV trail that will get me closer to Mt. Mayon.

Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see Mt. Mayon up close because it was cloudy and rained a little bit during that day. But for me, this kind of weather is perfect if you will be availing the longer Mayon ATV trails because you don’t have to deal with the sun’s scorching heat especially during this summer season.

The trail was a bit slippery though not too muddy. There were also some bumpy parts and sharp turns (I almost crashed to a tree), but no very steep slopes. I suggest taking another route going back to the base, especially if it is your first time riding an ATV, because you need to use both the left and the right hand brakes for the most part of your descent.

Discover Albay

By the way, here’s the complete list of the featured locations in this video and how much we paid for the products and services we availed:

YOUR BROTHER’S HOUSE TRIBAL VILLAGE (availed the Superior King Room @ Php 2,785.01 per night via Agoda)

IL MORSO RESTAURANT (availed the Dinner Buffet @Php850 per head)

CHILO BAR (cocktail drinks are worth Php100 – Php500)

MAYON ATV SKYDRIVE (availed the 2018 Mayon Lava, SkyWheel, and Zipline Bundle worth Php3,300 per pax and added a couple of bucks for the Green Forest ATV Trail upgrade)

Mayon ATV River Crossing Adventure

The video below was also taken while crossing one of the rivers that is part of the “Green Forest Trail” during our Mayon ATV adventure.

This part of the trail was very bumpy because of the bigger rocks on the river. But it’s very manageable for as long as you maintain your tight grip on the ATV handlebars.

I am not sure if this is just me, but I can hear the voice of a guy shouting “Welcome Home” in this video. It wasn’t our tour guide nor the other tourists behind us. I also asked my husband if it was him, and he said that he wasn’t shouting when we were crossing the river.

To be honest, I really felt Mt. Mayon when we got to the final stop of the “Green Forest Trail.” I touched the soil and when we started to descend, heavy rains started pouring as if Mt. Mayon was preventing me to leave. 😅

All in all, this was definitely one of my most “magayon” (beautiful) adventures here in Bicol by far. So yes, I’m definitely going back to Albay and try the other Mayon ATV trails, too.

P.S. I’ve heard a clip of Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars’ song entitled “Die with A Smile” while scrolling on Facebook, and it just played on loop in my head for how many days now. So I thought maybe it deserves to be included in this article. Here’s a nice cover of this song because I can’t sing it well enough. lol

P.P.S. We are a coastal town and summer here means getting the freshest seafood, that is, if it’s not too pricey. And in my 39 years of existence, I discovered this interesting fact about the squid just now. Do watch the video below to know what it is. 👍

---

“Happy are the people whose God is the Lord.” – Psalm 144:15

---