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MOUNT MARIVELES - TARAK
RIDGE
LOCATION: Bataan Province
ELEVATION: 1,288 meters above sea level (Mariveles
Summit) 1006 meters above sea level - Tarak Ridge
LEVEL: Minor Climb, Level II, Moderate-Difficult
JUMP-OFF POINT: Mariveles, Bataan
INFORMATION:
For a long time, Mt. Mariveles was elusive to climbers. Unlike
it's neighbor Mt. Natib, Mt. Mariveles was not known as a
climbing destination. There were talks before that the place
is rebel infested that is why it is not yet opened to climbers.
The mystery that surrounds it encited all the more, mountaineers
who are in search of new destinations. There were several
attempts to conquer this mountain and the result is this first
established destination, the Tarak Ridge. Although its summit
has already been conquered, Tarak Ridge became the popular
destination. Its is like Manabo of Mt. Malipuno.
Located at 14.5N, 120.5 E, this 1,288 high mountain is a stratovolcano
with no historic activity. A single carbon-14 date from a
volcanic sample yielded a date of 2050 BC. Bordering Mariveles
is the Manila Bay and the famous Corregidor Island. From Tarak
Ridge, you will have a 270 degrees viewpoint of interesting
places such as Corregidor Island, Mt. Samat, Mariveles Ridgeline
and the town of Mariveles and it's port.
LEGENDS:
Romance surrounds the legend behind Mariveles. There were
once two lovers in Mexico, one the son of a wealthy family
and the other lovely senorita named Maria Velez. True to their
nobility, both volunteered to go to the Philippines and help
in the evangelization of the country. They have also planned
of getting married while they are in Manila. Maria Velez went
ahead on a separate Galleon while the young man followed on
a different ship. On the long cruise, Maria Velez decided
to join the cloistered nuns of Sta.Clara since she felt that
she did not want to marry. Upon reaching Manila, the young
man, dis-heartened, returned to Mexico and joined the Franciscan
Order as a monk. He returned to Manila and was asked to be
in charge of one of the convents of Santa Clara since it was
under the supervision of the Franciscans. While celebrating
the mass one day, the couple recognized each other. As time
passed, both fell in love again to one another. They decided
to elope back to Mexico via a ship from Bataan. On the way
to Bataan, the man rode a horse (caballo) while Maria Velez,
a carabao. They were discovered by their superiors and was
pursued on their way to Bataan. But tragedy happened when
the couple were killed by wandering Negritos. Since then,
the place was named Mariveles in honor of Maria Velez. The
other islets near the place were also named after the incident,
Carabao and Caballo and Corregidor Islands.
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