Bicol Express

If you are the manufacturer of tough four-wheel-drive, off-road and crossover vehicles, what better way to introduce your latest offering than to take it trekking up and around a famous mountain/volcano/jungle spot with a select team of motoring journalists?

This is exactly what Isuzu Philippines Corporation (IPC) did when they took about a dozen representatives from various media outfits (including yours truly) and whisked them off to the Bicol region to scale the Mayon volcano. Well, at least, a part of it.

Our journey started on a Wednesday morning when we assembled at the Isuzu Alabang dealership. Joseph Bautista, senior manager for production engineering of IPC briefed us on what to expect during our trip while Timmy Naval, IPC’s PR marvel, gave us our vehicle assignments for the drive to Legaspi City. I was assigned to drive the Sonic Yellow Crosswind XUV 5-speed manual, and also got Timmy to ride shotgun.

After a hearty breakfast, our convoy of 2 Trooper SUVs, 2 Fuego 4X4 pick-ups, 2 Crosswind XUVs, a Fuego 4X2 and the new Crosswind XTRM loaded up on Shell Diesoline Ultra at the South Luzon Expressway station and headed south towards Laguna. We crossed Batangas and reached Quezon at a rather fast clip due to the light traffic and excellent road conditions. We stopped at the Quezon National Park in Atimonan to admire the view and stretch our legs, then drove to Gumaca for lunch at Bulwagang Salakot restaurant. The afternoon found us traversing the highways of Camarines Norte and Camarines Sur, while a late afternoon rain shower slowed us down when we crossed the border into Albay. We loaded up on fuel at the Shell station in Naga City, and reached the Legaspi City in time for dinner.

Sumptuous food and warm reception from the local representatives of the Department of Tourism, the local government of Albay and tourism organizations greeted us at the Governor’s Mansion, where our Isuzu convoy was the guest for the night. Governor Al Bichara graciously welcomed us and spent time with our group while vice-governor James Calisin took time off from his birthday celebration to greet our group. Dinner was served in generous proportions, including the spicy native delicacies, Bicol Express and pinangat, which looks like laing tied with abaca hemp. Suffice to say, our group, which now included John Rodriguez, the fuels brand manager of Shell Philippines who flew in from Manila and Don Idos, Shell’s retail territory manager, was stuffed before we went to bed.

The next day (Thursday), I was assigned the new Steel Black Isuzu Crosswind XTRM 5-speed manual with Joseph Bautista and Ping Arcilla (our tour guide) as my passengers. By mid-morning, we were driving to the Cagsawa Ruins, where we arranged the vehicles for a photo shoot with the majestic Mayon volcano and the centuries-old bell tower as our background.

But it wasn’t meant to be.

Urban legend has it that the volcano will hide itself behind a cloud cover when it doesn’t like to be seen by a sinful viewer. Since we didn’t have time to draw lots and smoke out the sinner or sinners among the group, we took the pictures with Mayon partially hidden by clouds.

We then drove to Cotmon, Camalig, then to Calabidongan for our spelunking adventure inside the Calabidongan Cave. The road to the cave was still being developed, but the ruts, crests and valleys gave us the opportunity to test the off-road prowess of the Isuzu vehicles. It is along this route that I was finally able to appreciate the tall 1st gear of the Crosswind XUV and XTRM. I find the 1st gear virtually useless in city driving since 2nd gear is adequate to move the vehicle from rest using the torque of the 2.5-liter, 4-cylinder, 8-valve direct-injection diesel engine. But when confronted with ruts and steep inclines, 1st gear proved to be very useful to enable us to confidently drive over these obstacles.

After getting all wet and giddy from exploring the dark confines of the Calabidongan Cave (and getting to meet a few bats in the process), we headed back towards Camalig for lunch. After another sumptuous meal, we then drove through Ligao, Amtic and Buang to reach the mountain road up to the Mayon Rest House, or the Mayon Skyline, as it is now known. This lookout point is situated 2,000 feet above sea level, which is not even halfway of Mayon’s peak, which stands at 8,700 feet.

The steep and banked concrete mountain road demanded all 85 horsepower from the Crosswind XTRM. While we weren’t really heavily loaded to require all that power, we were racing against time, driving up the volcano’s side so we could trek Mayon before nightfall. We reached the Skyline with enough time for a trek towards the area where lava once flowed and cooled into what is now a moss-covered giant slide, while those who opted not to go trekking drove down with Ping the tour guide to view the Vera Falls in Malinao.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t make it up the steep trail (blame my weak soccer-battered knees) and at about half-way to the lava trail site, Joseph Bautista, Ron delos Reyes (Auto Review) and I decided to retrace our steps back to the Skyline. We left IPC president Hiroshi Ishino and his group to continue the trek towards the cooled lava spot. When I reached the parking area, grasping for breath, it dawned upon me that I was not as young as I used to be. I wished I had joined the group who drove to Vera Falls instead.

We drove down the mountain road to Tabaco City, where we regrouped at the church of San Jose Bautista, which has a bell tower similar to the one at the Cagsawa Ruins. Ping Arcilla told us that these bell towers also served as watchtowers for the Spaniards against the pirates and invaders from the sea.

Our convoy then headed towards Malilipot, and then to Viento del Mar in Bacacay, where we had a delicious buffet and where we also retired for the night.

Friday morning found me joining a group of motoring journalist who were driving back to Manila instead of joining the trip to Manito Boiling Lake near Sorsogon. After getting our blessings from Myrna Gonzales, IPC’s senior manager for corporate affairs, our group of eight media men loaded our gear in four Isuzu vehicles (a Trooper, a Crosswind XUV, a Fuego 4X4 automatic and a 4X2 automatic) and headed north towards Naga. After loading up on Shell Diesoline Ultra at the same Naga station, we then drove on towards Manila.

The drive back was thankfully safe and uneventful, and we swapped cars to thoroughly sample each Isuzu model in our small convoy. The high point of our return trip was lunch at KBP, a roadside eatery in Km. 226, Calaug, Quezon recommended by Anjo Perez of Crusing Magazine. Their specialty is ginataang santol and a sinaing na tuna in olive oil that was so delicious, I was already looking for excuses to drive back to Quezon. The rest of the journey was a blur and the pace was blistering, at least it was for these diesel-fueled Isuzu vehicles.

Our convoy reached Batangas by supper and disbanded at the Batangas Shell station. I drove home the same Sonic Yellow Crosswind XUV 5-speed with which I started the journey. I looked at the odometer and made some simple calculations. The entire adventure took about 920 kilometers and three days from start to finish, in which the Crosswind averaged about 12.68 kilometers per liter in combined highway/city/mountain road driving, including some admittedly spirited forays over the speed limit in open highways. It has proven itself to be a faithful long-distance traveling companion, a gutsy off-roader and a comfortable people mover. Since it shares the same mechanical parts as its XTRM brother, which has fewer accessories, I reckon that the XTRM will do as well.

This was, indeed, a Bicol Express unlike any other.