the awesome jebel gara

finally we had the chance to make the long overdue trip to hofuf which i have been egging the adiks on for some time now.  we left jubail wednesday night and crashed the apartments of mccoy and ren in khobar so we can start early the following day (thursday) to hofuf.  i'll tell you more about the whole trip but for now, let me give you a glimpse of the highlight. 

of course if you're in that part of the kingdom, there's nothing else worth the long trip (and the searing heat of summer) but the awesome, majestic and yes, jaw-dropping rock formations known to the locals as jebel gara (gara mountain).  don't know how true but it looks like our kabayans have developed a lore around this place - they call it judas' cave (dahil dito raw nagtago si judas after betraying jesus).  i've seen this place back in the mid-90's but seeing it for the second time didn't diminish any fascination i had with this magical creation of mother nature. 

here's a few pics taken during our lightning visit (1 1/2 hours is never enough to explore the whole thing).  the pics maybe a bit dull coz it's already sunset when we went there, trying to avoid the 46deg temperature earlier that day (a lame excuse for the fact that my camera's cheap! hahaha).

this is just half of the gang... the others are still thinking if they'll get out of the comfort of their airconditioned sayaras (cars)!

tito bong is all-smiles with marco (partly hidden), ega, the laxamana and cariaga families trailing behind

that's the right part of the entrance

and this is the main entrance

stairs leading to the inner section of the labyrinthine cave

just one of the many amazing forms that make you go oh wow!

it's off the cave after a few minutes with mrs pops and son alec leading the pack

after exploring the depths of the cave, it's time to go scaling the heights!

matt, don't worry it's not gonna fall while you're there!

chuck was sad being here - NOT! hahaha

i wonder if i can curve my face on that one, a la mt rushmore

the husbands and wives still discussing if they're bold enough to try the climb..

careful with that expensive camera ega!

mccoy standing tall...  thanks to the elevation! (hehehe...peace!!!)

that's me gasping for breath...  and that's just half of the climb!

(pretending to be) in deep thoughts...  oh well, can't help it.  the breath-taking view just makes you go mushy