I enjoy spontaneity at any instance. A few weeks back, I was invited by Robx to a day hike with some of his blogger friends. Since I have nothing to do (left work that same week) and I was being my usual kaladkarin, I immediately hit the join button on Facebook. This was my first hike and I was just so excited few days before the trip that I didn't bother doing some research on the place. I just wanted to surprise myself and see nature's beauty as we were walking along the trail.
The mountain is in Ternate, Cavite and is called Pico de Loro - "Parrot's Beak." Kaiz of missbackpacker.info, who served as our guide, said that this was an easy climb and that it was suitable for beginners like us. But after the 6-8 hour hike and the steep trails, most of us, even the experienced climbers, beg to disagree. It was a risky trail, especially near the summit where you literally have to cling to rocks and grass for your life.
That day, I learned that mountaineering is more than the display of physical strength and stamina. It has its own science and ethics. One nice thing I liked is the feeling of being together, trying to push each other to reach the top. This doesn't apply only to those who you're with but also with the people that you just pass by along the trail. Every time we see another group of people, we greet each other a good morning or a safe trip. Don't you think those little pleasantries would make a lot of difference if we apply them outside of the mountains?
The photo above (stones on top of each other) is one sign that we are on the correct trail. Another sign would be ribbons tied around branches of trees. Of course, signage are still the best means for direction but they're not very plenty here. How I wish I reviewed my Boy Scout notes before going here.
After attempting to reach the summit, I went back to the camp to rest for a while and enjoy some refreshments while being feasted upon by giant red ants.
Going down the mountain, I was with Marvin and Robx. We got a little lost along the trail when we probably made a wrong turn somewhere. After walking the more challenging and longer route, we we're so exhausted that when we saw a concrete road, we laid down on the asphalt.
Having rested for a while, we were back to our vain selves and still managed to take some pictures.
It was an awesome experience. Sure, we were more than exhausted for words and will more likely have aching bodies the next days but I got to meet extra nice people who stuck it out through thick and thin. It's quite unusual that a mix of people who hardly know each other at the start of the day become so close after just one hike. Team Quarry, you're the best experience I had in Pico de Loro. Looking forward to more trips in the future, preferably in a more relaxed setting. :)
After a week of stress from work, I decided to go on a trip.
There’s always something uplifting about going to another place. Whether it’s
on another country or somewhere along the Philippines, it’s the same feeling
that you get – a sense of satisfaction by exposing yourself to other cultures
while making small discoveries for yourself along the way.
During my rest days last week, I went to Puerto Galera. Immediately after our shift at 5:00am, we
rode the first bus going to Batangas Pier (150 peso fare for a Wifi bus). By
7:00am we were already at the pier where we bought tickets for the boat ride
(500 pesos Batangas-Puerto Galera roundtrip ticket) going to Mindoro
Occidental.
Actually, it was my first time to ride a boat. When my officemates told me that we’re going
to ride a boat going there, I was ecstatic. I expected to ride like the “super
ferry types” that Sharon Cuneta, literally and figuratively endorsed. It turns
out that it looks like a big banca that we ride in Pampanga during the flood
season.
My hope of riding the super ferry type was rather turned
down. But again, it was still a pleasant boat ride, seeing the stunning islands
covered with greens contrast with the eye-catching blue color of the water,
while my hair is being caressed by the wind, my face hit by a gentle ray of
sunlight. Da peeling, aylabet.
Puerto Galera is a good three-hour trip from Manila. Once we
arrived, I can’t believe that I’m actually in Mindoro stepping on its sand and
breathing its fresh air. Of course, after arriving the next sensible thing to
do is find a good place to stay in for the night. We checked in at VM Beach Resort,
which has the nearest access to the beach and a pocket friendly accommodation
rate of 1000 pesos per day. The room is spacey for its price, it has two queen
size beds, a CR, a small cable TV and an aircon unit. We changed our clothes ass
soon a we fixed our things and afterwards, we looked around for somewhere to
eat.
Food isn’t too cheap in the restaurants along the beach. A
good meal with a fruit shake might cost you around 200 pesos. Although pricey,
I must say that the taste didn’t disappoint. Galera has some great tasting
fruit shakes too – smooth, refreshing, and flavorful. I personally liked the
Choco-Peanut as well as the Banana-Mango shake.
That night we went out for a drink. My officemate
recommended that we try out the “Mindoro Sling”, a rather sour concoction of citrus
fruit juices and tequila (I think). The pink one is called “Southern Comfort”
which truly lived up to its name since it hardly tasted of alcohol since it’s
made of Bailey’s and strawberry flavorings. It looked more like a milkshake to
me than a cocktail drink.
The next day, we had breakfast in one of the restaurants
along the beach. Everything looked so calm until some people started to offer
us different activities. Boss,
snorkeling? Boss, tara, island hopping? Boss, pasalubong? Boss, anklet? Boss, t-shirt?
It’s really quite annoying since some people would just like to go and
visit the place to find peace only to be faced with this subtle form of
harassment. I really do hope that the management would do something about this.
It’s rather simple, if we were up to some activities, we would be more than
happy to approach them and ask about it if not, edi kebs lang.
After breakfast that day, we went off to explore the rest of
the place, taking pictures and buying souvenirs at every opportunity we get.
We went home to Manila the next day. As soon as the bus
arrived in Pasay, scenes of the beach and all the food came flashing back. I
guess we’re back to reality now. The workweek will once again start tomorrow
but one thing’s for sure: It was a rest day well spent for me.
I went to UP Diliman last week without really having anything to do. This is one of my spontaneity trips that I do every once in a while especially when I get stuck at home for so long. I've always wanted to visit the UP campus having read a lot of some interesting things about it in different online fora.
I also met up with Jan Robert Go of Politics, life and, everything else who is a teaching associate in the university. He was too nice and gave me a tour around the university. Thanks Sir Rob! :)
Of all the sights-to-see in the campus, I particularly liked The Oblation, the most prominent statue in the university which depicts a man with outstretched arms symbolizing man's selfless offering of oneself to his country. Sir Rob also told me that this statue is also used to air out protests, both on the government and the society. He told me that it was even used by the LGBT who were fighting for equality by placing butterfly's wings on The Oblation's back. But most of the time, placards or streamers bearing the protests are placed around it.
A possible counterpart of The Oblation in UP is UST's Miguel de Benavidez statue which fronts the UST Main Building. However, I doubt if the priests from UST would allow us to do such things to Benavidez like the UP students would do to the Oblation.
Another thing I noticed while I was walking around the UP Oval are the different colored ribbons tied around the street posts and trees. Later on, I found out that these too were symbolism for causes. For example, the red ribbons symbolize the Anti-RH bill cause while the purple ones represent the Pro-RH bill stand. They also had yellow ribbons with red stains which represent the Anti-NoyNoy faction in the university.
An amazing thing about thisis that these ribbons do not represent the stand of the whole university's population; and in fact, represent the varied opinions of the UP community. It's quite saddening that in our university, which hailed itself as Anti-RH bill, students and some faculty cannot openly express their support for such cause. I mean, as an academic institution, universities must encourage free thinking of its students and allow expression of such. To some extent, I believe that the title "Catholic University of the Philippines" limits the academic freedom of its scholars.
I also saw a banner along the College of Arts and Letters which looked like this:
It's really inspiring to see that UP is active when it comes to government issues. When you come to think of it, it is but rational that all universities would get involved in these matters. As they are the ones that are more informed that others, they should exercise this privilege by applying what they know in such issues.
Below is a signage along the university oval. Notice the "WANTED: KAPAYAPAAN" sign and the Rizal picture with RIP letters on it. Although, there is nothing wrong in expressing one's opinions, they should also do it in the right means. These kinds of vandalism are perennial problems in UP, as Sir Rob told me.
The campus is like a community in itself. They have a shopping center, cooperatives, bank, church, etc. As some would put it, the UP campus is like a microcosm of the Philippines. I don't really know why I am drawn to the different sari-sari stores around the campus but it's really good that UP also provide jobs to community nearby. The picture below is a shake I tasted which tasted heavenly. It's called "Autumn" and is a blend of watermelon, mango, banana and pineapple.
This is one of my favorite spots in the campus. The road is wide and the trees are just beautiful. This photo, taken at Osmena St., makes me think of the poem "Trees" by Joyce Kilmer.haha Also, this street also looked like one road in Pampanga which brings some home-y feeling to me,
Overall, I like the vibrant feeling of freedom to think and do whatever you want in UP. The vast open spaces and the rich greenery is also a refreshing sight compared to the very cramped up and polluted Manila.
My friends and classmates would always tell me, "Bakit di ka nag-UP? Filing namin bagay ka dun.". (probably due to my liberal style of thinking) Yes, I planned on going there for college but due to some circumstance I failed to submit the UPCAT requirements on time.Boo. Nevertheless, I'll probably do my post-graduate studies there in Diliman. Maybe MA in Psychology, MA in Education or MS in Community Organizing/ Social Work. What do you think?
I love UST but there are also things that are just lovable in UP. :)
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Title:Lupang Pinangako Artist:Aiza Seguerra Description:One of the the singer's original compositions for Rock Rizal project by RockEd Philippines.
