Pilgrimage Preview

            Reconnecting with Jale has stirred my adventurous soul back to life. It started with a short message he left at my inbox asking where I have been to that week. He must have been referring to the photos I posted from our trip down south.

            It was the Pasalamat weekend. On these busy days I have a penchant of removing myself from the crowd and revelry. So, when he invited me to take a hike to the boondocks, my excitement couldn’t be contained.

            Cutting through lunch and the waiting, our official climb started at Brgy. San Miguel under the blazing heat of the 2 PM sun. I know it sounded crazy. It actually felt like it.

            We timed our pace passing time reliving our Laguna adventures. He puffed stick after stick of menthol cigarettes as we go. After a few stops to get the lungs acclimatized to the abrupt change in physical activity we found ourselves at Brgy. Ara-al. As this is not a serious climb, we visited a colleague in the area to cool off. The melon shake they offered was heaven sent.

            It was dusk already when we spied the Guintubdan marker around the bend. My feet felt leaden at every step but the proximity gave me strength to hang on (aw). My sigh of relief was audible when I finally had the chance to sit at the Pavillon reception. Having originally planned not to stay the night, I texted mom not to wait for me anymore as the last thing I wanted to do at that time was to walk some more.

            Rest was short-lived. I mean who can resist the lure of the cascading waters just a hundred or so steps down below. With new-found strength, we made our way to the falls. The current of the frigid waters was so soothing, soon we found ourselves sodden from head to feet, sliding through stones to shallow pools below shrieking in delight as kids.

            We would have stayed a little longer had it not for fear of mosquito bites.

            Supper was a simple affair. We had sautéed corned beef and warmed sardines over heaps of rice.

            Darkness blanketed the place though the night was still young. We found a quiet place and stayed there a while sipping coffee watching the city lights spread before us. Of course, the night did not pass without us revealing a bit of our nerd selves. We studied the skies for a bit and were rewarded with a glimpse of a rather showy meteor that made its way across the sky with deliberate slowness.