Today a mountain, tomorrow the world

I never thought I’d have a repeat performance of  this  after all the aches and pains that I encountered the last time.  I guess one should “never say never”.

It was a hot and dry Saturday morning when we left the office to climb Mt. Batulao in Nasugbu Batangas.  Garbed in our best mountaineering gears and armed with bottles of water and fully recharged cameras,  we braved the humid Batangas air aiming to reach the peak of 811 meters ASL. 

Mountain climbing is not a picnic.  The heat, the sweat, the dust and the occasional tumbling rocks all seem to test everyone’s endurance.  But it is different kind of experience.  The liberating feeling of being away from the busy and noisy streets of the city and being one with nature in its most primitive way certainly has its charms. 

The people here are friendly.  And food is readily available through a couple of strategically placed stores selling stuffs from water, buco juice, halo halo, chips and whatever else you need.  They even have Mountain Dew available at the summit.

And of course, once you see all those silly but unbelievably scenic pictures, you can’t help but smile and think that it is all so worth it.

"Take nothing but pictures,

Leave nothing but footprints,

kill nothing but time"