An Adventure (that Started it All)

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Who would think I would be so at ease outdoors? I was someone who wasn't willing to trade anything with comfort and familiarity. I was just too much of a city girl.

I am really thankful for letting my friend, Karl, convince me to join river trekking last April 2010 with a group of mountaineers, EWIT. He tried to reassure me that I would be do okay with the trip even without him. He told me this would be a good break for me, being in a depressed state, at that time.

At our jump off and I look so noob. Somewhere in Busay.

This is how we started.

The trail was mostly rocky, which is the dried up river.

This was how rocky it got.

It was supposedly a river trekking event downstream to Budlaan that ended up as a river-less trekking, as our group called it. It was during the heat of El Niño and you could really see that the rivers in Cebu have dried up. It was definitely a sad scene that led some of us to talk about the deaths in Africa, which is ironic. I think I started that one. Anyho, during that trek, I experience being stranded on a side of a cliff holding on to branches for an hour. I have acrophobia and I was really trying my best not to look down or else I would die. That was probably the most difficult thing I've encountered, especially as a first-timer. We were the tail of the group so we spent more time up there than anyone else. 

Lunch break.

Lunch break also meant nap break. :)

During the event, I met new people and made new friends. I realized how fun being outdoors was. It was different and new. There was something comforting about being somewhere that seemed in the middle of nowhere. There was someone or something unconsciously telling you that life is indeed beautiful and you cannot afford to waste a single moment crying yourself to death. I conquered the trek and I though I could conquer my sadness. It should be a piece of cake for me. Or maybe I just made that up because the scenery made me mellow dramatic.

What made me give in to this new idea was certainly the people you are with. EWIT really tried to make the newbies feel comfortable and part of the group which helped a lot in making me feel comfortable. The group ate together after the trek and it was really fun meeting them. Now, we climb mountains together and I'm really happy I met them. They changed my life and my outlook. They helped me go through a tough situation in my life, unconsciously.

Me and three of the tail groupies.

Consoling myself with ice drop, after the long trek. Ate Ai, on my left, looked exhausted.

The entire group.

I never regret making a last minute decision to join the trek. Even if I wasn't received graciously at home after coming from an adventure, I was really happy. It's probably one of the most life-changing decisions that I've made. This taught me that I'll never learn anything new (or experience anything new) if I just kept myself within my comfort zones.

On a side note, I also met the boyfriend, Paw, during the trek. I never really made friends with him at that time since he was with other people. 

* Some photos are mine. Others were taken from Paw Paw Surban, Shimero Jainga, and Ronnie Retuerto*