Mountain: Mt. Pico de Loro (664+ masl) [Closed]
Location: Maragondon, Cavite; Nasugbu Batangas
September 25, 2016
Today marks the second-year anniversary of our first ever hike which was at Mt. Pico de Loro just before it has been closed to public. Today also marks the second-year of the day I met the love of my life. Whether it was fate or destiny, or merely just a coincidence that brought us together, I can never tell. But I will tell you our love story which started at Mt. Pico de Loro. Everything written in this blog post is personal.
The Plan
My mother decided to try mountain climbing and encouraged me to go with her. So we looked for a mountain that was recommended for beginners. Then we found Mt. Pico de Loro two weeks before the scheduled hike. We found out that it will be closed to public starting October 1, 2016 so we took our chance to see it before it closed. I, my mom, Tita Ai and another friend of theirs joined a group hike under the Traveling Adventure.
On the night before the scheduled hike, their friend backed out. So we need to look for someone as a replacement and I decided to ask Ryan, my guy bff, to join us. After a lot of convincing, he conceded. Little did I know, he will play later on a major role in order for me to meet the love my life. I still thank him to this date.
The Ride
We were at the meeting place before 2:00am. We were designated and settled into a van and waited for the other joiners when I saw Jay. He was a solo joiner so he just put his bag in our van and in a blink, was talking to the drivers and coordinators; on the other hand I was talking to Ryan because were so excited about the trip.
We got transferred to another van and Jay was not. We waited until 4:00am for those other joiners who has no amount of shame because we were supposed to leave at 2:00am! Our patience has stretched too thin by this time. Kuya Rommel, our guide and coordinator who also became a friend, said sorry for multiple times because of the delay. Then, we were on the road towards Mt. Pico de Loro.
The Arrival
We arrived around 7:00am, if I remember it right, to the jump-off. There were a lot of other hikers waiting and we were informed that the DENR held off the hiking because there were three other hikers who got lost in the mountain. We have to wait for them to be rescued before we can start. While waiting, we of course started taking pictures and my attention was caught again by Jay. And I thought, “why wouldn’t he look in my direction?” Haha. He was not doing a lot for my self-confidence. Haha.
We ate breakfast first and it was already 9:00am by the time the three hikers were found and they immediately let us start after the DENR’s safety reminders.
The Hike
This was where it got more exciting…
We were lead by our guide, Kuya Rommel, and it was going smoothly on the first 10 minutes. I never thought it would be this amazing. We walked on for a few meters and crossed few bodies of water. Ryan was genuinely helping us out when he started feeling like he was out of breath. I told him many times to breathe in and out normally and not think about it too much. But then I noticed that his breathing got faster so we decided to rest. We were still not deep into the forest and was about walking for 30 minutes when this happened. He was also a first time hiker.
Kuya Rommel started doing first aid on him. But it was not doing anything good and Ryan started changing colors and his eyes kept on dropping. Other hikers passed us by and offered help and that was when Jay and his group passed. Kuya Rommel knew Jay and called for his help which Jay immediately offered. Though, he did not know what to do also. More like moral support, I guess? Haha. But the point was, he stopped and helped as much as he can.
When I noticed that nothing was doing anything good for Ryan and he kept on getting asleep and even a loud tap at the back cannot bring his eyes open for too long, I started to step in and slapped him in the face for three times with all my might. I still love to picture it until now. Haha. And that got his attention. He was getting conscious so I started to feed him a pack of chocolate. We decided not to let him continue and DENR’s rescued him. All this time, Jay was talking to us and he said that Ryan was like being attacked by a dementor which led to a Harry Potter conversation that made me interested in talking to him.
We continued our hike and the trail was a bit muddy because it rained the previous days. There were lots of mosquitoes also along the trail. We easily got tired which was really reasonable as it was our first time and Jay never left our side, especially mine because we were almost the same age. Haha. He joined our little group and offered his hand whenever needed. We started talking about ourselves and discovered we lived near one another. To think that of all the places in the Philippines, we met while hiking and we were living almost an hour apart. I did not think anything else about that fact but I was happy knowing it.
See, it was not love at first sight. What I felt was familiarity. Like I have known him for a long time because I was really comfortable with him. It was like my brain’s saying, “It’s you. It’s going to be you.” Ugh. That was so cheesy. And I have not told him that because I do not want to boost his ego. Haha.
Going back to hiking… the sun was already up and was scorching already. There were muds all over me and the sweat, I cannot begin to describe it but we were soaked. The trail was a challenging one, especially for beginners, but it was manageable. We arrived at the campsite around 12:00nn.
There were a lot of other hikers lounging at the campsite. While others brought their packed lunch, we ate our snacks. Luckily, there was a convenience store at the area and we bought halo-halo and softdrinks for our thirst. After some rest, Jay and I strolled the area to take pictures while my mother and Tita Ai opted to rest more also because of the heat coming from the sun.
Jay and I felt comfortable with the company of one another. We took a lot of each other’s photos, we took a few together. I felt so exhilarated and asked few personal questions about his family and himself. I even smoothly said, “Baka magalit girlfriend mo.” Because he was holding my hand that time and was also a gentleman as we were near the cliff and the trail was still muddy. Then he said, “Ano yun? Nakakain ba yun?” So that’s when I knew he did not have a girlfriend. Smooth, right? Haha.
After some time, my mom and Tita Ai joined us for a few pictures. Then, the other guide started to call out for those who wanted to climb the monolith. The three of us decided not to and Jay opted to climb towards the monolith. But before we parted, he asked for my facebook name so he can add me and send me our pictures. I gladly gave it to him, of course.
They started climbing the monolith and then we started to go back the way towards the jump-off. The trail, although a litte bit muddy, was a lot simpler while going down. And before we knew it, we were at the jump-off area. We were welcomed by the long line of the rest room and waited for an hour I guess before it was our turn.
Ryan saw us while waiting in the line and exchanged our own stories. Of course, I told him about Jay immediately. Haha. And when I thought I would not see Jay again that day, he came to us like we were close friends already. I did not know how fast he climbed the monolith and how fast he ran down because we were still in the line when I saw him again. He chose to wash off by the river so he did not have to wait in the line.
The Ride Home
After we finished changing, we immediately went to our van to go home. Then, something happened. Kuya Rommel was looking for another person to ride in our van because a couple moved to another. So I said immediately to call for Jay, that I wanted him to be in our van. And again, I thought it was the last time I would see him when he went to the river. My mother asked Ryan to buy water and I asked Ryan to fetch Jay. When he came back, Jay was with him and Ryan insisted that Jay should sit beside me. That was how I saw myself listening to Jay’s stories about his personal life and how I shared about mine. It was a long ride home but I did not notice it because of him. Ryan joined our conversations too, but mostly he just kept to himself. Haha.
Up to this date, Jay and I continue to accomplish our travel goals and also, we will be celebrating our second-year anniversary as a couple in a few months. Again, special thanks to my BFF Ryan who found me a boyfriend as he said he would, and to Mt. Pico de Loro and to other elements who conspired this circumstance. (I cannot believe I still remember all of these details!)
Note:
Mt. Pico de Loro is still closed to public at the present and there is no news regarding on when it will open again.
MAY FOREVER SA BUNDOK!!!
See you next climb!
Meandering Cloud 
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