Part 8: The summit....
After what seemed like the shortest sleep ever, Alfred woke me unzipping my tent.
'come on or we will miss the sunrise' he beamed.
looking at me all sprightly and full of life, even at this early hour.
I was starting to think that this man was a machine - no one is this chirpy after such little sleep!!
Unfortunately the rest of the camp decided on drinking till they literally collapsed - they were going nowhere.
I heard laughs and jokes all night which kept me awake, but they were all so nice to me, there would have been no way I would have asked them to keep the noise down.
Besides it was funny, especially when hearing someone vomiting.
Every muscle in my body was aching, especially my shoulders - I was so exhausted. It took everything in me just to get up.
They asked me to hurry up and gave me a few strange looks as I sprayed Insect repellent on, thinking I was some kind of wuss.
It was still pitch black outside and I was so happy to hear that all we would be carrying up was light bags of water, this was such a welcome relief to me.
We started the trek upwards leaving the camp and several snoring and drunken travellers behind who where still in no fit state to climb. This was so much easier without the heavy backpack, well for now anyway.
It was not so bad at this point with still not much visibility and we could barely make out the peak but the path was getting more rocky and much narrower, getting steeper with every foot step.
Having never really attempted mountain climbing before, I resisted the temptation to ask any questions and thought it wise to keep my head down, stay silent and keep climbing.
Also right about now, I discovered that my Nike basketball dunk trainers where completely unsuitable for this expedition, so I was taking great care with my foot steps, watching closely where I was planting my feet.
It was beginning to get lighter and directly ahead the peak became visible, which was really jagged and extremely steep - and not long after that, it became clear just how high up we where.
But I was concentrating so hard on climbing and not falling that it was hard to look around me.
A small level path, where we were able to briefly rest appeared, and one of the girls in our group was getting really nervous.
'How am I going to get down from here' she said.
I was beginning to wonder the exact same thing, as Alfred replied 'we will worry about that later' she was even making me nervous.
By now we were almost rock climbing. Twisting one way and another.
It was really dangerous and one slip would have almost certainly meant serious injury, or even worse.
But onwards and upwards we went.
I really loved Alfred's fearless attitude although deep down I was getting more and more worried.
This was as far out of my comfort zone as I had ever been in my life. Miles from anywhere, high up and without the correct equipment. I was using all my muscles, first finding a good grip, then planting my feet before pulling myself up.
And that is how it continued for a while.
The climb became more jagged, more rugged and perilous.
Then I panicked as it suddenly just hit me - my comprehensive travellers insurance was only covering me for climbing heights of 600meters.
We were most definitely higher than that already, with quite a way to go.
The nervous girl kept repeating to herself 'I wish I never came now'
It wasn't really making me feel any better.
But I tried to offer her a few words of encouragement and helped her up a tricky section.
Right now I daren't look up nor down. Just focusing on directly in-front of me.
It was a fantastic experience and although worried, it was one I was enjoying immensely.
This was a completely new experience for me and I'd never tried anything like it before. The group asked why I was smiling but luckily for me they didn't sense my apprehension or nerves inside.
We reached a point where there was a vertical section and a rather dodgy looking long rope, with several knots in it. The idea here was that we had to use the rope to rock-climb.
The nervous girl freaked out and was seriously considering turning back.
Alfred went first, and I went last
just after the girl.
She took ages, but to her credit she made it up. We were all encouraging each other, the spirit and camaraderie amongst us was great - then it was my turn.
'Watch your feet' Alfred repeated.
I was loving this experience and the adrenalin kicked in as I climbed, bit by bit pulling my self upwards, one slip and I would have been in serious trouble, but I made it up.
The last stretch was in sight now, and we moved quickly not wanting to miss the sunrise.
Looking down and all around me, I could clearly see the saw like jagged pathway we scaled.
One last push up the rocky face and we made the summit - It was a small flat like plateau, with the most sublime and one of the most complete 360 degree views I'd ever witnessed.
I could make out the coast line, and as far as the eye could see were sweeping mountains and stunning scenery, it was amazing.
Palm trees, Emerald hills, and towards the back end of the plateau was a sheer drop of hundreds of feet.
The mountains indeed did glow from the suns rays, and I understood the mountain of light name now.
We made it just in time for the sunrise as the rays were peaking through the clouds.
No one else was there just me, Alfred and the small group of climbers that came with us.
It was really windy and we high fived each other then sat down watching the sunrise together, snapping several shots of the stunning views.
I had myself a little moment, thinking of what journey I had to make to get here.
Not just the climb but the last few years of my life. I thought of my family and close friends who have been there for me through some extremely difficult times, wishing that each and every one of them were here with me to see this magnificent view.
In truth they all were, and I dedicated this climb to all of them.
For all the pain staking support and encouragement they offered me through some dark days.
The sunrise was beautiful and only added to the emotion that I was feeling inside - I wanted to savour every single moment up here.
This was considered a good hike for beginners although at times it didn't feel easy for me. The landscapes were remarkable, especially the rocky part of the trail and looked really dangerous from up here to traverse, putting into perspective how perilous some of the trail was.

Not long after a few other hikers started arriving and we met some travellers from Korea.
I looked down and Alfred told us we better hurry or we will be caught in crossover traffic of groups coming up.
The path was narrow and only wide enough for one way. And with that I waved a big farewell to the view and began to think of the journey down although climbing down was not as bad as I feared, well except the part with the rope - of course a decent pair of mountain boots would have made it less of a worry, especially since I lost my footing a few times, so after my eagerness, I thought it wise to slow down and be careful.

A decent breakfast awaited us at the camp as well as a whole host of hungover travellers, and when we reached it was quite a funny sight - they were all a lot less lively than the night before.
Fried eggs, rice, noodles and Filipino bread were served to us and they soon perked up.

We had to be quick in packing our equipment away other wise the heat would kick in, and we still had a 5 mile trek to the bottom which I was slightly concerned about. But my back pack was a lot lighter after consuming most of the water this time time.
The air was incredibly sticky and humid already and I was covered in sweat and dust from the rocky track.
The green palm trees, mountains and hills were visible in the sunlight, it was amazing to see then about 3 miles later we passed the families again.
I was exhausted and nearing collapse from the heat. So Alfred thought it wise to negotiate with one of the families who had a cool looking motor bike trike and offered to take us down the rest of the way.
Do not ask me how Alfred, me and the other 2 in our group, as well as our large backpacks squeezed in, and I did not even care - but it was a relief.
The ride down was both fast and unbelievably bumpy, and sometimes a little close to the edge for my liking.
But the driver skillfully weaved in and out of the huge pot holes, well occasionally deliberately driving over some, he laughed to himself as I bumped my head on the roof of the trike, he asked if we wanted to visit the church in the hills, we all agreed.
He also promised he'd wait for us outside when we finished, then drive us to the bus stop on the lay-by.
The church was up several steps and was called Caleruega amongst some wonderful palm trees. At the entrance, the words 'closer to nature, closer to god' were carved out of a large piece of wood. It was perfectly apt, because we were as close to nature as we could possibly be.
The priests offered us some of their restrooms when we arrived, which was such a relief, then all of us took the best ice cold showers, with a pail and bucket - it was just what we needed.
Then after a change of clothes, we took a brief walk around the church grounds.
It really was a serenely peaceful place here, hidden amongst all the lush trees and mountains
Our driver, true to his word was waiting outside and took us to the bus stop where we were dropped off the day before. There was a bit of time to kill so we stopped for delicious Filipino lunch, over looking the fantastic view of the still active, Taal Volcano.
Soon after the packed bus arrived to take us back to Manila and sadly, there was standing room only for the bumpy ride home, far from ideal, but we were on our way back.
I was so glad to have not let my nerves get the better of me at the beginning of the day or I would have missed my first mountain hike. My confidence was growing every single day and I was keen to see what else I would do from now on in but for now I was still buzzing. Today was an experience I would never forget....