Part 44: Mount Gulugod baboy
The weekend of the next mountain trek was already upon us.
Knowing that my shoulder would not have withstood the full boot camp sessions, I had been secretly training everyday on my own.
Well it did not feel at all like I was alone, with the aid of half of the village, and Paranaque cheering me on everyday.
I never looked forward to training so much in all my life. Having said that, It was hard watching all my friends participating in the boot camp from the sidelines. The set up there was very impressive and pretty high tech - there were dieticians and nutritionists, cardiovascular fitness and, Muay Thai coaches, weights and physiotherapy experts all on hand to guide my friends through the camp, along with almost military like drill sessions - the standard of training, and intensity was exceptional. Such a shame because I really would have loved to test myself, but alas, it wasn't to be.
I on the other hand, had myself, the local kids from the village and shanty's to thank, also the construction workers, countless drivers and the modestly basic gym I was training in for the past 10 days.

The build up to this week was particularly quiet for me with all my friends being busy with other commitments, only seeing them at the boot camp sessions to cheer them on which meant most evenings and afternoons I was on my own, but it did give me plenty of opportunity to eat, sleep and train especially well.

The weekend soon arrived and my punctual friend Don picked me up right outside my condo unit at 4.30am for the 2 hour drive to Batangas.
Even at this hour, everyone's spirits were always high as usual with no grumpy early morning blues.
There was a big convoy of cars heading to the mountain with nearly a hundred people in the group, all meeting at a freeway service station to begin the trip where I took the opportunity to eat some sugary snacks and coffee for extra energy.
It wasn't a particularly long trip even with traffic and plenty of road works, we arrived around 7am parking close to
a steep embankment over looking a blue coast line, and to my left you could see the green mountain side.
Much to my friends amusement I covered myself in insect repellent who always seem to find it funny for some reason, probably because I was the only one who was using it. Anyway, we were given a brief team talk and divided into three groups - beginners, intermediate, and advance. I was put in advanced team led by an enthusiastic sporty guy called Benny who had the biggest calf muscles I had ever seen in my life! looking super fit and lean, he was raring to go, then after a touching group prayer and brief warm up we were on our way.

The trek began on a really steep road which instantly got the thigh muscles pumping, and as ever the heat was searing - it was so energy sapping.
We continued on this steep road for quite a while at a brisk pace, briefly pausing to take a look behind where you could see the blue sea and the long trail of all our group in the distance.
After about 2km we reached a small path on our left with a basic wooden sign pointing upwards saying 'Mount Gulugod Baboy this way' through a cluster of twisted trees and vines.
I've learned from my other climbs that the first part is always the hardest and gets the blood flowing, also to stop as less as possible, so straight away I tried to keep up a good pace, sticking close to Benny at the front.

The track was pretty rugged, and quite challenging, with a section being so steep I had to literally climb on all fours to continue, then ducking underneath several hanging vines through the trees.
I kept close to the leading pack and we soon left everyone else behind, opening up quite a gap between us and the rest.
This was a great climb so far the organizers picked this trek to challenge us and it was certainly doing just that. But I got into a rhythm and kept going, whilst some of the others stopped to rest, even though my thighs were burning from the steep pathway.
Luckily we reached a thick forestation shielding us from the sun, just as my head was beginning to really throb, with the heat starting to intensify,
I loved this section - weaving through the trees and swinging on some of the hanging vines was great fun.

The path then passed through a small settlement, and the people were lined up watching us.
A couple of guys who were chopping bamboo stopped to say hi so I politely asked them if I could have my picture with them.
They were nervously smiling away at first but seemed quite happy and agreed although they did look a little bewildered.
I figured it took us well over an hour to reach this point so far with no roads and a really steep climb, then wondered how many times a day this family had to go up and down the mountain.
Plus we were a long long way from anywhere. It certainly would not have been an easy life for them.
I waved them goodbye and continued, eager to keep my pace up and build my lead up over the rest.
There was a cluster of bushes almost overlapping making the path really narrow to get through - it was here that I could have done with a machete, because I grazed both my arms squeezing through.
The sweat continued to drip off me, but knowing full well that if I stopped for to long, it would break the momentum, so I just kept going - my competitiveness was beginning to kick in too.
There were only 6 of us at the front, including Benny, I couldn't even see the rest of the group with huge palm trees not only disguising the view down, but up as well.
One tree was almost horizontal, stretched out over a steep drop, and looked like a great viewing point if I wasn't so damn competitive and had the time to climb it.
After climbing for a while and reaching another settlement, the forestation eventually thinned out, and when it did, the view was fantastic. The sky and sea were so clear, you could not see the horizon as they both melded into mass of stunning blue. It was amazing!
The pathway led us directly through another settlement, where we saw a startled girl who had just taken a shower in small bamboo hut.
Their life just continued around us and the path. She quickly scurried back into her house with a towel wrapped around her. Not wishing to be impolite, I looked the other way and carried on upwards.
By now there were only 3 of us at the front - some of the others stopped to rest as our pace quickened. I was blowing hard but kept going through a particularly muddy steep section. This was not easy. But once past, we had a brief respite when the track levelled off for a while, although still bumpy it gave my legs a chance to recover.
Eventually we reached a lush green open field, hilly section - the path snaked through the grass.
Just as I thought we were nearing the end 3 other hills came into view.
And on the last one, in the distance you could make out the summit!
It was still some way.
I was pretty exhausted, but realized there were only 2 of us left.
Because of the continuous pace we were walking, my leg muscles were still burning.
Anxious to get to the top as quickly as possible, I dug in and sped up.
Just ahead, the narrow track was blocked by a huge cow.
You couldn't really go around her that easily because there was a fairly steep drop either side. The only way through was to shuffle past her.
The other guy with me, made a big mistake trying to tease her, so she charged for him. It was hilarious to see him frantically panic and scramble backwards.
I could not stop laughing but took advantage of the opportunity to get past, as the humungous cow chased him.
Suddenly there was no one else in front of me. The summit was just ahead, and with one last push and burst of energy I made it up!
To be honest I was quite surprised and equally happy to have made it first amongst a group of nearly 100 boot campers.
The view was another beauty. Looking down you could make out the rolling green hills, dense jungle, and further in the distance, the blue sea and sky.
I was buzzing to be there first and on my own waiting for the rest. Apart from another cow who was just laying in sun next to me, and 2 or 3 people from our group in the distance, there was no one else to be seen. It was a fantastic feeling!!
All those days running through the village being cheered on by the locals certainly helped my fitness and I dedicated my climb to all of them.
I was completely hooked on mountain trekking.
For now there was not much else to do but wait for the rest and enjoy the view. Until A good 30 minutes later, the majority starting rolling up.
I could make out my friend Cy in the distance stopping by the cow, trying to take a close up picture.
She then chased Cy backwards down the path, I could hear her frantically screaming which was so hilarious to watch and such a comical moment. It was as if this cow did not want anyone on her patch, and You couldn't blame her really.
Not long after most people started arriving, all were faced by the cow before Benny went back down there and led her away.
We then had a picnic on the summit, cheering each and every person till the last one arrived.
My friend Brian's mom who braved a bad back strain to make it up was the very last person.
It was a touching moment as we all gave her a standing ovation, whistling and cheering. Unsurprisingly she welled up bless her.
This was a great moment for me, the company was fantastic, the scenery awesome - I felt on top of the world.
Wondering how many times my experiences would keep getting better and better, its wonderful to have such fantastic people to share this with.
We all took plenty of pictures, including several jump shots and they looked great. I couldn't wait to show these to my friends and family back home.
There was only one slight little dampener (no pun intended), a huge black rain cloud suddenly descended.
The journey down was going to be interesting as is started to rain and
we wasted no more time climbing back.
The first part was fine as was the jungle but the heavens soon opened turning the track into a slippery muddy quagmire.
It was pretty dangerous, slowing to a crawl. Luckily there wasn't to much drama to report apart from a few near misses and minor slips.
Near the bottom we all had to form a chain to help people down a really slippery clay section. This is where Filipinos go in to their own, and I love that, they are so helpful and considerate to others.
In any adverse situations they kind of have this instinctive setting, automatically helping each other. I have seen several examples of this over the last few months and hoped some of this rubbed off on me in future.
By the time we got back to base camp the rain had stopped, but we were soaked through to our pants.
The plan was to head down to the rocky coastline and jump in the sea. Seems everyone was still up for that and not about to let the rain ruin all the fun. Fine by me.
It was fantastic leaping into the water whilst it was still raining.
What a laugh that was, washing all the mud off at the same time.
And if that wasn't enough we had a feast of Filipino food under a canopy over looking the coast afterwards.
I felt another of my moments coming on, lost in thought, savoring the experience and grateful for being welcomed to this fantastic group of people so warmly.
Sometimes I just get lost for words.
It was then time to head back to Manila in our huge convoy.
About 30 minutes into our journey, we encountered some serious road block traffic through a small village.
A large supply lorry over shot the road in the torrential rain, skidding before crashing into the embankment blocking the traffic in both directions - and to make matters worse the driver abandoned the vehicle, probably because he did not have a driving license.
The traffic was horrendous and at a complete stand still, no one seemed bothered. No beeping horns no road rage, no shouting.
In fact the villagers were offering cheap drinks, sandwiches and roast corn to the motorists in their cars.
We were all laughing in the car and chatting, eventually getting back to Paranaque city more than 5 hours later.
It was yet another fantastic day and brilliant experience, with even better company. Even though It was not a race, I was still secretly gloating that I took on a whole advance boot camp of 100 fit Filipinos, training in the streets alone and coming out on top - I couldn't help it.
My competitiveness sometimes gets me into trouble, and has done several times in the past.
In this instance I would hold it down and not rub it in to much.
Or I'd least try not to.....