I decided to take a chlorine break, and this time I’m bringing my friends from swimming into the world of wild exploration. We are the new breed of aspiring mountaineers. Reality is, we lack of know-how in this field, but we boast our instinctive qualities that proved to be important in the jungle’s critical situations. The lack of equipment, proper attire and some mountaineering experience made this climb really challenging for us mere newbies. This is also something new to me as I haven’t really tried climbing a mountain with a group, and without a guide. Nevertheless, my valiant comrades pursued this experimental climb. And so off we went to explore the unknown, to navigate the ruthless path and to rekindle the team spirit along the way. This was just the beginning of our adventures and misadventures in the wild.
Pico de Loro or Parrot’s beak is this tall rocky tower in the form of a giant parrot situated at the top of Cavite’s forested mountain, a dramatic combination of the plains of Cavite and South China Sea. Any brave mountaineer can have access to the 360° breathtaking view 664 meters above sea level. Pico de Loro’s accessibility from Manila makes this as a perfect adventure for the weekend warriors, and sadly this is gaining popularity nowadays.
For the experienced mountaineers, this is considered as a level 1 or an easy trek. I can agree to this statement during the first few hours, starting from magnetic hill in Naic, Cavite to basecamp 1. We decided to just follow the trail and do it on our own, all excited and energetic with absolutely no idea as to what to do and what to expect. We just trust our instincts. There were some groups before us when we arrived, and this sparked some secret competition. So my brave new team did try to surpass these groups, which I’m proud to say that we did.
One of my favorite parts of the hike was our stop at the waterfall past Base camp 1. The sunshine, the forest and the waterfall are a perfect mixture of ingredients to rejuvenate my tired body and soul. The nature never fails to fascinate me. We had swum a little bit in the clean water, and then afterwards we ate our lunch to refuel our energy in preparation for the second part of the climb. There was this small group of hikers who insensitively left a trace, and the sight of their plastic bottles sadly blemished the scenery. I really have no patience for this type of people.
We left the waterfall with some eco-friendly pieces of memories left behind, if you know what I mean. Then we climbed up the hill back into the woods. And the journey continued . . . .
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