As I write this, I am back on the island and have resumed my palaboy existence. After climbing Mt. Apo (Kidapawan-Kapatagan Trail) in Cotobato and Davao, I flew back to Manila to grab my stuff and then flew back here in Boracay. I don't particularly love love Boracay; I just particularly love love dragonboat.:D And YEHEAZ February is the start of dragonboat training! HELL YEAHEAH.

Going back to Mt. Apo--what happened in Mt. Apo?? Sad to say that Mt. Apo is the filthiest mountain I've seen in my four years of climbing. The mountain is abused, traversed by many, raped in multiple fashions (hence, it has so many deep, forked trenches after thousands of mountaineers and pilgrims have passed them by), and is now pregnant with garbage. It's not even peak season yet. During peak season (Mahal na Araw, which is in April) the mountain grows taller and fatter with trash and human droppings.

But just because Mt. Apo is the highest mountain in the country doesn't mean it's the most beautiful. Mt. Apo is nothing spectacular, that is, except for its ash-colored boulders, and vents farting clouds of sulfur. Wikipedia says it is home to one of the world's largest eagles (we saw none) and that it is abundant with durian (we saw none either). Despite all the negatives I just spewed about Mt. Apo, I am not discouraging you to climb it. All I'm saying is, Mt. Apo isn't the prettiest mountain there is but it's still worth the trouble after all.

Some shots of Mt. Apo and Samal Island, with a spattering of palaboy thoughts.

01. The Flight to Davao

It's funny how we're all just airplanes
Gazing through the window of our eyes
Leapfrogging from here to there
And not really getting anywhere.

02. Baby Slug

They sought the warmth of my tent, the baby slugs.
I picked one up and let it crawl around my hand.
It left loops of slime along its tracks.
Does it know where it's going?
Does it know what it's left behind?

03. Lake Venado

A cold January morning at Lake Venado
Four hours away from the loftiest clouds we can reach
With our toes still touching the ground.
Again, the waiting.

04. The Dead Lake

The dead crater with the dead lake
And a cliff that leads to death;
How more can it be dead?
Would you rather die here,
Or in a house, in a car,
In a parking lot, on the sidewalk,
In a hospital room?

05. Strangers

I met her once, and probably never will.
People come and go;
It makes no difference who they are.

06. Trail Sign

Such stones mark the right trail.
All trails lead back to civilization;
This one only made it shorter.
And less dangerous.

07. Bug

The power held at the tip of our finger
To crush this bug until it is no more
Is the same power that can shift mountains,
Shift horizons, and shift the spin of the sun
Until we are no more.

08. The Summit

After long hours of pain,
Cold, struggle, rain,
We reach the summit
And breathe in the clouds.
It's our bowl of soup
After a week of starvation.

09. Our Hut by the Beach

One word of advice, he said,
You might want to open up a bit.
One word of advice, I said,
You might want to shut up a bit.

10. Kapatagan Trail

At one point in history, bigass trees fell one by one
And made our discourse an obstacle course.
The trees were too soft and wet for furniture;
And so were they too slippery and brittle to make bridges.
They just lie there and sleep and dream
Waiting for human feet to trample them on,
Until they merge with the earth again.

11. Tricycle to Hagimit Falls

There still exists islands untouched by corrupt hands.
We see them through windows, in movies, books, magazines,
While we sit in the comforts of a dark, rattling can--
Our bodies: boxed, paralyzed, wan.

12. The Clouds

Malabo na ang lahat;
Pati ang langit malabo rin.
Pero maganda pa rin siyang pagmasdan,
Kahit sa isip mo lang panoorin.

And because I suck carrots I don't post texts anymore but bloody pictures of where I'd been the past few weeks. Inuuna ko kasi lagi ang lakwatsa at laklakan ng alak. Because PLAY is my ultimate goal in life. Is why I've chosen writing as my field of extended play up until my deathbed.:p

Ang hirap pala kumita ng pera.XD

Two, or three weeks ago, I forget, I had the chance to drink with the oldies at UPM. They're the reason why I'm reapplying at UPM this July. I am an old soul and those oldies are prolly my soulmates. Of all the years I've been climbing, I found the reason just now why I've been doing this. It's them people, I can talk to them virtually forever about stars and arts and science and literature. They play chess too.XD

What I mean is, all I've been looking for are DORKS.XD Dorks who climb mountains and dorks who drink beer and dorks who never get tired of musing and prattling and laughing. Dorks who love to play.:D Whatever age they be.

Our camp site at Laiya, Batangas.

From the pooproom.

The mountain we climbed. Nay, the mountain behind this mountain.

My mud-caked Columbia climbing shoes.

Halo-halo up Mt. Daguldol.

Scientist, ex-professor at UP. He quit professorship to climb more mountains.XD

Sir Tips. Erotic nipple. Erotic armpit.

Contemporary artist Romeo Lee sketching Linda, our guest from Germany.

Linda.

Lee's sketch of moi. The pen ran out of ink.XD

I have two PE classes this semester: camping (or mountaineering) and orienteering. Piece of cake.:p Our first outdoor camp was in Pundaquit, Zambales. My third time to visit the place and I'm getting pretty sick of it. Since I was climbing with freshmen wussies, we were treated as wussies, like boy and girl scouts on an effing jamboree. Our food was precooked for us. The resort we camped at was equipped with complete amenities: beds, bathrooms, canteen, the works. Those who wanted to camp can pitch a tent right outside the huts and camp. What a fucking thrill. It's even on the sand where the pegs won't hold and the tent would fly away for you to run after the moment you step out. The instructor priced us waaay too much, like twice the amount of the real deal. It even cost me less when I traversed the mountain last year, camped on Anawangin cove at the other side, drank unlimited liquor, and island hop the following day. In this climb though we didn't even leave the jumpoff. We just climbed thirty minutes from the base and descended right away without reaching the peak. It's just an introduction to the great outdoors besides, so what the hell. I'd rather be here than in the city anyway.

The Great Traverse, with sunburn to take home.

The beach we're at was where everybody else I was avoiding were staying,
not to mention fucking tourists.

Team Building, what is that?

The ancients of UP Mountaineers, teaching tent pitching. (Tongue twister!XD)
Rockstar, artist, mountaineer Romeo Lee at the right, a student icon at UP.
He paints like a nutcase.:p

Frisbee lessons. Our PE instructor and his JESUS IS MY BOSS tshirt. WTF.

Skimboarding lessons.:p

Our little hike overlooking them islands.

One sunny day...

Somewhere in Batangas

Some humans were searching for something that crashlanded from the sky.

Night came and there it was! The Flying Saucer!

The aliens skinned the humans and wore their human hides.

They glowed in the dark and worshiped melted marshmallows.

Took them a whole night to adapt into their human disguises.
They were all natural the next morning.

Crashlanding site. Poor coconut trees.

The aliens dispersed into the community and...

Weekend major climb at Mt. Amuyao, the fourth highest mountain in Luzon.:p Lifted them pics from Fezbookery.

See that tiny person with a yellow bag running away?
That's Angel, fart-propelled to the nearest crap area.

Them rice terraces.

Passed by Mt. Alemona and Mt. Polis first before...

...the steep trail up Mt. Amuyao.

Summit.:p

Pasaway na lata, nakikisali.

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