It was a long one

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No, that’s not what she said. But what a difference a day makes. For one thing, I got back to walking:

Lots better than the 1600 hundred the day before

The big event that got me up early and kept me out all day was our annual outreach feeding at the Iram Aeta village in Old Cabalan, Olongapo. The Friday hiking group headed out from our Baloy meet-up at 0800 and arrived in Iram a little before nine. The natives were waiting expectingly for the food bag distribution. Swan and her friend Sheryl provided a spaghetti meal with cold drinks and candy for the kids. Meanwhile, the rest of us headed for Tago Falls, a place we had never previously visited. That turned out to be a very satisfying 8K adventure. By the time we got back to the village, the handouts were done, and it was time to feed the hungry hikers. Swan and her crew prepared a lunch of grilled sausages, and we washed them down with cold beers. It was close to 2 p.m. when we finally headed for home, but the fun wasn’t over yet. During the drive, the decision was made to stop at It Doesn’t Matter to celebrate our successful mission.

It was late in the afternoon when I was finally back in my Alta Vista homestead. The first thing we did was take a much-needed nap. Then I dashed out yesterday’s blog post before settling onto the sofa for the concluding Season One episode of “Squid Game.” Man, I’m tired again just telling you about the day. I’ll let the pictures fill in the gaps:

An earlier than usual start to the day
Driver Danny arrived with a larger-than-usual vehicle
Loading the goodies we were bringing. The food bags were being brought by the local who prepared them (we paid).
Eastbound and down, loaded up and truckin’…
Arriving at the village
Food bags ready for delivery
Local school teacher Grace did all the hard work; our group did the funding.
The gathering crowd
Learning the concept of “hurry up and wait”
The givers
With the work ready to start, the rest of us headed for the hills
Our first water crossing. I got about halfway across on those rocks, nearly lost my balance, and said, “fuck this.” There is freedom in wet feet!
It was 4K to the falls, almost all of it uphill. Not real step, just a long steady climb.
It almost looked like an episode of “Squid Game” in progress.
One of the biggest power towers I’ve seen.

Thirty seconds of hiking video for your viewing pleasure:

Off the beaten path
Onward
And upward
It’s not Easter Mountain, but it will do.
Almost there. We had three guides from the village with us, although none of them had ever done the trek to Tago Falls before either.
Tago Falls. Worth the hike!

I suck with these videos, but take a minute and have a look around:

Steve and Brian enjoying a swim
The brothers Paul
Jens and Guenter on the rocks
Water, water, everywhere
Oldies but goodies
We walked back the way we came, so there was nothing really new to see. I did like this lonely tree with a cloud hat.
And a scenic view I had missed on the way up. Best of all, it was all downhill from here.
On down!
Local folk enjoying the riverside
One more time across the rocks. I waded.
A Iram village scene
Our riverside camp
Driver Danny handling grill duties
Liquid refreshment
Paying our tour guides for their assistance
And posing for a picture. Thanks again for joining us.
And thank you for all of your hard work, Swan
Enjoying the aftermath at IDM

I finished Season One of “Squid Game,” and I’m up for starting Season Two. As an added bonus, I finally allowed myself to read Kevin’s review. I concur with his thoughts for the most part and will delve more into that in a future post. I’m running a tad late this afternoon.

On a winning streak!

There is only one memory to share today. Today is the fourteenth anniversary of my mother’s passing. Here’s what I wrote that day.

Mom died at home. Her two sisters, Pat and Darlene, came to visit a couple of days before her life came to an end.

Miss you, Mama!

Today’s YouTube is features the Filipina Pea responding to questions from her viewers. Regarding the baby making, I got that possibility sliced twenty years ago. It cost me a relationship with a woman I loved here because I couldn’t give her the one thing she wanted most.

And some humor:

I didn’t think you were Serious
But the punctuation looks good, right?
Chocolate cake with vanilla frosting?

Anyway, life goes on until it doesn’t. So, I’m going to take my sweetie into town soon and do some living. Back with more tomorrow.

Here’s the song my nephew Jason sang with his Filipina wife (he met her when she was working as a singer on a cruise ship) at my mother’s funeral gathering:

1 thought on “It was a long one”

  1. Sounds like an awesome day. That’s twice, now, that you’ve mentioned agreeing with my review “for the most part.” I hope you focus on the disagreements. I’d be interested in your point of view.

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