So, on the drive out to Castillejos for the start of our hike to Nagsangong Falls, our driver missed the bypass highway around Subic-town. As we hit the heavy traffic near the Subic marketplace, a song from 1970 that I didn’t like then and hadn’t heard for decades suddenly popped into my head. Hell, I even recalled most of the lyrics. That’s pretty amazing, given how I can barely remember my name some days.

Okay, sorry for the detour down memory lane; here’s the report from yesterday’s misadventure. As mentioned above, the plan was to make the relatively easy hike to Nansangong Falls and back, a trek we hadn’t done since early 2021.

Times change and memories fade, resulting in some initial difficulty in finding our starting point. When we reached the end of the road we were on, some locals helpfully offered to guide us back to where we needed to be.

A left turn about 1/2K up the road, then a short drive to a shady parking spot, and we were finally ready to walk!

And then we encountered a Robert Frost moment:

We eventually chose the path to the right, in part because it appeared to have been more heavily trafficked. And what’s out here to see except the falls, right?

Remember that junction where we chose to go right?

Anyway, despite not achieving the falls I had a really good time on trail. That’s what matters most. Relive it here if you so desire:

My other Miss Adventure was with the lovely lady accompanying me to last night’s SOB. We arrived early, so we had a drink next door at Sloppy Joe’s while we waited for Alaska to open up. The same waitress who served me last night took care of our order. I smiled to myself, wondering what she was thinking–one day, he is with an 18-year-old girl, the next with a 39-year-old woman. Funny how that works, but I know which one I prefer. WAY too early for that kind of speculation–her partner of seventeen years passed away a few months ago, and she is just starting her road to recovery. My goal is to help her get to where she needs to be, with no expectation that I’ll be her solution. She is fun to be with, and that’s enough for me. She even volunteered to be my Tagalog tutor (yes, she is college educated). I’m trying to respect her privacy, hence the lack of a name, at least for now. Let’s call her Swan (she without a name).

Anyway, Swan had never attended an SOB before and asked me what it was all about. I answered that it was a cultural dance contest among seven Barretto bars. Yeah, they are bar dancers, but several teams usually wear costumes and put on an interesting show with various props. Last night only Alaska did so. The other competitors were doing the booty-shaking thing and sexy dance moves. Swan laughed and asked, “Is that more of “culture” you were talking about?” ‘Yeah, but this is the Philippines, after all, and it is bar culture’ was the best I could come up with in response.

At the end of the show, Swan thanked me and said she had a good time. She agreed to join me somewhere in the future, I suggested the rooftop at our high-rise hotel, the Capital Reef, and she liked the idea. It was a different kind of “date” for me last night, but one I enjoyed more than any others in recent memory. Making a new friend is always a worthwhile endeavor; anything more than that still needs a friendship foundation. One day at a time. I’ve got nothing to lose.

Next up for me is a Hash adventure with the Manila group. They are doing an outstation run here in Barretto today and I’m going to join in. I’m also taking some tentative steps to making a move into a rental house more suited to the needs of me and my dogs. It’s here in Alta Vista, so not that big a change. More on that soon.

Facebook memories reminded me of the way my blog looked when it was Korea-centric:

Back with more tomorrow. Thanks for stopping by!