We Hash rain or shine. Yesterday there was a downpour about an hour before the Hash’s scheduled start. But by the time we loaded up in the Hashmobile the rain had stopped. The problem was that the heavy rain obliterated the trail–none of the marks the Hare had worked so hard to place so we could find our way remained after the deluge. Just one of the joys of Hashing in rainy season I suppose.

To his credit, the Hare (Bush Diver) did come out on trail with us so he was able to point out where the intended starting point was. He’s older than me and only a little bit faster so it wasn’t long until we were bringing up the rear. Everyone else just went on ahead and found their own trails.

We started with a 30 minute steep and muddy climb to the top of the mountain. Then we walked the muddy ridge line path before making our way back down. The mud was thick and sticky, it felt like I had an inch worth on the bottom of both shoes. The only way to remove it was to scrape it off. A real pain in the ass. It was steep and slick coming down as well and it resulted in a Hash crash for yours truly. My feet both suddenly slipped out from under me leaving me laying on my back in the mud. Luckily only my pride was hurt.

Once we finally made it down off the mountain I did something for the first time in my Hash career–I hailed a trike to carry me to our on-home at Da’Kudos on Baloy beach. I’d been on trail for an hour and half and I just wasn’t wanting to walk the streets for another 45 minutes caked in mud.

In other news, I was at Lourdes hospital this morning. Weird being there again precisely one week after Greg’s passing. I gave them a blood and urine sample so they can confirm that I’m as good on the inside as I am on the outside. Hopefully.

A bit of a pain in the ass in true Filipino fashion. I went up to the cashier to pay the associated fees of P11,970 ($220) and their credit card machine was unable to make a connection. This required me to take a trike back into town, withdraw funds from an ATM, and trike back to the hospital. Anyway, I took a deep breath, relaxed, and accepted things as they are here.

The sun is shining today so I guess I have no excuse to avoid my afternoon walk. Well, it is hot as hell…