Walking and woeing

The day began with the Wednesday Walkers group hike. Later came saying goodbye to an old friend. And finished the day with sucking down some beers at Wet Spot.

We began the hike on the far side of Subic town, in an area we hadn’t visited in several years. Fences constructed since our last adventure in these parts stymied us several times. Still, we made the best of it, taking circular routes and retreating as necessary. It was a good day to be out and about with my fellow travelers.

A longish Jeepney ride to start things off.
Our merry band of hikers (minus Brian and Scott)
Rice in the road
Let’s do this!
Leaving the pavement behind
The end of a pig. I got a little nervous when the guy with the machete started eyeing my belly…
Into the woods
Let the climbing begin!
One moderately difficult hill and a few inclines during this hike. Hot day though.
The view from up top
Then down the other side
Through a small village.
I thought this was a pretty combination
A pause to regroup
Then onward we march
Steppin’ up
They cows kept a watchful eye as we passed.
At the tower of power
Hello up there
Taking in the ground-level view
Into the wild blue yonder
Heading back down
Humanity
A tree I liked.
One rickety bridge crossing…
…leads to another
And we all made it across!
A newly constructed house I rather liked for its simplicity. I could see myself enjoying a cold beer on the front porch. And then later dying of boredom.
A final bridge crossing
Then back to dodging trikes on the road
Pausing for a cookie delivery
Almost done
Arriving at Waltermart for the Jeep ride back to Barretto
When it was all said and done, it was just short of 7 K. You can see the circles and dead ends at the top. It was still a fun hike, though.
A good hill gets the heart rate pumping and earns me some Zone minutes.

After some R&R at home, it was time to head into town for some evening fun.

The beer o’clock view from Alta Vista

I had a couple of beers with Chris and his gal at Sloppy Joe’s, then moved over to It Doesn’t Matter to say goodbye to Bhel. Swan joined me there.

Bhel is moving to Angeles City to work at a resort there. She seemed excited about the opportunity. I wish her all the best in her new endeavor.
Bhel’s crew of well-wishers

Swan and I visited Wet Spot for our nightcap, and naturally, she hooked up with her pal, Aine, there.

First comes the sound…
…and then the smell.
It’s all good!

Another day is in the books. Or at least here at LTG!

Today’s Quora Q&A is a bit special. My most popular answer with 2.7 MILLION views, 2,951 upvotes, 551 comments, and 202 shares. That’s probably about as close to famous as I’m going to get!

Q: Am I lucky living in the Philippines?

A: There is no place else I’d rather be at this time in my life. No, it is far from perfect, but what place is perfect? I’m an American, but there is no way I’d want to be living there with all that craziness going on. Do I get frustrated sometimes with things that happen here? Of course I do. But then I take a walk in the mountains or on the beach, and I remember what’s important in life.

This just happened today—I watched a documentary on Bangladesh and realized that even the poor people in the Philippines live a much better life than many people do elsewhere in the world.

Yes, I feel lucky to be here.

As true now as it was then, but not particularly profound. For some reason, the Quora folk liked it more than anything else I’ve had to say by a long shot.

Now for the funny business:

Yes, I can see how my love of going to bed early could be misinterpreted.
I hear that A LOT from the bargirls…
1965 is a LONG TIME GONE, but I still enjoy this video. I imagine most of them are dead, but Nancy Sinatra is still walking at 84 years old.

2 thoughts on “Walking and woeing

  1. A tree I liked.

    I wonder what kind it is. To me, it looks like an overgrown telephone pole.

    A newly constructed house I rather liked for its simplicity. I could see myself enjoying a cold beer on the front porch. And then later dying of boredom.

    Cultivate an inner life, and you’ll never be bored!

    It was still a fun hike, though.

    Sounds as though it was a bit of an adventure.

    Bhel’s crew of well-wishers

    Who’s the one guy trying not to be photographed?

    First comes the sound…

    The flash reveals all! Aine wears a lot of makeup, doesn’t she. You can see how pale her face looks compared to the rest of her.

    I hear that A LOT from the bargirls…

    But that will be changing soon enough!

    Nancy Sinatra is still alive, but M. Emmet Walsh just died.

  2. Not sure what kind of tree that is, but if a tree can be skinny, so can I!

    That house is way out in the sticks; not sure there is even access by automobile. That’s just a little too country for me.

    The guy ducking out of the photo is a stranger to me; I think his girlfriend knew someone at our table. He must be camera shy (or his wife doesn’t know about the girlfriend). 🙂

    Yeah, Aine is a little long in the tooth for a bargirl. Still has a smokin’ hot body, but her face shows her age. Maybe trying to “makeup” for those lost years…

    Hadn’t heard about Emmet Walsh. Seems he lived a long and successful life—some great movies on his list of credits.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *