Mt. Pico de Loro Trek

It was a normal morning. At around 3:30 am, Victor and I made our way to the rendezvous point for our Mt. Pico de Loro climb with the Jamboree Mountaineers. This isn't my first time going on a hike. I'd expected it to be pretty relaxed, like Gwanaksan and Yongmunsan in South Korea.

Breakfast at Gwanaksan with other exchange students

The path was rocky but not slippery

At Yongmunsan beside the 1,100 year old Ginkgo Tree (2008)

But hey! I was wrong :P It was pretty tough! The downhill climb was rigorous, but also amazing. The tree roots formed a sort of mud staircase that we traversed to get to the rest of the path. I saw an iguana, which we tried to photograph, but the pic became blurred for some reason.

The path was really slippery because of the mud, and I took it real slow coz aside from the fact that I was sore from muay thai training, I also had a hard time keeping my balance. I didn't want to get a sprained ankle before my fight on November 24.

After almost three hours of trekking, I was like, "This is supposed to be easy?" haha, but honestly, seeing the trees and dragonflies and lizards and frogs was worth it.
 

At the "big rock" landmark

 And then there was the first peak, where the wind was cutting cold, but the view, exhilarating.

With Joselle

Over there, is the Parrot's Peak (Beak?), the second peak, which I didn't have the courage to climb. I have a slight fear of heights, you know. Maybe when I'm braver, I'll climb it next time. But I heard I get to step on just a 12-inch slab of rock, below which is the no-survival cliff. :P

Victor and I stayed behind, where it was safer haha

Haggard me

Nightfall caught up to us on our way back to civilization. It was scary walking on the path and then realizing there's a cliff right beside you and you didn't notice coz it was too dark. But no one got hurt, and that's all that matters. I was dead tired after the climb, but it was darned fun. :)