Venue: Mt. San Miguel
Brgy. Sisiman, Mariveles, Bataan
Trip Dates: March 16-17, 2013
PRELOGUE: "Once in while, you'll get an opportunity to see what the birds see, feel how the mountain goats feel, and silently scream how the winds scream." -Marc Gana
The plan had long been sent, the event page had long been posted, many had already registered--but up to the last few hours of the event itself, I had been dancing the Cha-cha. I had told Marc that I am not attending. He threatened to cancel the event, disregarding the fact that all the other 20 of the participants had already made their payments.
I actually wanted to go, but we had this love-hate thingy that's been going on for quite sometime and I didn't want my birthday getaway to get ruined, which I think will be an eventuality since we will both be together for two days straight.
One line got me, though. "Mag-impake ka na." That's all I probably wanted to hear. That he set the mood to a ceasefire, swallowed his pride, and smitten the little lost kitten. Packing had been such a difficult thing for me, but this time I was doing it with gusto and surprisingly, I was able to pack in less than an hour.
I was actually excited for the trip, with my lontgtime friend, Vae and Pao tagging along. A bunch of new people will be there, too. I just love meeting new potential friends in an adventure.
We gathered at Cubao around 1am. I was lucky enough. Marc drove his way to our house to pick me up. It felt like JS prom, really.
At the bus station, Marc tasked me to look after the participants while they (the facilitators) will be taking his car in getting to the venue. I got hurt. I wanted to be with him the whole 4 hours of trip. We have time to be together, he assured me. I obliged myself.
We arrived at the destination at 6am. The majestic Mt. San Miguel was standing there. It was such a breath-taking view to set eyes on at such an early time of the day. Marc and his crew went up to set up the place for rappelling.
By 9:30am, we were doing a rehearsal at the campsite. Marc asked me to be the belayer. I was like, "What?!" He said that I could do it, so I assumed the role that he gave me. It was fun as we worked like a team. He facilitated the rehearsal jump up there, I belayed down there.
He handed me his gift--the harness I requested for my exclusive use!
At around 11:30am, the first set of jumpers rappelled at the top of a 100-meter rock face. By 2pm, we had lunch before having the second set and the third set jump.
We were done for the day by 5:30pm. After dinner, some went to their respective tents to take some rest, but I called on to them to gather around and have socials. Jill prepared Mojitos to tickle our alcohol tolerance. Francis ordered some beer. We had cake for pulutan. Everyone went to bed by 1am. Around 2am, a drunk stranger went to disturb our peace. The commotion woke me up. John, Jowi and I went to the Barangay Hall to fetch the Tanods. We had to file a formal Barangay complaint. John escorted the Tanods, while Jowie and I were left at the Barangay Hall. After 30 minutes, peace was restored at our campsite, the barangay compalint had been filed and Jowie and I headed back to the campsite. On our way back, I saw Marc walking alone, headed towards us. "Pinag-alala mo ako." I explained why I had to be away that long. He was silent. I gazed upon him through the dark of the night. "This man cares," I said to myself, "but he is too proud to admit it and he has difficulties showing it."
I had to wash up when we arrived at the campsite and Marc escorted me at the dark washroom. We shared some thoughts. It's been months since we've had some decent talk. I went to sleep in his tent, while he slept outside.
I woke up early. I went to explore the area. It was one of the most beautiful coasts I have ever seen, but the beach wasn't at all inviting. It was rocky, the sand wasn't magnificent. I didn't even take a dip. It's rare that I don't take a dip whenever I get a view of the sea. The mermaid in me wasn't summoned by the uninviting seawaters of Sisiman.
After breakfast, the jumping session resumed. I was able to gather some strength to do the Aussie type of rappelling. It wasn't as scary as the one I did at the bridge, probably because my feet weren't dangling.
By 3pm, awarding of certificates had been done, the rappelling gears had been safely packed back in the car. We were getting ready to head back for Manila. The traffic was terrible, but I was sitting next to the man who was making me happy--his head was resting on my left shoulder. I didn't mind at all that I was going to be late for my shift.
By 9pm, we arrived in Quezon City. I was already late for my shift. We decided to have dinner. After dinner, Moymoy fetched his car and the rest rode with him. There was only Marc and I left at the car. There was some awkward silence. One thing that Marc didn't like is that I would skip work for him, he hated having to carry that burden of guilt. I could not understand that. I wanted him to appreciate the gesture, the sacrifice.
We arrived at my doorstep past midnight. We were still arguing. Marc just wanted to rest. I didn't invite him in. He slept in his car, while I slept in the couch. By 6am, I woke him up and he drove home. It was like the scene 10 moths before that night. I hated the feeling...
