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Grand La Palmera Mountain Ridge: Curiosity Is A Beautiful Risk
Curiosity, as they often told me, is a dangerous thing. As the old saying goes, curiosity killed the cat. But what they never mentioned was that safety could be just as deadly. Worse, safety could trap you in a life haunted by regret and what-ifs. And that was why, one hazy Saturday, I took an impulsive trip from Cebu City to the Grand La Palmera Mountain Ridge in Columbio, Sultan Kudarat. I know. It sounds like the kind of ridiculous decision only a madman would make. With barely any time to prepare and no carefully planned itinerary to follow, I knew this random weekend trip to Mindanao had disaster written…
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Mt Tuwato: Deadly Ridges, Raging Rivers, And Remarkable Life Lessons
Life, as we know it, is hard. It’s a never-ending teleserye of setbacks, problems, and headaches. And sometimes, we take on even more challenges that make us question our life choices. Want a perfect example? Me, hiking Mt Tuwato, a mountain rated 9/9 in difficulty, on a rainy Saturday after barely getting any sleep in the past couple of days. I know. It had disaster written all over it. Even so, I wasn’t about to cancel this hike in Cervantes, Ilocos Sur. While the odds were against me, I knew I could survive whatever Mt Tuwato threw at me with grit, focus, and a veteran hiker’s instincts. So, what did…
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Oslob Paragliding: Why You’ll Absolutely Love Taking The Jump
Google Maps says the drive from my front door to the Oslob paragliding site takes three hours and thirty minutes. It has taken me seven years. Most of that time, I told myself the same lie everyone tells themselves: that there would be time for it later. What finally moved me wasn’t courage. It was the news. Every time I opened social media, it was the same thing. Politics, cruelty, and someone’s certainty that the world was ending. I don’t believe the world is ending. I believe my time on it is short, and I was spending too much of it doom-scrolling my way through other people’s certainty. So, after…
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Batad Rice Terraces: A Dream 10 Years In The Making
You probably think you know how this ends, but I promise you haven’t guessed the half of it. Yes, the Batad Rice Terraces photos you’re seeing are stunning and dreamy. But this wasn’t exactly a picture-perfect trip as you may have imagined. On the contrary, it almost didn’t happen. To make matters more interesting, the rain poured relentlessly the weekend I explored Batad and the rest of Ifugao with a group of complete strangers. So, was Batad worth the long wait and the heavy journey from Cebu? Was it as beautiful as the postcards and textbooks promised? And did I find myself on this solo journey in the Cordilleras? My…
