“The Lord often has his prophets climb mountains to converse with Him. I always wondered why He did that, and now I know the answer: when we are on high, we can see everything else as small. Our glory and sadness lose their importance. Whatever we conquered or lost remains there below. From the heights of the mountain, you see how large the world is, and how wide its horizons.”
― The Fifth Mountain
Wanting to go to the mountains without any hustle? Famous Treasure Mountain of Tanay, Rizal must be the answer. There is always a different kind of feeling whenever one has climbed a mountain. Maybe my favorite Novelist Paulo Coelho has the answer as written in his book The Fifth Mountain. This Year 2020 I wanted to go over the mountains as much as I can but with the limited schedule and budget I had. I may not be able go as often as i want it to be. Thankful that there are so-called no-hike mountains for those who wants to have a little time for this activity. Though, I am not favor of carving the mountains to make it a commercial or park-like environment, It is somehow giving the chance to other People to go over the mountains like Families with small kids, older members and those with members of PWDs. It is now like a Picnic grove in Tagaytay with lesser amenities.
Our overnight stay started with running after the last trip of Sampaloc Market at Cogeo gate 2. They said that 6pm would be the last trip but due to flock of crowd who explore different mountains at Tanay, They had an additional trips but only until 6:30pm. Take note that if you don't know where exactly to go then you may opt to get off at Sampaloc market then take another trike to Treasure Mountain. It was still at peak of cold season when we get there. Though it is not a smooth sailing all throughout but later on, everything went well. I'll tell it later why we had some unfortunate moments.
When our rented tent has been pitched, we didn't waste much time and had our dinner and some drinks to chill the night off. There's a good side and bad side of camping on a cold season. You can experience the best of the night by staying inside your tent and taking a glimpse of the night sky (A starry night) but will have to endure the pain of too much cold and strong winds. Up until Twilight while waiting for the sun to rise. Never thought that would be as crowded as it can be in the morning. Only to realize that it is a now a park-like establishment. It wasn't too astonishing as daylight comes. The Sun has been hiding through the clouds, will show itself for a while then hide again. Then, later on, some drizzle of rain pour down. But nothing can stop the crowd from taking photos to different spots and plunging into its new amenities for adrenaline junkies. Not far from the treasure mountain were different resorts built to choose from. There comes El PAtio Razon where they offer Kawa Bath and Hobbiton inspired rooms. You only have to make advance reservation for it has now become a big attraction in the province especially for non-hikers and social media savy. Without something to do, we leave the place and look for an overlooking restaurant nearby. Famous for bikers and passers-by We had our brunch at Cafe Katarina. They're serving silog meals for breakfast and typical pinoy dishes for lunch till dinner. They also serve freshly brewed coffee and hot chocolate that suits the windy atmosphere while chillin at the mountain ranges view. That's how our Treasure Mountain experience has ended. We have to wait for jeepneys to go back at Cogeo gate 2 and take a ride going home.
No comments:
Post a Comment