Trekking up Taraw Cliff

-

One of the most beautiful things about El Nido is the fact that limestone cliffs surround it. Just picture a quaint island town with towering peaks behind it. Trust me, it’s always an amazing sight, no matter how many times you see it when coming back from the islands.


It took me a year and a half, but I finally climbed one of those peaks. I’d heard about Taraw for a long time, and I almost went several times, but sleep often overruled a 3 hour hike on those rare days off!


Shakked (another dive instructor at Sea Dog) joined me and our friend Mike acted as guide. The climb is not easy on the body. It’s mostly straight up and down, and climbing over and on top of limestone can be a little bit painful. I wished at least 5 times that I’d worn gloves! And then wished another 20 times that I could scamper over the boulders like a mountain goat as Mike did, damn his Filipino abilities, instead of

clambering over everything like a rhinoceros and sending small pebble showers down on Shakked. Ah well.


We made it to the top after an hour, give or take. Goodness me, how had I never done this before!! The view was simply staggering. All of El Nido bay layed out before me with all its vibrant hues and bangkas dotting the coastline. We found a tree to climb, since that was the only way to have shade and had our snack…bananas. Could we be more like monkeys?


Talking and relaxing and a struggle to smash our frozen ice into drinking water ensued. We thought we were so smart – we’d have cold water by the time we got to the top! Or, only a tiny bit because a frozen 2-liter coke bottle of water doesn’t melt that fast! Whoops.


Time to go down. This is when the knees started shaking, literally. Mike said “look at your knee, it’s moving around!” Yep, I had a little stage fright coupled with bad knees. Ain’t pretty. Going down was also a lot more dangerous, having to lean backwards over rocks to find footholds…we we

re actually rock climbing in several spots, but no harnesses! I was quite happy with myself that I only whimpered in fear once. Or was it twice?


Touchdown! I quickly drank another gallon or two of water and collapsed on the couch. Difficult, but one of the most rewarding ventures in El Nido.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Afternoon in La Calera

-
Image
One weekend, my friend Corrie asked if I wanted to wander outside of Bogotá for an afternoon. The answer was a resounding YES and we found a bus headed to La Calera for about $1.50. It only took 45 minutes and the drive took us up and above Bogotá, so we had some really picturesque views. The fun, winding roads reminded me of moped-ing in Bali...guess I need a moped now :) Once we arrived in La Calera, a very small town, we wandered through the streets to the main plaza. Since it was a lazy Sunday, there were also many lazy locals taking advantage of the calm. We all lounged in park benches in the plaza and watched the kids play with a ball in the middle. It fairly oozed small town vibe. Corrie, smart gal that she is, picked La Calera for one main reason: the food. We found our way to some food stalls and ordered some picada (I wrote about this dish before from Montserrate ). Even though the idea was the same, it was a slightly different variety. For example, less intestines and m...
Read more

A New Life in Bogota

-
Image
Here we are: my first week in Bogota! It all began with the flight, an easy, 5-hour direct flight from Atlanta. I even had a special guest to keep me company, a bobble head Rosie the Riveter! It was a going-away gift from my friend Sara, who told me it will remind me that YES, I can do it! I love it! I wonder where we will go together.... Now this is where it gets (more) interesting: At Georgia Tech, I had a student from Bogota (Natalia) who initially wanted me to stay with her family when I arrived. I thought that would be a bit much, so I turned it down. However, I did accept a ride from the airport because the plane would be arriving at 10:30pm. It was pretty funny to have Natalia’s mother, father, and older brother waiting for me with a sign that said “Kathleen!” I immediately realized how kind and generous they were, so I was not actually surprised when they just took me home with them. They were pretty much like “No, we’re your family now so you’re staying wi...
Read more

Museums of Shanghai

-
Image
I needed out at some of the museums of Shanghai, so let me give you a little taste of what I learned! The Shanghai Museum was my first stop, and it was phenomenal. First, it was free! Good job, China! Second, it had artifacts from thousands of years of Chinese history. As an American, that's hard to fathom. Imagine walking through galleries full of bronze, sculpture, ancient coins, and calligraphy scrolls. Some of my favorite things included traditional Chinese paintings, which were often scenic views of famous places in China, exquisite jade molded in shapes that ranged from name prints to elaborate dragons, and the ceramics, which included beautiful vases and tea and China sets (go figure). Another cool room was filled with ethnic minority costumes from the past. I thought it was really great that China chose to honor all of the minority groups in this way, especially since China is not well known for treating them equally (ahem, Tibet). I spent about 2 hours here, and I could ...
Read more