Cris Evert Lato-Ruffolo
I decided to go back to trekking and mountain climbing this year to escape the city’s horrible traffic situation. I live in Liloan town so instead of heading to Cebu City — passing by the long, chaotic stretch of road of Consolacion town and Mandaue City — I have been consciously planning my weekend to head up north.
On good days, it takes an hour and 45 minutes to get from Liloan to Cebu City. On bad days, it takes three hours. For an 8 a.m. appointment, I have to leave the house at 5 a.m. to get to my meeting on time. That, to me, is inhuman. That’s time taken away from my family, which I could have spent with my children and my husband.
Architect Felino “Jun” Palafox Jr., in an interview with him a few years ago, once said that people should “live where they work and work where they live” to avoid the long hours of traffic congestion that commuters, like myself, experience.
But I have a great, sub-urban, sub-rural community in Liloan. I buy almost everything I need in this town and the neighboring town of Consolacion. My children go to school here. I can still hear the crowing of the roosters at the break of dawn; the chirping of the birds on clear mornings; the croaking noise of the frogs at night.
I have strong and stable internet connection and a garden-in-progress to tend to.
Except for work and my responsibilities with the non-profit organization, the volunteer storytelling group, Basadours Inc., I avoid going to the city.
I much rather spend my weekend away from the concrete jungle.
The last two months, I have so far explored the towns of Compostela, Danao and Carmen. It has been a revelation, to say the least that these towns offer the peace and relaxation that I have not found in the city.
In the local version of the Camino de Santiago de Compostela, Cebu, which I joined last February 4 and 5, I was able to visit different chapels in Liloan and Compostela. I walked close to 30 kilometers of concrete roads and steep slopes for two days, walking at least eight to nine hours per day. It was the most tiring walk I ever had since I was an 11-year-old Grade 5 pupil of Libas Elementary School in Libas, Merida, Leyte, who cut classes to forage for wild berries and sour orange (dalandan) in the mountain which I remember calling Pondaco.
Last month, I became a first-time camper of Mount Mago. We started our trek in the mountain barangay of Pili in Danao City, set up camp up there, and then started our descent to barangay Santican in Danao City and then took habal-habal (motorcycle-for-hire) ride to the center of Carmen town. I had help from Cebu Laktud Mountaineers, who promote outdoor literacy and inclusivity in mountain climbing by educating newbie hikers and encouraging the hardcore/expert mountaineers to teach the principles of Leave No Trace and the right gears to wear and carry.
In Liloan, where I live, there is a small mountain resort in Barangay Santa Cruz with a pool, cabanas and rooms for a silent retreat on weekdays. Entrance is only P100 for adults and P50 for children. I wrote on weekdays because the place gets crowded on weekends when people from the city ascend here.
This month, the plan is to revisit Mount Manunggal in the town of Balamban. The mountain is the crash site of Mt. Pinatubo, a Douglas C-47 plane which carried then President Ramon Magsaysay and 25 other individuals on March 17, 1957.
The last time I was there was in 2016 along with my brother, Hendrix, and my forester-friend, Juan. We had an entire kaldero of native chicken with vegetables and spices harvested from the garden of Ate Rose Noya Nacua, one of the eight children of Francisco Noya. Francisco is the son of Marcelino Noya, who was the first to discover the plane wreckage in his property back in 1957.
To prepare me for my outdoor comeback, I attended a Responsible Mountaineering course and a Fast and Light Backpacking Session with Sir Leo Glenn Lao. In these two events, I found out that the Capitol Hills Scout Camp of the Boy Scouts of the Philippines in barangay Kalunasan is a perfect camp site for those who wants to try out camping. The Family Park in Barangay Talamban, Cebu City can be a destination for weekend picnics and outings. It has a mini-zoo which, unfortunately, is not well-maintained; and a pool for everyone’s enjoyment granting that you pay the minimal entrance fee.
The last three years, I went on a traveling binge in the US and Asia to see what I deem beautiful. This year, I resolve to rediscover the peaks of Cebu — and spending weekends and holidays with outdoor enthusiasts.
See you on the trail!
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