My trips to Mt Manabu were a pilgrimage and personal. First, it always brought back the chilling feeling of mountains being sacred and everything on its path were like trails leading to the Holy Sepulchre. Next, it allows me to find my way to the world and how I could stand and move on my own.

Never mind the trails as they were always there - immobile and yet always changing and the abundance of something that is worth anticipating makes every sweat even.

This mountain is a teacher, a psychologist, a social worker and a preacher rolled into one. Not that I am into the weed thing but every step up that I make, the higher I get (thus it might also be a drug pusher).

Among the many subjects it can share to us, I find it more interesting that it teaches humility as Jeff and I have known. We have assaulted this mountain more than a couple of times and yet it brought us to different trails all leading to the summit with variable ease and difficulty on each one.

Personally, this is my cheap doctor as well who have examined how many personality and inner voices I have everytime my body says "stop and take a break". There is always one dominant character that is neither masochistic and sadistic that pushes the dormant other to move it's butt after 5 minutes of rest but there are also other voices that says "it is just 15 kilometers more" and "i love to drink bottled soft drink now" and "shut up, it is almost near". The last one also sounds like it has taken too much caffeine and albeit a damn good liar. And identifying those symptoms allowed me to accept, as the good Dr. Manabu have instated, is the first step of healing. It always dusts off the cobwebs it could find when I am already on the summit and by the next day, I am a-ok again leaving the imaginary gang I brought up behind. 

And of course it is as charming as any social worker of any barangays. Once it has made the campers comfy on their erected tents, it calls for the mandatory chit-chats that works wonders with the help of beers and other spirits.

Lastly, like a retreat, it harbors the soul into singing into the endless sea of clouds by-passing the sky and into the great depths of the Milkyway. In short, once you have finally reached the summit, it lets you and yes this happens...

This mountain like all the other summits allows each climber sing

Halleluyah!

[] pictures from the 3rd or 4th climb. [1] Always find it heavy when I am climbing. Feels like there's an extra bag I am carrying  [2] The social worker now working at its best. [3] Evident in this one, the dormant being is resting for 5minutes before the dominant one starts to yell. [4] The higher you are, the heavier the bags are. Seemed like they have doubled in weight.