02-05-2012
kuya nilo, the 50+ years old gwapito who looks like a teen-ager (man, he'll give Bieber a run for his money) invited us (me and louis) to an escapade. i forgot to ask where were we going because of excitement. and then of course there came a disclaimer: we need to have a long walk. so, i said, ok, long walk wont hurt, i do that a lot. i am a probinsyana and i'm used to that. problem was, we had a different definition of a 'long walk'. coz mine involves strolling in a park and his's was 10 times harder!
we were on our way when he said that we're going to tallulah falls. i've never seen a falls my entire life so i was happy to hear it. then i realized, there should be trekking that comes with it coz falls involves mountainous places. there, i started to get scared! plus, it was raining so hard - it didn't help! amongst the 3 of us, i was likely to be the weakest of the link. so, i prepared myself for a little missteps and skinned knees and broken bones - no not broken bones.
so, when we reached the base of the falls, i already heard the soothing sound of it as it met the ground. it was really therapeutic! and then we walked like a hundred meters before the first overview, where we could see it on a bird's eye view.
nothing could describe it better, except, heavenly! i always love nature! so, imagine my toothy grin that went ear to ear. i thought, "is this all the walk we need to see this perfectness?". little did i know that i've only just seen the trailer, and that the movie had just been started (i wish i could get a better metaphor, but that's all i could muster).
later, kuya nilo said that we need to go to the next overview where we could see the falls met the ground. so, we need to descend. and there comes the stairs. pleeeeeeeeenty of them! and by plenty i mean, 1099 overall steps (i googled it).
a few of them
i am not a big fan of stairs and the rain made it sure to stay the way i felt for them! plus, i am acrophobic so it really was a torture for me. i was playing cool at that time and was showing my happy face to make it looked like i was having the best of my time. i didn't want them to see that i chickened out! and i certainly didn't want to be a burden to them! believe me, i never been that focused my entire life. i needed to concentrate coz a little misstep could made me fall, and the last thing i wanted was a trip to a hospital! as if my agony wasn't enough, the mist made my spectacles blurry that i needed to wipe it from time to time.
halfway through the journey and a hundred steps behind louis and kuya nilo, i met a loving couple who were heading back to the top. they were catching their breath so hard but i couldn't even processed what they're into. i was that focused - huh!
they had this look that looked like a look (no pun intended) of sympathy. i felt the need to defend myself so i said "i'm taking my time, i don't wanna end up kissing the floor!", to which the girl reply, " i get that, but you have never been on the hardest part. wait 'til you climb back to the top!". yeah, she was that helpful and supportive and i was soooooooo looking forward to that *eyes rolling*. sarcasm aside, if i'd think of a harder task than what i did that time, i'd passed out. a person could only take so much!
descending on a slippery stairs, with a camera on one hand and a bag on the other hand in an acrophobic person like me, there's nothing harder than that. and of course, i was sooo wrong (which i found out later).
i realized i shouldn't waste an ounce of energy by just talking coz i needed to saved it up on a higher purpose - more stairs to descend! so i just gave them my fake smile and went on until i came on this.
it was so sweet for the boys to wait for me on the bridge :)
then, more stairs were waiting. and after i though that i couldn't take another step anymore, i reached the last stairway landing in one piece! - 20 minutes later than the boys.
i still managed to took a photo of them despite my wobbly knees
sweats and shaky knees paid off, coz there, was a scenic beauty, so perfect it looked like a painting made by God.
after minutes of appreciating the view and had eaten my baon, it was time to climb back to the top. i braced myself for the more ardous task that awaited me. man, i had never hated stairs so much in my life until then.
kuya nilo wanted me to go first (he was afraid that i'm gonna passed out) so the pressure to be at par with his pace was getting into my nerves. my heart was pumping so hard, i thought it would came straight out from my mouth.
i was this pale, 20 steps to reach the top.
i needed to sit down coz i felt nauseated and i felt the need to throw up. i was thankful i didn't pass out coz i started to see black. kuya nilo managed to take a photo of me and as always, i showed up my fake smile.
i was surprised to reached the top with a complete limbs!
ang dagway d na mahitsura
i was really thankful to kuya nilo for that moment.
