mt. napulak (first dose)

Kabaliwan.
Ito ang naisip namin nung kami ay umaakyat slash gumagapang paakyat ng bundok ng Napulak. Sino bang nag-aya na umakyat kami dun at ihahagis namin sya sa bangin! Yan din ang isa sa mga sinabi namin habang hingal na hingal kaming lumalakad.

It took us 7 hours to hike up Mt. Napulak, which just happens to be the highest mountain in Igbaras, Iloilo standing at 1,200ft above sea level. It was mostly uphill.... almost all uphill.

At sino kaming mga umakyat? Kami, mga junior interns ng West. We were 10 plus si Manong Morot na guide namin. Imagine, 9 interns plus 1 (the other one was a "guest" aka "boy" ng isa sa amin, he was a civil engineer, haha) who did nothing related to the outdoors this past 4 years. Oo, sanay kami sa 32 hours duty, sa mga all-nighter na surgeries, at sa endless IV to follow at akyat-panaog sa 4th floor ng hospital pag wala nang elevator sa madaling araw. Pero hindi kami ever nag-prepare to hike sobrang daming kilometers uphill bearing about 2liters sa mga bags namin. Over. Kabaliwan talaga. Sabi ko na nga e... may sayad ang mga nag-me-med... at ang mga in-lab... hahahaha....

It was a gruelling climb. Understatement. Hahaha. Pambihira talaga. Pero punong-puno ng mga katatawanan at pambihirang enjoyment din. I don't think i could hike/crawl up that mountain had it not been for the rib-cracking jokes namin to get me through. It was a wonderful experience. And the view at the top? Spectacular! Magnificent! Glorious! Breath-taking! It was worth all the effort and the fatigue, and the now-present sakit ng buong katawan. And the bragging rights? Hahaha, priceless.

Kabaliwan. Since it was a 'professional mountain' and kami ay nothing but professional climbers. Future docs oo, but climbers we are not. Pero masaya pa rin ako na nakaakyat ako dun. Hindi ko na sya uulitin siguro... ibang bundok naman. :)

Pero kayo, akyat din kayo. Maganda sa tuktok ng Mt. Napulak. Sulit ang pagod nyo.