Transcentral moonwalk

CEBU, Philippines - I toyed with the idea of a Transcentral Road walk two years ago. It happened as planned, just recently. But it had taken scores of postponements before the idea could finally leave a track.

Even my small circle of hiking enthusiasts was just too chicken to do it. Concerns varied from security matters to weather, from endurance to availability of time. And, we couldn’t seem to agree on a particular date and time.

In the first week of February I checked the calendar for a full-moon date. Of the six calendars hanging at home, five had the full moon on February 14, Valentine’s Day. But large The Freeman calendar had it on Feb. 15, a Saturday.

I liked that one different date. Somehow it hinted how odd my idea was. It was something not normally conceived even by habitual trekkers themselves.

Many would rather run – to make a record – the 48-kilometer stretch from Cebu City to Balamban town in the province’s northwest. Some would rather test their charms to hitchhike to the other side, on any of those vehicles traversing the Cebu central landscape.

In my case, I didn’t mind walking. I couldn’t walk alone; this was my only concern. Doing it alone was not a good idea. Either I would stir suspicions among the mountain residents, or hoodlums would take the opportunity to victimize a woman walking by herself in some isolated area.

I reckoned though that I had already waited long enough for the activity. My patience was like hair thinning on my aging faith. Nonetheless, it still looked virtuous to wait for the right time and the right company.

It would come, I knew, like a stream ultimately meeting a faraway ocean, through a million bends. I had been through too many instances where the Universe conspired with my desire and allowed me to go hiking and trekking. It had never failed me in the past.

Then, one day, in my routine commuting to Cebu City for my job and going home to Lutopan after to child-rear, I happened to sit behind two young backpackers. Their outfits inspired me to start a conversation with the guys. I learned they were from Talavera, Toledo City and were headed to Osmeña Peak in Dalaguete town in southeast Cebu, from there they would cross to Kawasan Falls in Badian, hiking for about five hours. 

Thrilled but not anticipating much just yet, I got their contact numbers. I didn’t even bother asking for their names. If we were destined to be trek-mates, it would come, I figured. Then that would be the time to exchange first names. In the meantime, the guy who wore dreadlocks I christened Budoy2 (from Budoy of the Pinoy Big Brother fame). The other one had nose studs, so I referred to him as Mr. Pierce.

Days towards Feb. 15, I posted an invite for hiking enthusiasts on my Facebook account, where I declared that I was “ready to pursue my very first Transcentral Road Luna Trek.” A good number “Liked” the idea but hinted no commitment. Some said they might join, but I knew the excitement would just die down the moment they left my FB account.

My Plan B was just to try going from JY Square in Lahug to Ayala Heights up on the near mountains, a distance of around 18 kilometers. Both ways, up and then return, was a good 36 kilometers already and I could go alone. My only hope was for an overcast sky so I could go.

Then, from out of the blue, Budoy2 (real name: Renzo Reoyan, 25 years old) sent me a text message that he was already at JY Square with his cousin, 26-year-old Kyle Basalo, waiting for me. I was like – owwwwwSum! We were going on the Transcentral Moon Walk!

Pain soused the journey, literally. The backbreaking uphill at the start of the walk and the steep downhill past Barangay Ga-as were just too much to bear. It was the silliest hike I’ve done in my life, 44 kilometers in 14 hours. We started late afternoon of Feb. 15, Saturday, and reached Barangay Aliwanay in Balamban at the burst of a Sunday skyline.  (That’s about 3,300 feet for every kilometer! Imagine what power a pair of feet has!)

It was offbeat. It was off the beaten track. But the three of us agreed that it was still a “fun walk,” knowing that we would not be doing a hike like that on a regular basis anyway. And we couldn’t do it anymore a decade later. So it was just the day to do it! And it was the night, too, to watch and get awed by the sight of mist shrouding the mountains.

It was such an absurd idea indeed, for what if we’d encountered outlaws along the way? What if we’d witnessed something or somebody being dumped on the roadside, or down a sharp cliff, while negotiating Cantipla or Cansumoroy?

Being a journalist of 16 years, I knew of lawlessness carried out in the wee hours at the remote hilly lands. But I fought against these creepy thoughts that night. All I wanted to do was to focus on my pace, my stride – and finish the journey before the “First Eleanor Valeros Memorial Climb” would be organized.

And I could not have done it without the two gentlemen who risked with me, in our common desire to push ourselves to the limit.

EARTH HOUR 2014

On  Saturday, March 29 at 8:30 p.m., millions of people around the world are switching off lights for one hour to signify their commitment to the planet by way of energy conservation.

In line with this,  SM City Cebu and SM City Consolacion in partnership with the local government units have lined up activities as their participation in the global observance of the Earth Hour event.

As early as  8 a.m.,  there’s going to be a program in the area fronting The Northwing of SM City Cebu. The program is to be attended by the Cebu bikers group, the Tindak Sugbo, in preparation for the launching of bike lanes in Cebu City. The “Tindak Lanes Ordinance” aims to clearly cite roles of government, motorists, pedestrians and bike riders in the successful implementation of the bike lanes project.

In the evening, during the Earth Hour, the bikers are to go cycling from SM City Cebu to the major streets in the city. Percussionists and fire dancers will bring entertainment to the audience during the program.

Over at SM City Consolacion, in cooperation with Shelter Foundation, there’s the lighting of the “Liter of Lights” at  8:30 p.m.  “Liter of Light” is a multinational social enterprise that re-utilizes discarded plastic bottles and installs these as environmentally friendly, sustainable lighting in improvised housing districts. To date “Liter of Light” has brightened up 28,000 homes and the lives of 70,000 people in Metro Manila alone. The project has spread from the Philippines to Indonesia, India and Switzerland, with the goal of installing one million solar bulbs by 2015. 

Earth faces climate change

Climate Change is one of biggest and most defining issues of our time. The increased incidence and intensity of extreme weather events such as droughts, heat waves, floods, and tropical storms prove evidence that the Earth’s temperature is rising, and the polar ice caps and glaciers are melting.

The year 2013 saw a string of extreme weather events. The temperature in Death Valley, California, rose up to 54?C in June, the hottest temperature ever recorded on the planet. Shanghai, China had 24 days of temperature at or above 35?C in July and then hit 40.6?C, the highest in 140 years. Northeast Brazil, which often suffers long droughts, experienced its worst in 50 years and then followed by massive floods.

In November last year, the Philippines experienced its most destructive storm yet. Super Typhoon Yolanda was 600 km in diameter and had a wind speed of 255 kilometers per hour at its peak. It directly affected 10 million Filipinos in 41 provinces and 51 cities. The victims suffered immense loss; they navigated their unrecognizable hometowns, murmured prayers for loved ones they couldn’t find, wept for those they’d lost forever, and rummaged through piles of debris to keep whatever they could hold on to.

Among the things found were photographs. Framed graduation portraits, solo shots, and family photos that once filled shelves and walls of homes were soaked in mud, cracked, or torn.

A photo is never really just a piece of shiny paper — it is a captured moment, a lasting memory, and a symbol of tales. For the Headshot Clinic (HSC), a photo also carries a cause.

This year, HSC partners with Facial Care Centre (FCC) for FCC’s first Corporate Social Responsibility project for the year. Together, they embark on their biggest endeavor yet: Earth Faces, a project to uplift 100 Filipinos by sharing their personal Yolanda stories through headshots and a video to be produced by Emmy Award winner, Filipino producer and director Michael Carandang.

The Facial Care Centre team, along with Niccolo Cosme of HSC and environmentalist Anna Oposa, will go to selected sites in the Visayas and Palawan to capture portraits of hope and resilience through the faces of Yolanda survivors. With the assistance of the US Peace Corps, Save the Philippine Seas, The Dream Project PH and the Local Government of Coron, Palawan, the group will weave together the survivors’ stories and the people who reached out to help them.

Climate change carries a range of challenges and opportunities in its impact and solutions. Through Earth Faces, the team aims to send a message of empowerment and encouragement to the Philippines and the rest of the world: Earth Faces calamities, tragedies, and disasters, but it also faces indomitable strength, hope, and resilience.