Warrior Pilgrimage

Featured in Warrior Pilgrimage on November 22, 2010

IT HAD BEEN raining very hard last night but it had not dampened the spirit of an impending Russian invasion today, June 26, 2010, along the trails of Napo to Mount Babag. As I sit on a concrete plant box in the parking lot of the Our Lady of Guadalupe de Cebu, a big Hyundai Starex arrive with a miniature flag of the Russian Federation attached at the back windshield.

I waited for an emissary and out goes a Welshman and good friend, Wil Davies (a.ka. Jungle Wil) of the Jungle Wild Adventures. He have with him guests who are all Russian nationals: Nikita, Yuriy and Kristina. I have with me Ernie Salomon, Glen Domingo and Boy Toledo who are all ardent bushcrafters. I don't have any idea how to speak Russian, but, by God, they speak good English!

After an introduction by Jungle Wil, we Filipinos invited them all to a typical simple breakfast loved by the masses – pancit – inside a typical local carenderia at the back of the church. We snared the three vacant tables amongst ourselves and our guests manage to work themselves well into a very Filipino dining set-up to the amusement of the locals.

After the meal, Ernie pursued his task of buying our food provisions for lunch like chicken meat, milled corn and other ingredients. Milled corn? I understand two of the Russians have been long-time residents of Cebu, being married to Filipinas, and I wonder if they have tasted and eaten a very Cebuano staple like milled corn. We have to try if they like it. Just for once.

Off we go to Napo following the concrete-and-asphalt road to gradually stretch our cold muscles into a well-heated machine and be ready by the time we climb the Babag Mountain Range. This is a ritual that we have practiced to prevent muscle injuries and we make it sure that all our activities are within our control...READ MORE (Press CTRL + mouse click)