Nature's glide, Summit Views and Sunset Skies!

Our ordinary day transformed into extraordinary when we had the perfect opportunity for our walk and our brisk climb. Our Department announced that there would be an Asynchronous mode of class due to a tree-planting activity that would be simultaneously participated by over forty-seven thousand public schools in the Philippines. Each school should plant a minimum of 5 plants contributing to a goal of planting 230,000 thousand trees nationwide.

There were only 20 teachers in our school who were selected to participate in the activity. Though I feel unfortunate that I wasn't included among the 20 teachers (TLE Teachers and Science teachers were given the priorities), everything seems to have been arranged on purpose as I was able to hike and climb a hill near our school, hence there was no class. The hike turned out to be revitalizing and invigorating as I was able to sweat and destress since the week had been so busy and packed with activities. On top of it all, I was able to hike with my co-teachers and my students who still goes to school (despite the activity) who seemed to enjoy it too!

This portion of our walk I'd be sharing is actually a sequel of our nature-tripping. The initial walk we had was indulging ourselves in a little nature spring that has an overlooking abandoned house and the second one which I loved the most was walking along the open field and a 10-minute uphill climb which gave us a 360-degree view of our town!

It was my student who introduced this place and said that we wouldn't regret the top view. Together with my students, I immediately invited my co-teachers-Maam Jobeliever (who is now my hiking buddy at the start of this year) and Maam Lerre who has always been expressing her desire to come and join our climbs but we just didn't have the time to be together yet, not until this day!

With our excited feet and hearts, we hurriedly go to the place and start our hike! So let's go, taraaa!

We rode a motorbike going to the place so that we could directly start our hike in the expansive open field.

The wide grasslands and the random animals on the field were what welcomed us. Some portion of the land is enclosed by fence for land development but the rest is wide and vacant mirroring the vastness of the sky above.

While my students rode their motorbikes to the foot of the hill because they just couldn't leave their motorbikes beside the street, I together with my colleague enjoyed our leisurely hike. It was no longer hot as it was already around 4 PM yet the sun still shone radiantly making the greenery even look vibrant.

In the middle of our walk, we passed by a sugarcane farm. Maam Jo and Maam Ler hurriedly went to get some sugarcane. They picked 3 canes and we shared them as our sweet snacks while hiking. Haha. We even burst into laughter as we recounted our funny childhood memories about harvesting sugarcanes along the road and eating them as quickly as we could to avoid being caught by the owner or caretaker!

The brisk climb.

When we arrived at the foot of the hill, we wasted no time and energetically embarked on our climb. The slope of a hill was nearly 90 degree angle. I honestly felt nervous looking at it. One slip , one mistake, I'd be surely rolling down the hill.

Despite not being extremely high, the climb still affected my breath when I was ascending because of the elevation. My student told me, that we were lucky in this time of our climb because the locals had cleaned the hill and had added steps going upwards making our ascent manageable and convenient.

In no less than 10 minutes we reached the peak, and the sight there was simply breathtaking!

The overlooking view is stunning 360 degree of farmlands that meets the horizon of the sky.

I could see the vast grassland extending to the mountains that surrounded our town, creating a picturesque scene. Wherever I looked at, all I saw was the evergreen landscapes and the rolling mountains. I could even see the activities in the mountain in a distance as I saw some smoke.

We dedicated almost 30 minutes on top appreciating the beautiful landscape beneath us! We even made a Tiktok dance. We were all happy and were filled with joy and fulfilment that nature generously offered us.

When we had enough of the stunning and refreshing views. We desccended on the other side of the mountain which led us to an ancient Balete Tree with a natural spring beneath its ground. The locals called it Tinubdan. This enchanting spot added layer to our nature-filled adventure.

From this point, we began our journey to get back to school and we were so lucky to witness the sky turned into fiery red hues as the sun's about to sit!

We stopped and watched of the spectacular show of the sky! We were spellbound. We seized the moment and took a picture of us as a memento for today's u forgettable walk.

It was indeed a refreshing and breathtaking walk we had with nature!

---

That's all for today's walk delight. Thank you so much for reading. I hope you enjoyed it too. I wish you all safe and well always.

Don't forget to smile often.🤗😍😊