Dalaguete, Cebu: Osmeña Peak

"It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves."

-Edmund Hillary

NOTE: Sorry to tell you in advance but this trip of mine happened years ago. Even though the gap years is a bit big I still want to share my experience there while I'm still blogging. Hope you like it.

The geography:

Osmeña Peak is located in the Municipality of Dalaguete in the province of Cebu. The peak is approximately 1,000 meters above sea level making it the highest peak in the island of Cebu.

The peak is part of the Mantalungon mountain ranges, which is unique from other mountain ranges in the Philippines because of its multiple jagged hills grouped together that overlook and stretch as far as the Badian shorelines. The highest of these hills is the Osmeña Peak named in honor of the famous Osmeña clan in Cebu. 

The visual appearance of the Mantalungon range is almost similar in form to the Chocolate Hills of Bohol but the peaks of the ranges are thinner, sharper-pointed and rocky. Unlike the Chocolate Hills, the peaks of the Mantalungon ranges cluster are quite near to each other and give the impression of being formed from rocks that have survived through time.

The Travel Journey:

BADIAN, KAWASAN FALLS

Go with the flow.

Roar with excitement.

Let you cares fall away.

- Take this advice from a waterfalls.

 

                        Cebu is not only own for this famous festivals and foods but also for this beautiful nature trippings. One of this is the Kawasan Falls which is found in Badian, Cebu. Just 130 kilometers southwest of Cebu City and about three hours bus ride. Kawasan Falls is located inside the mountains of Barangay Matutinao, Badian.

To start my trip to Kawasan Falls with my friends we went to Southbus Terminal and got on a bus going to Badian. (If your travelling by bus during midnight I suggest you bring a jacket with you because it will be really cold when the bus starts moving which by mistake I didn't do with left me hugging myself.) The bus fare is just 126php per person. (Not bad) For about three hours of travelling in midnight you don't have the choice but to sleep. At around 6 in the morning we arrived at our stop and had to walk uphill for about 1.5 kilometers to get to the first waterfalls. (NOTE: If it's your first time going there and you're afraid to get lost in the walking, don't worry a tour guide will be waiting for you at the entrance to guide you all the way. Though you have to pay a minimum of 150php for that.) Along the way to the first waterfalls we passed by the river, small streams and a small hydro generator which is also a good site while walking.

P.S. I Still Loved You

"So much of LOVE is CHANCE. There's something scary and wonderful about that."

- P.S. I Still Love You

P.S I Still Love You is the sequel of the Jenny Han's New York Times bestseller book To All the Boys I Loved Before. Lara Jean and Peter K's love story continues as Lara Jean didn't expect to really fall for Peter. She and Peter were just pretending. Except suddenly they weren't. Now Lara Jean is more confused than ever. When another boy from the past returns to her life, Lara Jean's feelings for him return too. Can a girl be in love with two boys at once?

To All The Boys I've Loved Before

"Do you know what it's like to like someone so much you can't stand it and know that they'll feel the same way?"

- To All the Boys I've Loved Before

Do you still remember the first time you fell in love? Are you the kind to confess your love to someone or do you just keep it inside yourself like Lara Jean? 

To All the Boys I've Loved Before is story of Lara Jean, who never openly admitted her crushes, but instead wrote each boy a letter about how she felt, sealed it, and hid it in a box under her bed. But one day Lara Jean discovers that somehow her secret box of letters has been mailed, causing all her crushes from her past to confront her about the letters: her first kiss, the boy from summer camp, even her sister's ex-boyfriend, Josh. As she learns to deal with her past loves face to face, Lara Jean discovers that something good may come out of these letters after all.

I really like this book. When I saw it, I was first attracted by the title then the cover and then I got so curious I bought it. Reading the book, I was transported back when I was in high school when all the crushes with boys bloom. I remembered how I met my first love and what crazy things I did for him (that was quite embrassing, I tell you) just so he would noticed me. I can also relate to Lara Jean, how I used to write short letters or notes for him but then I never had the courage to give it. He was a popular guy at that time and I'm just a wallflower in a pilot section (in short, nobody). I got three crushes back then but I already forgot the other two. This book really got the soft side of me. Teenage love, innocence, curiousity, risk of being in love, family, sister's relationships and friendships; Jenny Han really hit all of these right on bull's eye. It gives you this tender feeling, joys and smiles you don't know your having or even doing when your reading it. Even the settings complements to the theme, which let you easily imagine each scenes without too much difficulty. I also like how she associates her own culture in her book. I love Korean culture, so when I read it I also got to learn more about it. It is really a must read book. Now that the sequel it out, I am reading it all over again but even if it's the second time it still have the same effect like I was reading it for the first time. 

These are my favorite lines from the book.

"Love is scary: it changes; it can go away. That's the part of the risk. I don't want to be scared."

"Life doesn't have to be planned. Just roll with it and let it happen."

"I want to say yes, but I don't want to be with a boy whose heart belongs to somebody else. Just once, I want to be somebody else's first choice."

"What must it be like, to have a boy likes you so much he cries for you?"

"It wouldn't kill you to get out of your comfort zone a little bit."

Thank you for reading my blog. I hope you like it. The sequel P.S. I Still Love You will shortly come after this.