At the age of 5, my daughter has been hooked up to the internet. She has her own Facebook account that she can use, but only for viewing. She is aware of all my escapades for the year and even scolds me for climbing mountains without her!
In one of our Cebu trips, I got an idea of having her climb Osmeña Peak. The moment I asked her if she wanted to do it, she was frantic.
"Yes! Yes! Sure mommy!"
And so, the mother-daughter adventure began.
As early as 4:00 AM, I woke her up and we started preparing. We arrived at the Cebu South Bus Terminal around 6:00 AM. The bus bound for Dalaguete left at around 6:30 AM.
For most of the ride, my little Andi was asleep. At least she had enough time to rest and gain strength for what lies ahead. It was her first and I didn't know if she could make it to the summit. Andi does have the tendency to get tired and to prefer going home.
We arrived at the crossing of the Dalaguete-Mantalongon Road at 8:00 AM. We were greeted by habal-habal drivers who obviously knew we were headed to Osmeña Peak because of our attire. Since I had a child with me, I asked our driver to take us to the nearest point to the summit. It was another hour from the crossing to the foot of the mountain. Andi was wide awake since it was her first time to ride a habal-habal. She wasn't complaining about the heat since she enjoyed the view of the nearby mountains and the steep slopes. This kid did have the same enthusiastic spirit as me. She showed no signs of boredom. She loved the whole thing as much as I did!
As soon as we arrived at the jump-off, we registered, hired a 10-year old guide and started trekking. At first, Andi was getting tired, but didn't give up. We had occasional stops and just as she saw the sight of the summit from afar, she got excited and walked faster than me. Oftentimes, she'd even drag me and complain that I was walking too slow.
At 10:30 AM, we arrived at the summit and spent an hour just enjoying the view of Badian, Moalboal, Alcantara, Dalaguete and even Tagbilaran City from afar.
It was indeed a truly memorable climb since I had the chance to do it with my daughter. We seldom see each other so moments like these are quite special.
As soon as she grows older, I'm pretty sure we will share more adventures together!
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ACTUAL ITINERARY
6:30 AM - Left South Bus Terminal for Dalaguete
8:00 AM - Arrived at crossing for Dalaguete-Mantalongon Road
9:00 AM - Arrived at foot of mountain
10:30 AM - Arrived at summit
11:30 AM - Started descent
12:00 PM - Drove back to crossing
1:00 PM - Lunch
1:40 PM - Left for Cebu
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