the taal adventure

the hooded princess riding a white horse.

that's what my way down from the taal crater looked like, only less glamorous.

at the beginning of our adventure, we crossed the sea and were greeted by a scenery of blue and green with splotches of white. the most fascinating of which were the white ones because they were alive. birds of the air that lived off the fish in the sea.

we set foot on the shore, expecting it to be just another trek. but the midday sun was cruel. and sand made it twice as hard to go far. then there were the land mines. they made us wonder if there was more uu flow than aa flow.

the thorny bushes made the land resemble a desert more than a forest. and there was little shade.

the tour guide made it difficult for me to keep up. i wasn't in top shape, perhaps not even fit to be on that trip... so we had to stop a lot of times just so i could catch my breath. it was a test of character. it was really humbling to admit that i couldn't keep up. i wanted to die just so i wouldn't have to go on walking and climbing. but the Lord provided for my need. everything from people who encouraged me to rest to a bottle of coke and a horse.

we made it to the crater on foot. and the sight did take away my weariness if only for a while. there's a lake within the crater. how can it be? it's totally different from the liquid fire i was expecting. a striped dog named tigre, which accompanied us on the way there and back, even thirstily drank from it. my beloved dipped his feet into the water and collected volcanic glass or obsidian stones later.

after numerous pictures were taken, we went on our way back up to where the horses were waiting. i was the only one from team taal who mounted one downhill. i got to rest my feet but the trade-off was not being able to dodge some of the thorns that were in the way since i was traveling at the horse's pace. but it was wonderful to feel the horse's strength and to watch it walk in reverse when we took what we thought was a wrong turn. then there was the scariest part of the adventure. a spotted brown horse was very interested in mating with the one i was riding. it was persistent in its pursuit and i cried out "Lord, help!" in its last and unsuccessful attempt at wooing "my" horse. but i was never really alone.

God is God everywhere. whether in paradise or in a desolate place.