Brotherhood in Anilao, Batangas Part I

I truly enjoyed my first brotherhood in Batangas. So when I found out that we'll have our second brotherhood for this year, I immediately said yes. This time, we held it in Anilao.

I woke up super early (5 am) and prepared for this trip. I was the first to arrive in ChowKing. Earl was next. I had my brekky while waiting for the rest of my SOLV brothers. Was happy to see James again. Then they poured: Joel, Danny, Wilson, Isco, Jonathan, Doun, Ramil, Dale, and even Rohel

Around 7, we left Makati for Batangas. I went with Wilson, Joel, Doun, James, Danny, and Jonathan. I tried to catch some shuteye. Was awaken later by Wilson when we reached a market in Batangas. This is the same marketplace we went to when we held our first brotherhood. The guys bought some food for our one-night stay. We were joined by Algie, Arnel, and Caloy.


Instead of going directly to the resort, we went first to Algie's house for our first decent meal. There we practiced some songs with Wilson and James in the guitar. Lunch was composed of adobo (courtesy of Ramil), tawilis, and some mangoes. Yummy! Since I didn't participate in the food prep, I volunteered to wash the dishes. Joel helped me out on that task.

Around 2 pm, we left for Anilao. We passed by Eagle Point along the way. I saw once more Sombrero island in the distant. It seemed that our resort was located way, way far beyond the famous resorts in Batangas. The rough road were sometimes very challenging.

Anyhoo, we finally reached the place called Aling Trining's resort. There was a more presentable resort in front but unfortunately, our budget wasn't enough. We chose which from 3 cottages we'd like to stay in. I went to the one without aircon. We were informed that we won't take the unit with airconditioning for financial reasons. Turned out that we could--with additional payment. So I wasn't the lucky one this time ;o)

I checked out the beach and decided to take the plunge right away. It was hard at first because the rocks and dead corals were freakin sharp. After some gruesome minoots, I reached a good spot. Tried to swim for awhile. I even accidently scratched my left leg on some corals. Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuch!!! I knew that there were cuts 'cause they stung a bit. Doun joined me later. He's a good swimmer and he swam farther too.

I left the beach to take care of my cuts. Earl saw my bloody leg when I walked back towards our cottage. Joel gave me some alcohol and tissue.

We couldn't hike up to a nearby mountain yet without one of our brothers. Pert's supposed to arrive any moment so we waited for him. I changed to my hiking attire and washed me face and left leg.

After a few minoots, Pert arrived. We rented a jeep that would take us to the foot of the mountain. Unfortunately, Caloy won't be hiking with us. He left for Manila already. Too bad.

Joel told us that it would only take 15 minoots to reach the summit of this mountain called "Gulugod Baboy" or "Gilid Baboy". Suddenly I remember the calculations of expert trekkers and didn't believe the 15 minoots right away. Am pretty sure it would take longer. Joel appointed me and Danny to be the sweeper. And so, all 15 of us climbed this 1,400-foot mountain.

There was a slight challenge with one of our trails. Instead of taking a simple route, Joel informed us that we'd take a shortcut. It's a steep climb so Arnel & I asked for help. For awhile, I thought I'd get cramps like the first time I climbed Mt. Daguldul. Thank heavens my legs didn't give up on me.




When we reached the summit of the "Tore" (the real summit of Gulugod Baboy is some distance away), we enjoyed the scenery. It was breathtaking. On one side, we awaited the setting of the sun. On the other, we could see dark clouds and rain slowly approaching us. Arnel led the worship. Afterwards, we had fun taking pictures. We sang birthday tunes for James and Jonathan. So when the sun set, we headed back down. It would be really dangerous if rain had caught up with us.

My second climb (even if it's, again, a minor one) was memorable because I got to worship the Lord while on top of one of His creations ;o) On our way back to the resort, we sang "Let the Love Begin". Jologs but it was fun. There was a fight between the Kapuso and the Kapamilya brothers.

Before we had dinner, we rested a bit and jammed to a bunch of songs. Sometimes Algie was on the box while Wilson was on guitar. Other times, James subtituted Algie. We sang songs of local bands.

Dinner was composed of Ramil's famous corn with spareribs soup, fried chicken, and mangoes. The minute I tasted the soup, I commented op it right away. It was DELICIOUS! It was a great dinner.

I took a bath and joined my brothers for another worship around 10. This time, Danny led it. The topic was about being childlike in order to be worthy of God's kingdom. We all shared some personal stuff. Later on, we continued the socialization with some beers and chips. We even went to the sea shore and continued our singing there. After enjoying the quiet beach and its melodic sound, we called it a night.

Continue the adventure here.