“While descending Mt. Apo, I took a wrong path, slipped, and fell off a 12-foot cliff. I gripped on nothing else but a thorny branch of a wild plant and felt each of them burrow in my skin until a bed of dried leaves soaked by rain softened my fall. I never even had a moment to shout as I hear a fellow climber shout for my name. It was too fast. I didn’t want anyone to worry and be affected by what they saw. God was good to me, to all of us. The group that adopted me asked how I was. I had to immediately respond. I braved to look in front of me. An eternity down there was just a few feet from where I sat. My backpack also cushioned my slip. I checked on myself. I have no other pain or injury but a bleeding right hand from the thorny branch. I told them I can move, nothing broken but a wounded hand. Sir Marley went down and pushed me up. A doctor who heads the climb applied first aid, a nurse and my adoptive group would later help me clean the wound.”
It was Candice recounting her most memorable and unforgettable travel ever since she started trotting the Philippines. After successfully climbing Mt. Apo and reaching the ground back, she treated her group with ice cream while her fellow climbers reminded her that she just went through a life-changing event and that was her second birthday.
“Life-changing…” “Second birthday…” I let these two phrases freeze in the air like bullets as questions began popping up in my head.
I am aware that I have had several life-changing experiences. But, a second birthday? Not to my knowledge. I tried reminiscing the past climbs and island hopping I had that somehow put threats to my life. I can’t remember any that is comparable to Candice’s experience. Not even a meter close. And if in case I would have my second birthday, I would fervently pray that God would give me another third.
“The Mt. Apo climb happened in October of 2010. Everything before, during, and after this trip was memorable. It was a crash course on life major on death defying stunt and decision-making on matters of the heart,” she continued.
Mt. Apo, Mindanao
Reading from her story, I surmise that Candice is someone who loves adventure; someone who prefers to go out of her shell rather than just sit to stare at the distant stars; someone who chooses to experience what marvels in her thoughts through her eyes.
I was right about her.
“I am of the adventure type of traveler. Mas gusto ko minsan ang biglaan. Not that I don’t like itineraries. In the daily grind, your work or ordinary day routine is an itinerary in itself. But during vacations and non-work related travels, mas gusto kong mawala at guluhin ng kaunti ang mundo ko. Itineraries are very important and useful but it is more of a back-up plan for me if nothing or not much good things happen in a come-what-may kind of travel. Each travel that I do is very personal. It is my world and with the people I choose to be with and whomever fate throws my way. Pag ganito, people are more relaxed. They don’t expect too much. Whatever comes, you make the most of it and enjoy it,” she said.
Memories about my first travel abroad suddenly crossed my mind when itineraries were brought up by Candice. It was my Hongkong trip. I booked it six months before my birthday. It was planned with no preparation really involved. I ventured that journey with just one aim: to set foot on Disneyland. I never had itinerary prepared for five full days. But it turned out to be one of those trips I kept in my hard drive so I have something to look back whenever I like to feel being a kid again.
Candice too had visited Hongkong. She once traveled to Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand among the countries in Asia. In the Philippines’ map, she already crossed out 60 of its 80 provinces, leaving her only 20 to finally surmount all the islands in our country. However, she only keeps coming back to one place— Sagada.
Sagada always makes Candice feel happier and bolder.
“The best place I’ve been to is Sagada. I just keep coming back for more. What made this very special are the people I was with when I traveled here for the first and second time way back in 2006 and the locals and fellow travelers I meet. We really enjoyed it, so we went back a month after. This was the trip that opened me and my friends to a lot of awareness and possibilities. Ito yung unang bukang liwayway ng kamulatan namin sa maraming bagay. Kung bangin bangin ang dinadaanan mo hindi ba lalakas ang loob mo? Kapag may sinasama ako o nakakasama ako dito, Sagada never fails to make me and them happier and bolder. Sagada is really a beautiful place which is why I’ve been here for five times already— with a group, with a buddy, and several solos. I will keep coming back here,” Candice shared.
Sagada is truly a burdenless place where you can disengage to your usual world and unload weight on your shoulders.
Bomod-Ok Falls, Sagada
Travelers keep a list of must-dos. Most of the time, included in your must-dos are the things you fear. You delay them believing that you should first acquire enough courage— or cash— to do it. Candice wants to gather enough courage before bungee jumping in Macau tower. That’s something she longs to try and looks forward to materialize this year.
Apart from the must dos, every traveler has a dream destination waiting to be fulfilled someday.
Have you ever wondered why each dream destination has the word “someday” attached to it? Because a dream destination is usually big, far, costly, and must be impeccable. It entails ample time to finance it and sometimes right person to share it with.
Candice has started saving for her dream destination and she wants to be with her special someone in this trip.
“My dream destination right now is to go to Machu Picchu. Of course, I want to be with my special someone in this trip. The one who can’t be named yet. Haha! I will also show him Sagada. I would travel with him to Machu Picchu and bungee jump in Macau tower. Kung youth pa kami, kung saan ang next World Youth Day. Caribbean Cruise isn’t a bad idea, I think. Haha!,” she quipped.
Reaching your dream destination isn’t the finish line of one’s quest for paradise but the commencement of a new search for another discovery. What’s good about having it fulfilled is you start all over again and look for a new place to conquer, for a new dream destination. You then realize that the world is too big to traverse or too small to reach a place.
You start telling your own tale to your friends and family and how ready you are to die upon crossing all the items in your bucket list; you share the experience and the surreality of traveling from one continent to another; you weave the most fitting words to convince them and do the same thing you’ve just done.
When you think you’ve persuaded them enough, you ended up more convinced than them. You later believe that traveling is a way of life and you intend to live it, every bit of it.
Just exactly like Candice, when she discovered traveling is a big chunk that would make her whole, she also recognized the fact that it wasn’t going to stop, not anytime soon. Even if she once put her life at risk when she climbed the Philippines’ highest peak, she didn’t regret it, because for her, traveling is all about experiencing it by yourself.
“Enough of the reading, listening, and watching people do it. No matter how scary or towering it feels just travel and live to tell the tale. You just gotta be there somewhere out of your shell. Remind me too so I won’t forget to dare even as I get older,” Candice shared.
Lake Sebu, South Cotabato
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Candice Y. Cerezo works for an elected government official. She used to be a reporter at Manila Times which lasted for a year before venturing to a new career. She manages to squeeze time for personal travels to deviate from the daily grind of her work. She shares her love for traveling and how it became part of her life to her friends and family. Candice is adventurous and isn’t afraid to venture solo traveling despite prejudices on women travelers.
She blogs at: http://freespiritdreamertraveler.wordpress.com/
DIALOGUE WITH A WANDERER 