14 July 2008
SKP Goes to Mount Fuji!
July 5 - 6, 2008
THE START...
We began our journey to Japan's "giant" by making a cute little flag the day before the actual climb. We just wanted to have something to hold on to when we reach the top. We made cute doodles and put a lot of color to it just for fun. So, yeah, the morning of July 5th, which is a Friday, I made myself some egg sandwich and made sure everything was in my backpack (including a banana water gun). I even sewed my pants 'coz it has like a little hole on it. BUT, guess what??? By some bringer of misfortune, BAD LUCK does come into my life and ruined a part of my day. I friggin' left my pants! I was supposed to wear it when we get to the actual spot since it was scorching hot that day and I just plan to temporarily wear a light stocking-sort-of pants. Anyhoo, so I was at the train station when I realized that BUT if I try to go back and grab it, I would miss the train so..."Dana, just forget it and have some damn fun!," I said to myself.
Everyone, 76 of us, assembled at Takeda Station and we were asked to join our assigned groups. We had two buses. One bus carries all SKP peeps while the other one seats some SKP students and Japanese peeps. I was in the former bus so, yeah, it was fun 'coz your movements are not limited. With gaijins, you could do almost anything. The ride on the bus was fun. We took several stops for meals and toilet breaks. I get to play around and blab a lot on the bus. 
And after hours of blab, laughters, and sleep, we reached our destination: 5th Station of Mt. Fuji. We had dinner and then changed into our climbing outfit. Of course, we took a lot of pictures before the actual climb. haha! So, we then headed uphill and at first, the route was smooth and easy but little did we know that we were just about to start the "real climb." THE CLIMB...
In the beginning, people were fooling around and talking to one another but as we go further and higher, came silence. haha! Sunset on Mt. Fuji was beautiful. But as the sun goes down, so does our strength. We tried to stay with our groups but most of the time we climbed leisurely, how long or how slow we want it. Of course, we don't want to stress a lot of people. Still, climbing up was fun for me. Especially, when I met a cute 5-year old boy named Satsuki. He was so charming and strong for his age. He was climbing along with older people. Also, I gave that kid his first kiss. Woot! haha!
Then we reached the 6th, 7th, and finally the 8th Station where we are going to take an hour and a half of sleep and be given our breakfast. This was around 11:45pm. We had to start climbing again by 1 am if we want to see the sunrise on top of the mountain. We dealt with some problems but at that moment our goal was to reach the top. Our group left a little late so we were having concerns to whether we will be there on time, etc. Anyhoo, we just kept on going, amidst pain and all those high rocks. I should tell you, climbing is not a joke. It was extremely dangerous. One wrong step might risk your life and the life of others. We were guiding one another all through the journey. And then, SUNRISE came! Everyone was rejoicing, taking photos, videos, and all that. The sunrise was the best I've ever seen. It was sooo wonderful!
THE GOAL !
At the peak, we continued the jubilation. Then, eventually, we were tired and hungry so the mood was a little un-genki up there. The thing that gave back the excitement was the crater. We went and took more pictures. We waved the SKP flag! Woohoo! Also, the view was spectacular up there. The feeling of being on top of Japan, 3,776 metres, was beyond words, baby! haha!
What we did not know was... Going DOWN was sooooooo much harder that climbing up! We assumed since we are descending, the effort to be used would be less. The rocks on the path were loose. The route was steep and curvy. We were slipping here and there. I even hurt my ankle 'coz I couldn't control my speed as I was going down and my foot landed the wrong way. We had to take breaks... like a lot! It was just not how we expected. But hey, we climbed Mt. Fuji so... Who cares now?!? WE MADE IT!!! The pain, money, long bus rides, lack of sleep, and the torture of going down were all worth it. I am sooo proud of everyone. I reached one of my goals too so... Hooray! Filipino pride on top of Japan!
PS: I brought a Philippine flag (a paper one) as we climbed but it got all torn up as we went further. I'm sooo sorry. But I still tried to do a li'l something-something. Hope you guys appreciate it! ;D
xoxo
D
2 Comments:
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27.7.08
fuji! WoW! ^.^28.7.08yes, fuji... wow! ;D
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