Our Starbuks Hike in Banawa

February 24, 2024

Paseo Arcenas, Banawa

Starbuks

I wake up around 3:45 in the morning. Nah, just kidding. I hit the snooze button twice. Around 4 a.m. I finally got up to take a quick shower for a fresh start. I was excited and uncertain at the same time, as this would be another first for me. This is the first time I awoke so early and rode a motorcycle at dawn to go places. Such freedom I didn’t imagine.

I was the first one to arrive at our meeting place at McDonald's in Paseo Arcenas, so I've decided to indulge myself with a yummy breakfast while waiting for the others. I ordered one of their fancy breakfast meals, which turned out to be just a regular burger sandwich with an egg. If only I knew, I would have chosen something that would be more worth my money.

Stephanie was the second to arrive. The funny thing is, I kind of expect her to be late or absent because she might have had a prior engagement the day before, so she might not be able to hear her alarm - again. *Cough* That’s what happened during our Dalaguete and Argao trip a week before. Haha

When everyone arrived, I didn’t expect that it would be just us, Mia, Stephanie, Jezrel, and Lemuel, Jez’s boyfriend, because when we were planning this hike, the finance and operations/customs team were the ones who kind of organized it. They canceled at the last minute, which is fine as long as we have Ate Mia, our trusted guide for our hike, as we are all first-timers except for her. The other customer service team, on the other hand, is not fond of outdoor or extreme activities.

We started kind of late, because we were late. Haha... What do you expect? While we were still on the way to the entrance of the Paseo, everyone, including me, had started complaining about the walk. We were even out of breath when we stepped on the first elevated area. Ate Mia, in her true role as our guide, has been laughing and encouraging us at the same time because the path up above is worse than the first inclined path we encountered.

 

Since we started late, we saw the sun as it rose throughout the city. It was even Ate Mia’s first, as she always comes here while the sun is not out yet. Which was honestly a wise decision because when you get down too late like us, you will both figuratively and literally be burned by the scorching heat of the sun.

 

While we were climbing, we bumped into fellow hikers who also wished to go to the top and those who had already made it and were now on their way down. You don't have to worry if you get tired, as there will be spots where you can take a short break. 

 

Honestly, the journey is not easy, especially for first-timers with no prior experience hiking long and steep trails, so if you want to go there for the 'gram, better rethink your decision. However, I assure you that it will be worthwhile.

This whole journey makes me think of the meme around Facebook about how we were raised not to quit, but surely we were raised as complainers. We sure did lots of complaining. Our hike took longer than we planned, but it's okay. I am glad we did not give up. 

What makes this whole journey even funnier is that one of our colleagues, Lloyd, who’s hours late, was able to catch up with us in the middle of our hike and ended up being the first to arrive on top. Yes, he left us struggling. Just kidding. Well, he’s the one who introduced this mountain or trail to the team, and he’s been here multiple times for fun, so it’s easy peasy for him.

 

I tried to follow Lloyd’s pace, as I feel like if I keep stopping along the way, I will get tired easily. However, I kind of feel guilty leaving everyone behind, so I decided to wait for the rest of the team and let Lloyd go ahead of me. Which I gladly did because everyone was worried that I might have taken the wrong path.

When they were able to catch up with me, we continued our hike together this time. We are so close, like we could finally see it and hear the people enjoying their hot cocoa and puto. However, in reality, we are still a mountain away from our destination. That's why you should just take a break if you have to, just like us. Don’t force yourself; just enjoy every step.

When we arrived at our destination, we were greeted by the infamous Starbuks, a wordplay on the famous coffee store, Starbucks. There was already a crowd of hikers who were enjoying the scenery, food, and much-needed rest they needed after a long hike on top. Just like everyone else, the first thing we did was take an obligatory photo of the Starbuks sign with a view of the city.

We soon looked for a hut where we could finally rest and have our breakfast (my second breakfast). This was one of the surprising things when we got there. There were lots of huts made of wood with tables and chairs for you to use for free.

There were also two stalls: one that sells silog (rice, egg, and your choice of main dish), puto, sikwate (chocolate drink), and juices, to mention a few. The other one sells instant food like pancit canton, instant coffee, drinks, and more.

I’m not sure if it was because we were exhausted, hungry, or both, but honestly, this was the best silog meal I ever had. I know I’m exaggerating it, but it was the best meal I ever had during our climb, and it was even very affordable. Again, for me, it is very surprising knowing that they are on top of the mountains.

 

We asked a few questions to the seller, and it turns out that the house across the stall is their house, and since many have been coming here on top, they cook meals for them for a living. On days when there are not so many climbers, they will be at their home, but they said you could still knock on their door for food. 

Once we were rested after our meal, we started our descent. It was surprisingly much easier now, though everyone was starting to feel the exhaustion of the hike that most of us, including me, slept on and felt on the grounds. We'll say it's part of the experience, and we just laughed about it. The worst part of the whole journey was that we went down almost at midday, and the heat of the sun was piercing through your whole body. So note to self: wear sunscreen.

 

I may say this has been one of my biggest achievements physically, climbing one of the highest peaks in Cebu City. They also mentioned that the whole trail is connected to another trail called Spartan Trail, which, who knows, one day we will take.

 

It challenges me to think that we might be climbing the highest peak in the Philippines in the future. This might be just the start.