The Chief

No, this is not about Sir Chief (which by the way, thanks to my recently installed TFC, I can now watch Be Careful With My Heart again).

I’m talking about Stawamus Chief.

After two years, I got to climb Stawamus Chief again! I thought it was three years ago, but I guess not – it was two years ago based on this blog post.

The hike this time around was much easier from what I remembered before. I think it’s because the mountain was dry, making everything a little easier, especially climbing up. Aside from that, I also remembered that the when we got up to second and third peaks, there wasn’t much of a view to see because it was very foggy. But this time around, I finally got to see the view, and what can I say, it was amazing.

This was the view from the top of the second peak. We skipped the first peak and went straight to the second peak. Took around 1.5 hours, I think.

By peak 2.5, (half way to third peak), this was the fantastic view of Squamish:

Here are my friends enjoying a short break:

I find that hiking down the mountain is as hard as hiking up. Going down puts a lot more stress in your ankles and your knees. I woke up this morning with my legs hurting like crazy.

3 of us, out of 5 got stung by bees though. We accidentally plowed through a path full of bees. Their sting was quite painful. I got it by my right calf and it was swollen a bit for some time, but eventually subsided. I put some meds after as it was aching a bit last night, and I woke up this morning feeling nothing on the sting bite. But then again, my whole legs are still aching.

After wards, just like our previous chief hike, we went for a nice meal after at Whitespot. I had two full glasses of milkshake (butterscotch and blueberry). So much for all that calories I burned during the hike! I may actually even have gained.

Until next time the chief! Hope to see you again.

some random thoughts

The thing that I really miss the most about the Philippines is my family and friends. To be honest, there are times that I feel sad because I know I am missing a lot of memories from there. Events like, birthdays, parties, or even just regular get togethers with the family and friends.

But whenever I feel sad, I try to focus on the positive side of things.

I think about how blessed I am to be here. I think about how I can walk around here without much stress. I think about how I can run around the neighborhood, how I can ride my bike for 30 kilometers within the busy city and still feel safe. How about the outdoors here? Beautiful. Traffic here is nonexistent in comparison to Manila’s horrid traffic. There’s so much more to say.

Aside from these, the friends and family that I have here reminds me that even though I am away from my friends and family back home, that I still have people here who I can enjoy and have fun with.

This summer was extra special too (and jam packed). I got to attend a few bridal showers, plus just last Saturday, I got to join a few friends for Lechon, Vancouver style!

 

Things like these remind me of how blessed I am.

It does help too that I’ve been here a few times for the past five years so home sickness is really not something I feel every now and then.

Not that I don’t miss home. It’s still a place I terribly miss. But thanks to technology, I can still feel close to the family back home.

Things are different from before because of technology. Now we have Whatsapp, Skype, Hangouts, email, you name it. We even have a whatsapp group where I chat with my family regularly. You can send photos too! Which is why I’m always updated with how the nieces and nephew are. And don’t forget about skype too. When the family recently had a small get together to celebrate my sister-in-law’s birthday, I got to be in the photo too! Digital anyway! Pwede na! This is proof that technology can still keep us together even if we’re continents apart!

 

And how about sending post cards to people back home? It gives me a smile just thinking about how surprised my friends were when they got the cards (at least I hope they were!)

Being away from home can be quite challenging. And it never ever helps to sulk about the situation because thinking of the glass half full, instead of half empty is the much better perspective on how to look at any situation. I can’t say things are perfect here either. But I choose to be happy.

And of course, it does help that I have something to look forward to in a few months time!

Oh, and how about passing my road test exam yesterday? I am now officially a licensed driver here in British Columbia!