I recently traveled to the northwestern part of the country to attend my uncle's funeral and visit another uncle who's recovering from an amputation surgery. I didn't want to go because of all the work I needed to do at that time but no one else could accompany my mother for the trip.
As expected, the trip was somber and a bit sad. But it was good seeing my mother be with her brothers after a long time. I also welcomed the experience of traveling. We travelled by plane and in my last Liketu post, I shared about wanting to ride an airplane again. The circumstances could have been a lot better but at least I'm off the island of Cebu.
We visited Olongapo City and Santa Cruz in the province of Zambales. I've been to those places before but during this particular visit, I was surprised that I didn't take notice of the majestic mountain landscapes around the area.
There was a viewing point near the cemetery and I had the best view of Subic Bay and the mountains around it. Some of the mountains were bare and looked like they didn't have trees on them. During my last visit, I intended to visit the coves in the area with access to those mountains but the weather was terrible at that time. I vowed to visit again and take a closer look at those mountains.
In Santa Cruz, Zambales, they had black sand beaches which is not the most appealing kind of beach for me. I've seen pristine white sand beaches in Cebu before. Nevertheless, a beach is still a beach. I went for an afternoon dip with my mother and some relatives. The backdrop of the beach were another set of majestic mountains. In Cebu, I don't really find gigantic mountains casually staring at me from the beach or along the road. Or maybe I've grown used to them and the mountains I'm seeing were just new and exciting.
In Luzon, or the northern major island group of the Philippines, there are a lot of expressways taking you from one province to the next. On our way home, we took the SCTEX (Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway) and yet again, I had the most awe-inspiring sight of some mountains. And it was during a sunset. I don't know where we were at that time and I wished the bus would stop for a moment for me to properly take in the view and snap some decent photos. But the bus was moving at 100 kmph and they weren't allowed to stop at expressways. So I just captured the fleeting beauty in front me and took photos through the glass windows.
I never thought the sight of mountains from afar could elevate an otherwise sad trip.
How about you? Do you have mountain landscapes that maybe you're taking for granted? Or have you also fallen in love with the sight of mountains before?