Life as a Mountain Girl

Being trapped on a tropical island was a sweet treat during first quarter of 2024. The island feels faraway right now, but I’ll always remember the lovely people I spent time with, the delicious seafood and exotic dishes, and the gorgeous beach life that surrounded me.

Before I left the island, Philipe’s parents were developing a cliffside property facing the sunrise. I shared with them some inspirations I had of Greek islands and I was surprised that they sent all the pictures to the architect. They’re building a Greek-inspired resort right now!

As summer approached, the heat was unbelievably unbearable, the hottest summer I have experienced at 47 degrees Celcius. I spent a month locked indoors and air-conditioned in Manila and had an existential moment: I cannot live like this. I felt trapped and walled in. Being separate from nature was unthinkable. I had to relocate.

I moved to the cold mountains immediately and spent the rest of the year there. And while the tourist traffic hasn’t returned, living in the mountains made a surprising turn. Local children somehow found my place and they asked to join me in my adventures.

I planned to see all the waterfalls, heal my inner child, and spend more time in nature and outdoors. Over a few months, an unsuspecting visitor was being rumored to be a kidnapper. She was taking kids to dangerous places and they would often go missing for a long period of time.

I received some bad rap. I was that kidnapper, though I never did exploit these children. They were the ones who begged to go with me. They also showed me their secret spots to swim and forage food, as well as hidden trails to natural swimming pools.

To these kids, everyday with me was the best day ever.

They learned so much about nature and the environment, survival skills like making bonfire and ways to drink fresh water, and checking out the best places to eat yummy local food and chill.

“Go live with her,” one mother said to a child. “You’re not welcome here anymore. Go live with your new mother!” Some parents here got really jealous of me that they started fighting with their children and with me through texts.

It was exhausting for a time but I reassured them that I am part of an outdoor organization that rescues people trapped in jungles and extreme outdoor situations. Your kids are safe with me. I only eat children sometimes.

“What do they get from you?” another mother said. “They learn nothing from you. All they learn is waste time! My daughter escapes from her chores now and she always makes excuses to go to you!”

I felt like I was being turned into a criminal.

I understood their side and told them to just tell their kids to stop visiting me. “If you don’t want your kids with me then tell them! Because I cannot stop your children from visiting me. They always hide when I tell them to go home and they would not budge from under the table or bed even if I pulled them out.”

They were stubborn. The kids got attached to me it was disturbing. Anyway, moving along now, here are some of the good moments of 2024. I don’t always take photos but I did capture some.

10 Things I Love about 2024

adopting a black kitten

Adopting a velvet black kitten was nothing short of life changing. I’ve taken care of her from 6 weeks to 6 months old. Seeing her grow up from being a tiny blob of void to a large fluffy teenage cat was so precious. Playing with her, cuddling with her, feeding her, and exploring nature with her felt like a shared memory that will always remain perfect and untouchable. I was once again a child with an adorable little pet and she was my baby!

watching kids play with my kitten

When my kitten arrived, my home turned into a playpen. I asked for cardboard boxes from a friend and we cut them out into rooms to build the kitten’s house. The kids made cardboard furniture like beds, tables, and chairs. They made little portraits of my cat to hang on the wall. They made an elevator and a train for kitty to travel in. They made toys from strings, balls, pinecones, and river rocks. Having the sound of children playing and laughing in my place was pretty hysterical. We also brought kitty outdoors with us.

relishing the daily sunrise

It’s hard to leave the mountains when mornings are filled with the sweeping view of a sunrise throwing its rays upon the mountain ranges. I love watching the fleecy clouds peel away from a night’s love affair with the forests, the mountains, and the soil. Some nights I was wrapped in pure mist and fog I could be well living in Frodo’s village. Looking forward to daily sunrises and a sea of clouds was nothing but rewarding. It feels grateful to wake up everyday and see the beauty of creation as if from the shadow of God’s wings.

camping and epic sunsets

What I love about the mountains is how accessible the trails and campsites are. We’d be at the jump off of a campsite in just 15 minutes, hike for only 30 minutes, and already have a sheltered campsite to call our own. Sunsets never fail to enthrall us before we head to bonfire, sweet rice wine, and cooking wild meat. I’ve met some tour organizers and have had some chats with travelers who came from far flung places. I went here exactly for this, when my friends and I dreamed of living here about 10 years ago.

eating wild caught meat

I’ve had one of the few experiences of eating wild meat. We had wild deer meat one time and it was pretty gruesome to see its skull by the bonfire. The guides peeled off the skin and flesh from the face and put them in barbecue sticks for grilling. Watching the deer skins and meats there that night, it felt like we were casts from a Survivor episode. We were freezing and the wind was crazy. We huddled by the fire and picked the meat with our bare hands. It was tough, chewy, and tasty, very similar to beef and horse meat.

bonfire nights and roasting

Because I’m not used to cold weather, bonfires have become a common experience where friends and I would gather, drink homemade beers, and grill meats. In some of my weekend explorations, the kids and I made bonfires inside caves using nothing but dried sticks and leaves lying around the area. I taught them the process of building a fire from gathering materials and finding the ideal spot to setup the fire, to feeding the fire and roasting marshmallows. The soft and melted mallows were yummy, the kids enjoyed every bit of them.

enduring endless rain and cold

2024 wasn’t just the hottest but also the coldest year of my life. It was my first time to experience rain and typhoons high up in the mountains during the rainy season. Being shut in for days and even weeks made me feel a little bit claustrophobic. Even with closed doors and windows, the clammy weather would seep in and damp my hair and beddings. I was covered in two thick blankets over two layers of sweaters. The storms were the worst and some roads were devastated and had to be rerouted. Either way, despite the weather my family drove far and came to see me.

exploring cultural sites

The children and I visited some age-old rice terraces, hanging coffins, burial caves, coffee plantations, and heritage sites. I was surprised by the kids’ endurance — they were quick on their feet and trekked without any trouble, while I would be left behind gasping for air. The kids and I had so many memories together, of weekends filled with curiosity and adventure, of brilliant sun and cold rivers, of sharing chocolates, stories, and funny moments. I’m glad we never had an emergency situation despite the number of places we’ve been. Seeing the world through their eyes made me feel like I was eight too.

swimming in ice water

When the sun was out, we made sure to go swimming that day. There were about five waterfalls nearby and two of them were underground rivers that go through cave systems. We always went swimming on weekends, except when there was a typhoon. Swimming in ice water felt purifying and refreshing. We would jump from rocks and soak in the water until we went cold down to our bones. The river in the image is our favorite spot — it’s in the middle of a pine forest surrounded by lovely walls of limestone. My favorite swimming spot is a series of blue lagoons, but the kids didn’t like it because it was scary deep.

chasing waterfalls

These were some of the places the parents warned us not to go. I feel that I would’ve been killed had something happened to these children. I always made sure that they went swimming only in shallow areas, protected by rocks and barriers, or they would be swept away by torrents. The best part wasn’t the waterfalls themselves, but seeing the kids having the time of their lives doing things they didn’t know existed in their own backyard. Regardless, I’m sure they’ll always remember how life is supposed to be — filled with the people you love and unforgettable memories, and the power to craft them, every singe day, moment by moment.

that’s all :)

Now, the love of my life, this purring feline, my sweet bear-faced cuddlebud. I am about to move to the city in the lowlands, but I am afraid that the change in temperature will shock her. My neighbor transported her pet puppy a few months ago and the pup died. It broke my heart; the puppy and I spent so many walks together. He was only four months old. Traveling from the mountains to the city is going to take 12 hours and I hope my cat will be able to withstand all the stress of road travel. I have been training her to be stronger, because she will go explore many places with me.

// 03 Jan 2025

Thoughts on Authenticity

In 2020, many things fell into place when an empath reached out to me and gave me an assessment that I am an Andromedan Starseed.

This minority of starseeds or light beings come from Milky Way’s neighboring galaxy, Andromeda.

Now, I have little knowledge about Andromedans, let alone starseeds. However, since selling all my things and living on just a backpack in 2017, I have met five starseeds on the road like myself.

Three are friends of mine, whom I share the language of light, love, and freedom — they are two Pleiadians and one Arcturian.

The other two are authors, one Sirian and one Andromedan, and both travel extensively, doing grid work and anchoring light from high energy locations on Earth.

When I was traveling for nearly two years, I ended up in the most travelled destination on the planet, Angkor Wat, a 400-acre ancient city dedicated to Vishnu. This sprawling temple complex is now covered with jungle, wildlife, and tourists.

Now, if I didn’t get robbed, I probably would have stayed on the road, traveling and doing light work like my starseed friends.

I lost all my cards, cash, and passport by 2018, and had to go back home in Manila. Incidentally, the founders of the travel company which we turned into a nationwide project, asked me to return as a Writing Director as they expanded to other countries in Asia.

Two years passed, I was traveling in the Philippines and Asia while directing a group of creatives from my laptop. I was living Tim Ferriss’ vision of working for only a few hours a week.

It was the life I always imagined — I would work for only 1-2 hours in the morning and spend the rest of my day doing my hobbies, visiting exotic places, and meeting travelers like myself.

Somehow, the pandemic arrived and all borders were closed. Despite so many restrictions, I still got to travel, sneaking into military vans and bypassing COVID shots as requirements.

It was rather disturbing how high traffic places suddenly turned into ghost towns, with recovering drunks slogging through the streets looking for alcohol.

At the time, alcohol was suddenly banned nationwide and alcoholics turned into animals, scouring the streets like zombies and breaking into convenience stores for that last bottle of gin.

Some of my male friends, meanwhile, were going through depression and asked for my help.

For the porn addicts, I suggested abstinence and focusing on their family and health. For the heartbroken, I suggested shadow work and self-love. And for those wrestling with demons, I suggested prayer and fasting.

Now, I don’t know everything, but there’s an answer to all kinds of affliction. Religions may appear different from each other, however atheistic, monotheistic, or polytheistic each one is. All of them exist by the same five basic principles — resist thieving, lying, sexual immorality, killing (including animals), and intoxication.

Developing any or a combination of these can lead to death. Rather, all religions speak of truth, generosity, chastity, respect for all life, and avoiding all kinds of vices.

This is fundamental in building one’s crystalline lightbody, your vehicle of light, which allows you manifest your reality as you so desire.

However we dress wisdom with ritual, superstition, or blind faith, we can never deny the wisdom of Nature, which exists in our body and in our spirit.

Because, my dear, we are Nature. And Mother Earth coexists with Light to support all order, life, and fruitfulness on this planet.

And for those living with sadness, disorder, or lack of direction, sit with yourself alone for a time and feel your true desires. No matter how big or small they are, they are your true north.

After all the noise settles down, your heart will speak its deepest longings. Listen to them — they are what you came here for.

Sunrise yoga at home in Manila.

I longed for yoga since I was a teenager. I didn’t know why, I guess it just felt right. Interestingly, Krishna, the eight avatar of Vishnu and a well-known inspiration for ancient arts, poetry, and music, is also an Andromedan Starseed.

// 19 Dec 2024

Little Miss Carnivore

My kind of toxic love is being woken at 4 am by two tiny paws cold on my cheek. She sneaks into my blanket and starts licking my ear with her smol tongue.

Her tongue is so tiny and full of mini sharp spikes, like velcro, it feels like sandpaper. This is how she licks herself clean and shiny. And this is how she expresses her care and affection.

Underneath the blanket, she continues to lick the back of my hands and forearms, over the red claw marks and fang bites she has made.

When I don’t get up before sunrise, little miss carnivore starts nibbling on my toes, sending me into a fit of laughter in the dead quiet of the morning.

When she finds me stirred and awake, she runs all over me under the blanket, dashing everywhere in a mad frenzy. I chase her with my hands, oh these heavily scratched hands, and we play cat and mouse — to trip, tickle, frolic, and tackle.

With her lead I learn to modulate my throat and vibrate like a cat. We purr onto each other to express pleasure and contentment.

She is only two months old. When she arrived, she went through 22 hours of land travel before she was delivered at the newly built theme park where my family and I were spending the day.

Out in the loftiest city in the country, we were surrounded by tourists and clouds, blue skies, and pine trees.

And there she was, as tiny as my palm, in a cardboard box made for a rice cooker. The poor thing, it took her two days to sleep and recover from all that tedious land travel.

It’s only been one month and she’s tripled in size. From a tiny baby she is now a toddler — hyperactive, hyperaware about her surroundings, and curious about all things that move and rattle.

Cutting her claws is probably the hardest part of caring for this feline. I’d have to tire her through long walks among pine forests and scare her among big hairy dogs that may attack and eat her.

When she’s exhausted from all that, she takes a nap and I can clip her claws. Her claws grow fairly quickly — how do they stay sharp despite me clipping them?

It’s the baths that make her a ferocious kitty, despite being washed in warm water. The water may be warm but it’s the afterbath that leaves her shivering down to her bones, what with the cold air here in the mountains.

Try as I may to keep her clean, I am left with red scratches and tiny vampire bites on my forearms. Sometimes I bite her back just to tame her.

During the day, kids as little as four years old would bang at my door early in the morning to play with my kitten. An average of about five kids come visit daily to play with her.

They have grown to love her and her ways this past month that they have started to bring her toys to play with — balls and strings, trinkets, dismembered parts of stuffed toys, rocks and marbles.

Even when I take her with me to most places I go, I am careful with things that might hurt her. She’s still a baby after all, and she still wobbles into strange places, unsure of the big world of humans around her.

For now she’s safe and warm in swathes of blankets, sleeping like a baby. Oh, my little carnivore. She is my sweet precious one.

I will outgrow these marks and bites one day, but for now these scars have become a part of me.

// 01 Oct 2024