The Perks of Being a Single Adventurer

That epic moment when nobody gave an orientation on what adventure you have set yourself into. HAHA 😀 😀 😀

Rock climbing one of El Nido’s peaks was the one of the highlights of our 10 days Palawan trip. Not only that we were privileged to witness the glory of the aforementioned municipality, we  were also able to engage into an unusual conversation and debate with our tour guide  – Gilbert –  on the midst of our journey. With me were my travel buddies Badeth, Wilma and her boyfriend Agustine. The actual session took only forty-five minutes (depends on the pacing) on the way up and another forty-five minutes on the way down. The trails were rough and edges of the rocks were too sharp to handle, and to add more spice and challenge to this activity, we were only wearing flip-flops. Yes, you’ve read it right. We were wearing beach sandals! Just imagine how difficult it went for us. However, this entry will not focus on how stupid we were on wearing those kinds of footwear; rather, on the advantages and disadvantages of being single and being in a relationship while on a trip.

Grinning like crazy even with the nerve wrecking trail

Gilbert was ahead of us and trailing behind him were Badeth, myself, and then the couple – Wilma and Agustine. We were both concentrating how to attack properly the astounding limestone formation and on making sure not to lose grip when we noticed that we lost sight of the lovers behind us. They were not lost actually; they were just having a hard time climbing the sharp and slippery rocks. It was then that Badeth commented how being a couple hinders from making a relevant journey. She was immediately opposed by our guide. It was fun listening to them. Here are the points that they both highlighted on the advantages and disadvantage of being single and being in a relationship while on an adventure.

 

1. Achievement

• Badeth: Your pacing will be fast without helping and guiding someone. Therefore you can achieve more and finish a lot when you are alone.
• Gilbert: You will be more inspired to finish what you have started because of that one person who never gave up on you.

  

  Yep, that’s Wilma and Agustine trailing behind us.

2. Expenses

• Badeth: You can save more since you will only spend for yourself. You can also buy whatever you want because the money is all for yourself.
• Gilbert: It’s good to have someone to share your possessions with. Someone to eat with and divide the payment with.

  

  Gilbert and Badeth on the way

3. Pacing

• Badeth: You will be at par with your group since you will be focused on keeping up with them.
• Gilbert: It depends. What if, you don’t get along with your travel buddy? It’s best to stay with the loved one.

  

  Yes, that’s the trail.

4. Freedom

• Badeth: You get to choose from all the option without considering anybody’s thoughts. Thus, you get to blame yourself when everything else does not follow to your expectations.
• Gilbert: It’s best to always ask opinion from others. You can solicit more ideas. Two heads are always better than one. 

5. Conflicts

• Badeth: You will feel lighthearted because you will not be in constant debate with somebody who thinks they can take care better of you than yourself.
• Gilbert: It’s healthy to have those conflicts sometimes. It makes the relationship grow.

 

Summit of Taraw Cliff

Mandatory Group Picture (Yes, that’s Gilbert standing behind us)

 

Upon reching the summit of Taraw Cliff, the debate ended. We were too astonished with the view set before us to further think of the conflict. El Nido is a very small town but surely offers tons of surprises. After a while of staying on those rocky edges, we then decided to backtrail and proceed to our next destination – zipline at Maramegmeg Island. However, the trek going down was crazy. It’s more stressful and more difficult. It’s harder to estimate the steps and the edges of the rock were honestly difficult to deal with. There were times when we thought it was already impossible for us to go down (good thing we were fighters; we didn’t give up). Before we reached the jumpoff station, we again noticed that the couple were again left far behind us. The three of us looked at each other and a knowing smile later on appeared on our faces. Badeth tried to start an argument again but Gilbert was already drenched away with his reggae music. He conceded and finally agreed that having a love life is sometimes not healthy in an adventure. We won, yay!

We shared this to the couple when we were already on the town proper. We were just laughing our asses out with this. We know that more than anything else, our safety was our priority. It is of no importance whether who won. We were safe. We were happy. And we succeeded in conquering Taraw Cliff. That’s what matters. Because no matter what status we are into – single or committed – as long as we are happy with our dispositions in life and there are no bitterness in our heart, relationship status will not matter. It will never ever matter.

Advertisements