Muralla, Intramuros.
One dreary afternoon, when it’s about to rain, and when a better judgement would be to stay home and read a good book, I decided to run. I have no route in mind. In fact, I have no plans of running at all. But once the running bug has bitten you, you’ll get this schizophrenic murmurs in your brain that tells you your feet will turn into brick if you get lazy. While my brain was battling whether to run or not, I realize that a journey of a thousand mile does not begin with a single step. It begins by getting out of bed!
Start
My run always starts near CCP. I love the place. There are lots of places where I can do my pre run warmup. But this afternoon, I have to skip some of the stretches because there is an impending downpour, and besides, I was sniffling the night before, so I assumed I’m going to get sick soon.
It was gloomy when I reached Quirino Grandstand
Tired of running the same route, I decided to run in the historical ruins of Intramuros. But first I have to endure the same boring Manila Bay route towards Quirino Grandstand. I came up with a plan to go slow with this run -perhaps stop every now and then to take some pictures and enjoy the scenery. First stop was Quirino Grandstand. I took some pictures of where the infamous hostage carnage happened. The place looks deserted as tourists and joggers alike shunned the open area since it’s about to rain. I ran towards Manila Hotel and towards Intramuros after I finished taking pictures.
I may sound like I’m not from here, but the thing is, I’m not from HERE. Running within the walls of Intramuros has always been a luxury. If within the the walls you get the feeling that you are in a whole different world, running within the walls gives you a new high – the narrow cobblestones streets, the mossy steps, the walls offer a different experience for a runner. I made sure I take my walking breaks IN the walls of Intramuros. I’m not sure if running is even allowed IN the walls.
Walls
Where streets have no name
The Walls
Ruins
Steps
Ruins too...
Manila Cathedral
Luneta
The rain would spoil everything later. It was 4:00pm when I reached Luneta and it rained. I hobbled towards a tiangge and bought a bottle of water. The tiangge lady didn’t even ask why I’m wet. Perhaps she thought I got rained on.
