My friends and I went to Baguio for the Panagbenga festival. It has been a long time since I was there. In our hotel, I realized that we were living near the Grotto where Manny Pacquiao was training so we decided to check out the site. It was 5 am on a Sunday, I was waiting for the others to wake up.

Doing nothing but staring out the window, I thought why not follow Manny Pacquiao’s tracks.  Jo, a friend, and I walked to the gates of the grotto which was about 4-5 blocks away. Good thing we brought along our jackets, since my nose started to get cold.

We got there 15 minutes before 6 am which is the time the main gate opens. The Lourdes Grotto has 252 steps leading to it and its the most direct way. However there is another route used by the cars.

We started the climb all confident that we could reach the grotto. I have never been so thankful that there is a landing every 20 or so steps.  It was all uphill so you can imagine the wheezing in our lungs and the burning sensation in our legs.

Bringing along a heavier camera may likely have made the climb harder on me. We are not boxer wannabes, so going up all those 252 steps once was enough. Once we reached the top step, we saw a panoramic view of the city. The sunrise, and the pine trees cast a wonderful color and contrast on the view. For me a photography buff, Its worth every agonizing step. 

Thank you Jo for letting me dash all over the place taking photos of the sunrise and everthing in between. Going down was way easier but no less strenuous. No wonder Manny Pacquiao and aspiring boxers used this grotto as a training run.  The altitude alone will improve their endurance and their knees.

The attached photo was taken without flash and any enhancements on the last landing before the grotto. I loved the contrast between the pine trees and the sunrise. I concentrated on sharpening the details on the pine trees since the sun will come out blurry which made for a beautiful photo.