The Barefoot Running Hermit

Once again, I am living the life on a hermit on top of the mountain in Busay, overlooking the city of Cebu. This is what I do during summer breaks every year, and this is where I spent 5 months in 2005. I am spending four weeks here before leaving next month for my pilgrimage to Rome, Lourdes (France) and the Camino de Santiago (Spain). When I come back at the last week of August, I will spend the last two months of my sabbatical as a hermit.

This is a time for solitude, silence, prayer and reflection. A time for reading and writing. A time for fasting (one light meal a day at night).

It is also a time for running/walking along the mountain trails (2-3 hours a day). This time, I am doing most of my running without sh0es - barefoot and I am enjoying it. The soles of my feet are getting thicker. The only problem is running on scorching cement or asphalt road after 9 am. I wear my sandals or Vibram Five-fingers when the heat becomes unbearable.

I run down to the Redemptorist monastery on Sundays to have a good meal with the confreres and also to get my food supply for the week. This is the only day when I have a hearty lunch and dinner. Tomorrow, I run up to the mountain again.

I only have two months before my running/walking pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago. This time in the mountain as a hermit is part of my preparation - spiritual and physical.