Despite a gloomy greyness, I was itching to climb Croagh Patrick in County Mayo with a hope of an occasional splash of clear sky that would allow us to take a few nice photos from 764 m over the sea level.

The path up took us nearly 3 hours – we stopped every now and then, sat on a stone to allow ourselves to rest for a while, and then started to set off again. And although the mountain disappeared into the cloudiness when we reached its summit, but what I actually felt was a strange sense of wonder.

The views of Clew Bay and the surrounding Mayo countryside were sensational pretty much from all the stages of the ascent. A cluster of 365 islands scattered around like a handful of grain sowed by a farmer in an unseeded field.

Years back, in Japan, I looked at Mount Fuji and thought that the view from 3776 meters must be like a gift for the ‘chosen’ ones. It’s through such moments when God reveals himself to the mankind and shares with people whatever He sees on his own. Since then, I feel ‘gifted’ each time I climb a mountain.