My second longest drive and not the last!!! 

First of all I would like to point out that this writeup is focused on my personal view of what transpired during the trip. If you see some wrong details, I welcome your comments. I also do not have photos of the drive since I was the driver and cannot take photos :D So let's start.........

I was born to travel. I came to realize this when I graduated from College. I hate travelling by bus and if I do travel by bus I need to have "bonamine" with me or else something is going to happen that will make my life (and life of other passengers) like hell (if you know what I mean hehehe). To avoid travelling by bus, I really did my best to have a vehicle of my own, something that can withstand the rigours of a long drive via unfriendly roads.

For this trip there were no second thoughts............... I will drive and I don't care if it is a 12-hour drive. What the heck I've driven from Cavite to Patapat Ilocos Norte and back before so I can do this!!! I was very confident and to further boost that confidence, my kumpadre Aljie will be with me playing "shotgun" and Sir Rick with his wife Carol will be my passengers.

The day of the trip came and this is how it went. Be sure to strap on your seatbelts, this is one long read este trip :)

I met Aljie in SM Molino. He had to travel from Laguna and SM Molino was the most convenient meetup point. There was a singing contest and I enjoyed watching. The talents (children and teens) were really good!!! Aljie bought some supplies and after that we went back home. I did last minute checks to my vehicle. So far so good! My wife was very supportive and she reminded me to be careful and do my best to be awake at all times.

We picked-up Sir Rick and Mam Carol from Jollibee Kalinisan. Aljie went to buy some stuff (again) from Seven-Eleven. Around 9:30PM we left Bacoor. Yipppeeeeee the long drive I've been dreaming is happening. I was deep in prayer requesting God for guidance and strength for the long journey ahead. I got some SMS messages that the BUS TEAM were all there. Mam Juvy sent an SMS that she is still on her way to the bus station but I cannot reply since I was driving. I planned to reply to her when we reached our first stop.

First stop - Petron NLEX. I got an SMS from Mam Juvy. She was able to reach the bus station on time. I was relieved. I filled-up my tank to the brim. I had an 80 liter tank but I still brought with me a gallon container as backup just in case.

Continued our journey towards Banaue. Got an SMS from Mam Do that their bus was leaving the station. So far so good. Aljie, Rick, Carol and I were having a funny conversation. I just don't know how long they could keep themselves awake hehehe. In my mind I was already imagining the road going to Banaue. My father reminded me to be very careful when we reach Santa Fe as the roads there are winding and one mistake in my driving could be fatal. I was in deep prayer.....

We took the Sta. Rita exit from NLEX and we went ahead to Cabanutuan City eagerly watched the signs to avoid being lost along the way.

We reached Cabanatuan. My passengers...........well........they were sleeping......... not all the time though since there were bumps on the road. They managed to wake-up when they felt a thump hehehe. I drove ahead passing by the towns of Talavera to San Jose....

We reached the end of San Jose and were were going up to Santa Fe. I was more alert then, keeping in mind what my father had told me "one mistake in my driving could prove fatal". I doubled, no tripled, I think I prayed lots and lots and lots of times to God that He will keep me awake and alert. We passed by the towns of Bayombong to Solano then after that we took a slight left in Bagabag, we were now slowly going up on our way to Banaue.

I was really surprised as I did not feel that much sleepy the whole trip unlike my passengers who were asleep most of the time, their snores as if teasing me that I should also sleep but instead the snores made me laugh quite a bit. They were kinda like a chorale, there was rhythm, tempo and surprisingly tone hahahaha. I appreciated the snores and I hated the times when there were road bumps and the snores would stop and Aljie would ask me in his very sleepy tone "how I was doing?". He may have asked me that same question a hundred times and I appreciated it. At least even if he was sleepy he still had the presence of mind to ask :)

We made our second stop in Aritao CCQ. We ate hot Lugaw with egg. We can already feel the chill which made the hot meal delicious!!! I was excited since we were already near our destination. Two more hours and we will reach Banaue. I SMS'ed Mam Dorothy and Mam Andrea asking how they were doing and where was their current location but I got no answer. We wanted to wait for them at the stop-over but after several minutes we decided to go ahead.

The road from Aritao to Banaue made me kinda’ sleepy. There was a long stretch of straight road and I had to make sudden brakes when I felt I was going to fall asleep. Aljie noticed this and he did his best to talk to me in his sleepy way. We passed by Lagawe and Lamut. The road was now difficult and treacherous. I was really awake this time. I did not want to make a mistake. Seeing the cliffs and zigzag roads with no road lighting system plus the fog, tickled my spine. I did not want to make a mistake. My passengers were asleep but I did not bother to wake them up. There were also several landslides which made the drive more exciting and awakening!!!

BANAUE at last!!! Las Vegas Inn was still closed so we decided to sleep inside the pickup until our companions arrive.

Our companions finally arrived and we proceeded to eat our breakfast while we waited for the rented jeep.

9:45 AM

We started our trip to Sagada. We passed by Mount Polis and made a stop to take some photos. There were a lot of landslides along the way. During the start of the trip from Banaue, Sherry, Joanne and Gladys rode top load but in Mount Polis their driver instructed them to go down. I agreed. The road going to Bontoc was bumpy and dusty. Landslides were rampant as if the roads were cursed by some bad spirit (exaggerated ba? hahaha). Anyway we made it safely to Bontoc proper. It was a sight to see. A well developed town in the middle of the Cordilleras. I could not but help imagine how Sagada would look like :)

Our excitement level rocketed to Mars!!! I was pretty relieved to have reached Sagada safe and sound. We registered and then made our way towards lunch. Boy we were hungry!!!

SAGADA!!!

My ever reliable steed. How dirty you are!!!

......................... I won't write much of what happened in Sagada since my companions also wrote their own blogs for this. You may click this LINK to read Sherry's Blog or this LINK to read Rick's Blog ;) I will write my own personal blog maybe after I visit Sagada again with my family.

So let's jump to the next part ..............

This drive was easier. There were less landslides along the way. It was a daytime drive so I really enjoyed the scenery. We had a good meal in our stopover and we got the chance to take some photos from the highest highway in the Philippines.

Enjoying my time :)

It took around 5.5  hours for us to reach Baguio. It would have been quicker but the traffic from La Trinidad was comparable to that of EDSA during rush hour. It was my first time to use the tollway connecting Baguio and La Trinidad.

We went directly to Good Shepherd to buy goods. After that we went to 50's Diners. We waited for our companions while roaming around near the diner. Our companions arrived and we had a great early dinner. We kept on conversing of our experiences in Sagada.

Well my adventure hasn't ended yet. The drive back to Manila was tiring. Lots of traffic along the way but I felt fullfilment. I did it!!! I completed yet another long drive to complement my first one. I was really relieved and my heart shouted praises to God for HE IS GOOD!!! He made everything happen and He kept us all safe :)

I will be going back to Sagada with my family. I will be taking the Cavite-Baguio-Sagada route and if the road conditions improve then I may take my family from Sagada to Banaue.

Thanks for reading and make sure you visit the blogs of Sherry and Rick.

For photos click HERE.

God bless!!!