Renegade Junctures is premised on adventures that are results of either split-second decisions or complete spontaneity, hence adding the renegade character to the juncture where a choice has to be made. By far, our Quirino travel is the most aligned to the idea of being renegade at every juncture.

The hard landing though? That was not renegade. That was pure luck. Looking back at what happened, we dodged death with a right turn. If I fell asleep while the wheels are steered towards the left, we would have fallen off to the cliffside of the road. If I am going to fall off a cliff, that would be because I willingly jumped-off and not because I fell asleep while driving!

An hour more after our road mishap, we finally reached our intended destination, Governor’s Rapids.

The rapids is a tributary of the Cagayan River, featuring deep green waters and rock formations. The story goes that during World War II, the Japanese governor who was administering the province drowned in the rapids, hence giving the name of the place.

There is a minimal entrance fee of PHP 10.00 per head to enter the park enclosing the rapids, then we were asked if we are going to take the long tour or just the shorter one. We of course took the long one, which costs PHP 250.00 per head.

We were assigned a boatman who also served as our guide, and my bad I really have already forgotten his name. As soon as he was introduced to us, he guided us where the safety equipment are placed and asked us to don life vests and hard hats.

When we were all set, our guide showed us the way to the river where our service boat was waiting.

The rock formations accentuated by the deep green waters is such a feast to the eyes. Whichever angle we turn our eyes, the scene is picturesque.

The boat ride aside, we haven’t started any activity in the rapids yet but we were already enjoying so much. The beauty of place induces relaxation, but just as we were already starting to get relaxed, the turbulent part of the rapids would trigger the adrenaline in us. It was a play of emotions swinging to both extreme sides of the pendulum. Both relaxation and rush are at play!

As we took the long tour, it was agreed that we start from the far end of the tour. Save for a part where the river has steep gradient hence turbulent flow, the ride towards the far end section was rather calm.

The calm part of the river gave us some needed moment to muster the courage and strength we would need for our first activity. We dodged falling off the cliff when I fell asleep while driving, but decided to jump off a cliff willingly for our first activity!