The road back to Malolos from Quirino would not be a short one. When I checked Google Maps after our visit to Ganano Falls, it would take at least eight and a half hours before we get home. We would no longer take the Aurora route as our visit to Diffun sent us farther from that route. We would hence do a lollipop route on our way home.

Quirino aside, we passed through two Cagayan Valley provinces with the route we took: Isabela and Nueva Vizcaya.

We left Baguio Village in Diffun a little before 02:00 PM. We haven’t taken anything yet and decided to just grab something to eat along the way. The sceneries along the road gave us some fill anyway.

In under an hour, we have already reached the province of Isabela.

We no longer have any destination in mind given that we intend to reach home as soon as possible. It was a Sunday, and there would be work the following day. As such, the task to take photos while in the car fell on Ran.

When we reached the Isabela–Nueva Vizcaya boundary, we went down from the car and took some photos. The boundary was geographically demarcated by a river where San Luis bridge runs across. On one side of the bridge is Isabela and Nueva Vizcaya on the other side.

We then continued our journey through Nueva Vizcaya, enjoying the greeneries along the road. The beauty of the countryside can never be overstated.

At around 04:30 in the afternoon, we reached the town of Solano, Nueva Vizcaya. We decided to finally stop and eat as we haven’t taken anything yet since we left Diffun. We took a walk in the town center and took some photos as we look for a place to eat.

We then found a familiar beef pares chain, Pares on the Go. We settled to eat there and the serving of our order was enough to cover for our missed lunch and the dinner that we already knew we would miss too.

We still got roughly around six hours to go before we get home, hence after our meal, we returned to the car and resumed our journey. Though our road trip adventure was already bound to end, interesting sights still fascinated our eyes. Tired as we were of the long haul, the surroundings make the journey worthwhile.

We finally got home at 11:40 PM, after roughly nine hours of travel. That was definitely one of the longest drives I ever did, which is understandably one of the most tiring as well. The physical toll, however, is nothing compared to the joy that we experienced in Quirino: the long road trip, the awe-striking sceneries, the extreme activities, and yes, that includes the accident! It was also an experience where we felt grounded with our humanity: the appreciation of nature, the appreciation of simple living, and the appreciation of the kindness of others.

Given the opportunity to do so, we will definitely go back to Quirino. It is now one of our favorite places.