I was practically without sleep the previous day, having left Malolos at 11:30 PM of Friday, driving all night and all day, finally reaching Saud Beach in Pagupud at 05:30 PM of Saturday. It was still Saturday, again 11:30 PM, and Ran and I were already up and about, ready to hit the road again.

So what’s the deal? Why did we deprive ourselves of sleep while we got a perfectly cozy room in Pagudpud which was booked under our names until 12:00 noon of the following day? Our backs did not even stretch flat on the bed long enough and it was time to go already. What gives?

Well, we’ve taken being renegades a notch higher. It was Ran’s idea.

The thing is, we would not be taking the route that we took en route to Pagudpud. From there, we would be going to the town of Quirino in Ilocos Sur to visit the Skyline View Deck. Skyline View Deck is a popular stop for motorists and tourists as if the climate is perfect, it may feature a sea of clouds that are within reach with no hiking required. The thing though was that it stands more or less five hours from Pagudpud and if we would even chance upon the sea of clouds, we have to be in the view deck before the sun rises. We hence had to leave at midnight for us to reach Skyline around 05:00 AM. After visiting Skyline, we would continue traversing the road until we reach Bessang Pass, then continue through until we reach McArthur Highway and back to our route home.

What was supposed to be a straightforward drive did not turn out to be as straight as we expected it to be. I was groggy, hence I had to make quite a number of stops to shake off my body and stay awake. At some point, Ran substituted with the drive, but I would take the wheel again when he starts dozing off.

We reached our destination at around 06:00 AM.

Apparently, the climate was not perfect for the sea of clouds to form, hence we were not fortunate enough to actually witness it. The surroundings were starting to brighten already as the sunshine starts to pierce its way through the sky. We just then took some photos of ourselves and the mountains surrounding the view deck.

It would still take us at least an hour and a half before we reach the other stop that we intended to see, and from Skyline onwards, it would be just the road and two restless souls. Restless and sleepless.

At this point, I have a confession to make. I have a very fragile peace of mind. Having been diagnosed with dysthymia and generalized anxiety disorder, I suffer from occasional episodes where nothing makes sense to me. Most of the time, it comes without a warning. The condition is triggered and exacerbated by exhaustion due to sleep deprivation, and hunger. One of the reasons I engaged into renegade travels with Ran is for me to be able to tame whatever darkness resides inside my head. It does help. However, the lack of sleep from the two previous nights became a fertile ground for me to engage into a battle that was happening inside my head.

Somehow, the picturesque scenery around us kept the demons at bay to a considerable degree, but I was on the edge all throughout the trip. We still managed to stop at some points though and take some photos of our journey to what was supposed to be a fun-filled road trip marred by my delicate sanity.

After an hour and 40 minutes on the mountain roads, finally saw a sign that we were already beholding the great mountains that were the reason why we took the literal long and winding road.

Bessang Pass played a crucial role in history as it served as the bastion of the forces of the Japanese Empire during World War II in what is now known as the Battle of Bessang Pass. The fall of Bessang Pass to the Allied Forces after five months of fighting led to the capture of the Cordilleras from the Japanese and the eventual surrender of General Tomoyuki Yamashita.

Nope. No treasure was found, and the late dictator was not there.

We finally reached the end of the Quirino–Cervantes loop an found ourselves in McArthur Highway a little around 11:00 AM. Finally, we were already traversing McArthur Highway, which is a comfort for us knowing that we are on track. An hour or so on the road, we found ourselves on a very familiar place, the very place where Renegade Junctures was born: La Union.

It was already around noon so we decided to have our lunch in Elyu. Our feet led us Alegrita X Mang Jose, a seaside restaurant that we did not chance upon the first time we were there. It specializes in the Filipino favorite inasal and offers its guests a cozy place with a great view of the sea.

From La Union, it still took us another eight hours before we got back to Malolos . It does sound crazy, as it should have not taken us more than four hours to traverse such a rather familiar way home. The thing was despite having eaten in La Union, the fact that I haven’t really slept for two consecutive nights has really taken toll on me, I had to stop the trip a lot of times along the way. It went as far as having an uncalled for discussion with Ran.

We got home around 09:00 PM of Sunday. Total time on the road stood at 21 hours going back home. That would be 38 hours, round trip, inclusive of stops that usually did not exceed a couple of hours. There was indeed no time for rest, as even our stay in the resort accommodation lasted only for four hours.

Such an experience though did not stop us from travelling more moving forward. We just factored in the lessons of the experience for our future travels. In fact, in terms or total time on the road, we were still yet to embark on our longest road trip ever.

While travelling helps one to stay within the parameters of sanity, it becomes counter-productive if such travel is totally exhausting. Yes, lesson learned the hard way.