View points. Batanes got a lot of view points, and it is not limited to Chawa or to Mutchong in Batan Island. Sabtang Island has Chamantad–Tinyan as its entry in the rolling hills overlooking the sea category. It was in fact our next destination after our visit to the vernacular houses of Savidug.

Frankly speaking though, the entirety of Batanes Islands is a view point. Regardless of wherever you look, there would always be a view for your eyes to feast on.

Halfway through our trip to Chamantad–Tinyan, Ate Edna asked our cogon trike driver to stop for a while and pointed to us a mountain range from a distance that locals call the Sleeping Beauty Mountain because of its resemblance to a sleeping lady. As my mind was already at the verge of withdrawing, I stayed in the cogon trike while Ran had his photograph taken with the land formation in the background.

The roads in Sabtang are in no way less scenic than the ones in Batan, though Sabtang gives off a more summer vibe because of the golden hue that it paints the surroundings with.

A few more minutes on the road and we finally reached Chamantad–Tinyan View Point. I am not sure if it has anything to do with the local climate, but most of the grasses in Sabtang seems withered, far from the lush greens of Vayang Rolling Hills and Racuh-a-Payaman. It did not make the hills any less beautiful though. The hue of the surroundings was almost like golden sepia, evoking some nostalgic thoughts, even poignant to some extent.

Yes, poignant. I was shrouded by so much poignancy.

The thing with dysthymia and generalized anxiety disorder is that it chooses no time when to hit, and when it does, it is difficult to bounce back. It makes the idea of happiness temporary, if not totally illusory. It makes everything look dark.

It was Ilocandia egress all over again, but unlike with what happened during our return trip to Malolos from Ilocos, I cannot particularly pinpoint a particular trigger when we were in Sabtang. It was a morphed form of my mental condition. It was stronger and it did not need to be precipitated. The demon was just unleashed without a forewarning.

From this point, kakaunti na ang photos ko, until puro landscapes na lang ang nasa phone camera ko. Naiwan na lang kasi ako sa cogon trike. I did manage to get some photos from Ran though; photos of an adventure I was not able to fully experience.

Chamantad–Tinyan is an absolute breath taker.

We only spent around 30 minutes in Chamantad–Tinyan, but it felt like forever waiting for Ran and Ate Edna to return. When they finally returned to the cogon trike, I still did not let out a sigh of relief, knowing that we still got a destination to visit and I am still in an agonizing battle with myself.

I hated the feeling, much as it is as agonizing to recount the experience in order to write this entry. This, I guess, is my personal renegading: rebelling against myself.