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It’s our 5th day on our Lakbay Norte Bus which is fast becoming our mobile home after staying inside it on the road for days. On my little corner of the bus I already know the idiosyncrasies of my reclining seat, how our bus help Kenneth know I prefer Fit & Right Pine Orange and like the spice of Labzter snack than Tempura, and how I can efficiently arrange my stuff whenever we leave and board the bus. We got a few more days to go and this time, we found ourselves in Lucap for the Hundred Islands Tour.

Day 4 of Lakbay Norte finds us waking up to the cool crisp mountain air of Baguio. It’s always a pleasant experience to just breathe in the pine fresh atmosphere in this highland city. Our group stayed at the uber-comfortable chiropractic beds of Microtel. From there, we moved to Baguio Country Club for our briefing and much sought after breakfast.

It’s time to slow down after an adrenaline filled morning with the 4X4 thrill ride and sandboarding at Paoay Sand Dunes. As we head back, we stopped by the glimmering Paoay Lake. Again it’s a place I’ve been to several times but it must be the time and the lighting because I have never seen the lake as tranquil as this.

I try to hold on tight to the loop bars at the back of 4×4 jeep we were on but the large un-even size of the bars which are both larger than my grip were already a challenge. Besides, there was another person in front of me hugging the bar tight while screaming her head off. I let-off a scream as well as soon as I saw our way down the high ridge. Then it’s a strategic balance of rooting my legs inside the jeep to keep me from flying out as our jeep descends. The brief landing didn’t give us enough time to breath as our jeep make its way up the ridge and there are more ahead. Of the many times I’ve been to Paoay Sand Dunes in Ilocos Norte, it has never been this fun until now.

From our last church stop in Cagayan Valley, it was a smooth ride going along the coastline heading to Ilocos Norte. It did help that we had a police escort vehicle on our way there but even with that we were behind schedule already. There were unexpected long stops and even the pull of local food was hard to resist further delaying us. Its Filipino hospitality at its best, it’s just hard to leave.

It’s the time we get down and dirty, for caving that is. We now visit Penablanca after at least an hour’s drive from Basilica Minore of Our Lady of Piat. Penablanca is the caving capital of Cagayan Valley. With more than 300 caves in the vicinity, 75 documented and more than 30 being mapped, it’s a spelunker’s haven. Out of the many caves, there are only 2 caves which tourist are allowed to visit for safety and preservation reasons. These are the Callao and Sierra Cave.