A Haven from Adulting

     There are times when you don't have all the time in the world to plan vacations, and I learned that in this stage of my life called "adulting." Responsibilities often hinder us from stretching our legs after a long day of work. Gone are the days when I can easily stroll the streets of Manila with my camera for a quick meal for the soul. Now it's so hard for me to meet friends just a few kilometers away from me.

     But there are days when you've reached the limit of stress and you feel that you've used up the morale tank and feel the dementors reaching for your soul with a death kiss. That's when reason is thrown out of the question and you've just had it.

     Good thing my friends felt the same way, we were all needing the emergency break from life and we wanted to be somewhere that's familiar, we wanted to be the kids that rule our body, even just for a little while.

     And there's no other way of doing that than to be unplugged from the city life. But we still had to fit our breather within the realms of reality to schedule it. And luckily, there was one weekend we actually agreed on. (It's so hard for me and my friends to schedule vacations because we work in different industries)

     Two hours away from city lies a gravel path to Infanta, Quezon Province where I found the most modest home perfect for a weekend rest. The wood cabin is situated on the cliff side of the mountain, where I saw the range of forestry Infanta had.

The Modest Cabin

     The cabin is almost unnoticeable from the road as people would think it's a local house, but it was a safe haven for 4 stressed individuals during that weekend. There was also an unusual coldness that enveloped this part of the road. The weather here is always rainy. I've been here at least 4 times and it was always misty and cold, it always felt like Baguio city at 6AM the whole day.

     What's more lovely here is that it's near a famous stopover for motorcycle riders. This canteen offers some tasty exotics - Mountain Snails, Frog Legs, Wild Rabbits. Yes, I did say Wild Rabbits.

Frog Legs

Wild Rabbit

     In this cabin we could act like high school students once again, pulling out unused jokes for over a decade. We could horse around, except of course, we try not to push each other off the cliff.

The Pool's temperature is at least around 10 degrees.

     In this cabin, we are free from our responsibilities, signal is difficult, a good thing if your boss is already looking for that unfinished presentation deck you left at work. In this cabin, we stretch our legs, pour whiskey, and eat - Which reminds me that we went so far with our stress eating that we ate what was supposed to be our breakfast food.

It is hardest to cook at nighttime

     The cabin doesn't have electricity, which I think is a perfect partner for the cold night. We battle the coldest winds with whiskey and hot food. Yes, food must always be present when I'm telling the story.

Sun breaking the clouds

     I can't explain into words the rejuvenation I get every morning when I wake up here. I always feel new, like the tank is filled and once again I'm ready for the city.

     This place always reminds me that I am human who lives in borrowed time, and this cabin reminds me that a breather is sometimes all we need to endure life.

     Cheers!