After devouring generous servings of Cordilleran cuisine at the Farmer’s Daughter, Missy and I were craving a coffee fix. “Plus, I needed to join our Christmas party for an hour via Zoom,” Missy told me. I figured the outdoor setting of this café I first saw on Instagram would be an ideal place to sit, sip, and chill—and in Missy’s case, to “Zoom.”

On a normal day, I was displeased dragging my body out of bed at four in the morning, especially after sleeping soundly in the Manor at Camp John Hay. Not that particular morning, though. The reason being the destination we were going to would give me an opportunity to literally and figuratively pause and smell the flowers. Being able to travel for the first time since the March 2020 lockdown, the trip to Northern Blossom Farm in Atok, Benguet opened a door to rekindling my love affair with traveling—with precious moments of introspection to boot—in the company of the great outdoors.

Home to a magnificent set of picturesque highland countryside, the region of the Cordillera featured an abundance of wonders. From its cool weather all year long to its majestic set of nature, fascinating culture, and mouth-watering local cuisine, an all too familiar feature of the region was gaining much-needed attention. These were the fruit and vegetable farms of Benguet and Mountain Province.

It was almost a year ago when I found a comrade-in-arms in the art of moving on. A knack – because it takes a while figuring how to pull it off, and requires keen imagination to create a way for one’s self to wiggle out. A heartache that punctures deeply and hurting necessitates a massive redo of one’s routines. A friend of mine; Cha found a progression to distance herself from that madness; by indulging in the sport of mountain climbing. Mountaineering - my first love back in college, which I had abandoned except during sporadic hiking trips that happens far in between.

I woke up in the middle of the night shivering from the cold. I could see my feet covered in my gray socks, but I couldn't feel them; they were shaking like a live turd out of water. I asked myself what I was doing here, as thoughts of sleeping soundly in my warm bed at home buzzed in my head. As the temperature hovered around 10 to 6 degrees Celsius, every minute became colder. It was a moment in which I questioned my desire to be there. Fortunately, it was self-doubt that only lasted for a minute.