Inside an open-aired jeepney forging through a rain-streaked road, a group of travelers huddled and tried to cover as much skin as possible. It’s a cold and gray December morning and the 500-foot elevation of Maddela, a town in Quirino Province, isn’t helping ease the chill that’s creeping through our bones.

I watched, transfixed on the empty road we were traversing, contemplating on what lay ahead in the coming days.

► EXPLORE: QUIRINO PROVINCE TOURIST SPOTS

SHORT HIKE TO GOVERNOR’S RAPIDS

After an hour of taking in the cold wind filtering through our jeep, we got off the main road and slowly lumbered our way through a muddy trail. The jolt and shock of the uneven path awoke my companions; sleeping time’s over, we’re here, our driver announced.