Sat 7th Mar - After my last posting we went for a little explore locally. A bit busy
but that is expected. A woman selling puppies at the side of the road was drawing
a crowd. Lots of eateries including Persian and all fairly cheap prices. A
short trip into a supermarket to check out local differences from what we know
from other parts of the country. Always an education as so many things I don’t
know, it is like being on another planet sometimes, rather than another
country…what’s this…what’s that…do you eat it or wear it?...what, what, what?
Had been told
that the Waterfront was the place to aim for, for a night out, so got dressed
up and got a taxi to the 'Sunflower' restaurant and disco on Salinas drive in
Lahug area. Was too early to go in, so went walkabout to find another place to
eat. Plenty of Korean, Japanese and Italian, but what caught my attention was
the 'Golden Cowrie Native Restaurant' on the same road. Plenty of locals as
well as a few foreigners, so ate there. Great choice. Food eaten on banana
leaf; Some nice scallops for starters; Back ribs and Halang-Halang for main. A
couple of local deserts to finish off; a very satisfying birthday meal.
Instead of
going back to the Sunflower we aimed for the most outstanding building in the
area, which turned out to be the Waterfront hotel and conference centre plus
Pacgor Filipino Casino. At the moment, Cebu is hosting the Design convention at
this hotel, so we went in. A lot of it closed as late in the day, but able to
see some cool furniture ideas, all in a posh hotel environment. A live band
playing in the background and some funky art displays. Went into the casino for
a while to watch people throwing their money away into machines or on game
tables. Reminiscent of Las Vegas!
Headed back
to the Sunflower but they wouldn't let me in as I didn't have what they thought
of as appropriate footwear. Crazy really as we were smart and some people being
let in with jeans and what I thought scruffy attire. Wasn't bothered as their
loss, so went into the pumping Nuevo disco next door for a couple of hours
dancing. Turned out to be much better and cheaper venue, so happy. Been a long
day, so headed back to the pensionne and sleep soon after hitting the
pillow...zzzz....
Sun Mar 8th - Sightseeing day today. Osmena Boulevard where we are staying is the
main road into the old own. On the way, a few things to see. Passing the ‘Normal
College’ was nice as the perimeter wall is decorated with words held as good
virtues. The students were on a break and the place was teaming with beaming
smiles and Happy kids. Cebu is known as the smiling city, and it lives up to
its name. From when you arrive here, you feel relaxed and aware of the pleasant
attitude of its people. Some of the most beautiful girls in the country live
here too. You catch their eye and they can make a man’s heart melt at an
instant.
Back to
sight-seeing of another form. First stop was the ‘Basilica Minore del Santo
Niño. A wonderfully preserved church that had a sermon whilst we were there.
One of the highlights is supposed to be a statue of the Santo Niño, but the
queue to see it was that long we didn’t want to wait.
A short walk
from there is the ‘Fort San Pedro’. The temperature was getting so hot before
we got there, that we had to stop for a drink and got coerced into doing a
couple of videoke songs to entertain the locals. The Fort is very similar to
Fort Santiago in Intramuros in Manila, so didn’t go in but walked around the
outside (entry only 21 pesos).
A major
highlight was the ‘Carbon Market’; one of those areas that attacks your senses.
Fruit and vegetables of every conceivable sort to whet the appetite, many that
I haven’t seen before, and I’ve seen a lot! One of them was a Korean speciality
of a young coconut root. Dried fish is a prominent feature of Filipino diet,
and here you get 40 or more types to choose from; Hand-made sausages in mass
production with guys in competition for speed made an interesting photo stop.
As soon as a camera appears, they spring into action to perform everywhere you
go. They were lovely people to mingle amongst, although the smells in some of
the How they live in those environments day after day is amazing, I would die
if I had to do that!
The traffic
isn’t as bad as a comparable area in Manila, which surprised me from what I had
expected. Plenty of colourful Jeepneys mixed with tricycles and even
horse-drawn carriages (Kalesa) to give enough variety for getting around. All
taxis are white, and will do metered when asked without hassle (30 pesos fixed
on meter at start).
A nice
haircut, which is a bit of a treat as I have been shaving my head for so long
now. This is the longest I have been without shaving it, that it had to be cut
instead. It was getting too hot to be out in the open now and so retired back
to the pensionne to cool off.
A nice
Persian dinner in the evening for a change and then on a search for something
to do. Being Sunday everything seemed quieter than yesterday, s no dancing.
Ended up going into the Crown Regency hotel building. This has a few claims to
fame. One is that they have a 'Sky-walk' where you can walk out around a ridge
on the ede of the building. It's all very safe as the person is tied on to a
rail, but for people afraid of heights, it would be a challenge of nerves. They
also have a ride on a sort of roller coaster on the 37th floor. 500 pesos entry
fee to get to that level and then another 600 pesos to do the ride, but that is
for upto 2 people.
On the 18th
floor they have 4D cinema with an underwater adventure theme, so we went in to
see that. They blow air at you and spray you with water at suitable points in
the movie, and of course you wear the usual 3D glasses. Rats jump out of the
screen and you get attacked by a shark, but..what else would you expect!
Time to pack
up and move on again as a day or so in the city is enough. Heading for Leyte
province tomorrow.
Mon 8th Mar - Haven't been sleeping that well lately, and so got up
early after a restless night struggling to sleep above the sound of the aircon.
Had to be up early anyway, as have to
be at Pier 4 to catch the ferry to Ormoc in Leyte province. Plenty of operators
run this route, but only two do early crossings, Weesam (10:45am) charging 600 pesos and Supercat (11am) charging 650 pesos.
Fancied a bit of comfort, so went for the Supercat. Got there too early, so
went through the system fast. Baggage scanning and sniffer dog security then
into pre-departure with a couple of hours to lose until departure.
Arrived
in Ormoc at about 1:20 after a really smooth crossing. The funny thing was the
onboard movies; the English was ok, but the subtitles bore no relationship to
what was being said. Would have been hopeless for anyone needing it. Right
outside of the terminal was a 28-seater binibus operated by Duptours going to
Tacloban for 100 pesos. Just what we needed apart from some hassle argiung with
the passengers trying to charge extra for luggage. About 50 meters outside of
the port is the bus station which looked to be running less comfortable public
buses to Tacloban. Better comfort on the aircon Duptours van though.
The
scenery is like some other parts of the Philippines although of more volcanic
origins and less touristy. The first large scale sugar cane plantations I have
seen here....and the first rain in a long while...yes, rain.. Didn't expect
that!
Arrived
in Tacloban with no idea of where we were and no map. Checked at the 'Welcome
Pensionne' across the road and was depressed at the bad standard of the rooms,
thinking that this town was going to be a bad experience. Fortunatley, picked
up a tricycle and he took us to the
Rosvenil Pensionne a short distance away, and relieved at the far better
standard. 830 pesos for what they called a 'Matrimonial room'. The only issue I
had was the bad attitude from the guy on reception. Well, this is something I
am getting frustrated with in the Philippines; I ask something and they give
the answer to Shiera. I ask for something and they give it to her. Felt like
thumping the guy. Apparently it is because they feel embarrassed that they cannot
communicate in English properly, and so bypass you to someone they feel more
comfortable with. So what if she wasn't here, and they had to deal with me
without choice? Still wanted to thump him...maybe tomorrow...I will feel
better?
The
other thing is that we have no map, and the pensionne drew a blank when I asked
for one. They were saying that there isn't one. Asked elsewhere in town and
nobody had one. Now this is a city, and the capital of Leyte province, so a map
must exist. Try downtown one guy said....so where the hell is downtown...if I
had a map I would know. But if I had a map I wouldn't be asking for one! So,
feeling cheesed off at the hassles here, we decided to approach people randomly
and ask for directions to the beach....we know that Tacloban doesn't have one,
but funny to see their reactions...or does it...but nobody has found it!
Whilst
roaming around, we actually found a town plaza, some swings to play on and
plenty of restaurants, so it does have life here, if only you know where to
look.
There
is a dance competition here tomorrow at the Astrodome...now, where the hell is
that then...if only we had a map!
A
great cup of coffee and some high colesterol killer cakes later...feeling that
this city isn't the sort you want to hang around in for long, back to the
pensionne to plan the escape route for tomorrow.
Tue 10th Mar - Much of the morning searching for a tourism office. Lots
of decoys and frustrations, but eventually found the Department Of Tourism
office close to where we were staying. They had moved a while ago to a new
office; if only you knew where it was! Verna was really helpful with maps,
leaflets etc. And gave us a nice locally made passport holder heach...so sweet,
she was only tiny.
Off
to the MacArthur park monument in Palo. Had to catch a Jeepney to 'Government
Baras' for 15 pesos. This commemorates the landing point in 1944 where
MacArthur came to liberate the Philippines from the ravages of the Japanese.
The monument is a group soldiers headed by MacArthur, at 1.5 times life size,
walking on water onto land. The area was codenamed 'Red Beach'.
Back
in to town and alighted at the convention centre or 'Astrodome'. There was to
be a dance competition at 3pm that we had seen advertised in the town's plaza
yesterday. It turned into a rowdy noisy teen hip-hop concert judged by three
nationally known stars, two guys and a girl. Was so deafening with the
screaming from the teen girls that I ended up with a bursting headache and
almost deaf in my right ear...must be getting too old for this stuff! The
dancing part of it was all student groups doing energetic hip-hop. Really good
and not complaining about that bit. Won a prize in their endless
competition...I think everyone in the the stadium must have won something. I
got a computer mouse and keyboard holder...what the heck are we going to do
with that!
Evening
meal at Hugo's American & Mexican restaurant and ate too much, but it was
yummee.
Wed 11th Mar - Off to Basey this morning, the access town for the Sohoton National Park. The main reason
for visiting this park is a natural feature of a massive stone bridge. Had to
pick up a minivan from the old bus terminal (25 pesos) and taking 45 minutes.
To get to Basey entails crossing the 'San Juanico bridge', the longest in the
Philippines. It's purpose is to link the Island provinces of Leyte with the
northern Samar. Although the design of the bridge isn't particularly
spectacular, the setting is quite pretty as it snakes between the two islands.
Arriving
at Basey village port is where the tourist Information centre is. We had
arrived later than expected and so we were the only tourists about. They wanted
2,500 pesos for an inclusive price including the boat, guide, lantern and
entrance fees. The problem was that there had been a lot of heavy rain recently
and the thing we had come to see was impassable. Didn't seem worth paying the
high price to not see the thing we had come for, and the skies were looking
grey again, and so decided to abandon the trip to the park and explore Sohoton
nstead. To be honest, it turned out to be a good decision. On the surface Basey
doesn't seem to have abything to offer. Getting out of the town into the small
community by the rather diabolical beach was interesting. Stopped for a chat
with a group of guy having a social gathering, and was treated to some fresh
sea snails and giant conch shell, all washed down with Generoso brandy. Looking
at the disgusting colour of the sea around here, the brandy was purely for
anti-bacterial reasons...honestly!
Meandering
through the pretty back alleys of the old village was lovely, with rustic
shacks looking like they were about to collapse, a lady weaving Titok grass.
Another, unfortunately disfugured guy was busy weaving fishing nets for 100
pesos for around a day's effort.
On
top of the hill is the Basey hospital. Stopped to chat with two nurses sat
outside having a break. They don't get many emergencies here, and so the place
is really quiet, and looked to be in a fairly poor state, but ok for its needs.
The
old church overlooking the town is interesting, although locked so we couldn't
look inside. The windows have been replaced be a modern equivalent of stained
glass and re-roofed.
Proved
to be a pleasant day despite the change of plan, which is often the case.
Back
to Tacloban and a great meal at Guisseppe's
restaurant in the evening; one of the few good quality places here, but worth
the extra cost for good food. Even treated to one of my favourite deserts of
Zabaglione.
Thu 12th Mar - Up at 6am to catch a tricycle to the New Bus station, a
little way out of town. Appeared to be deserted, and wondered if we had made a
mistake by arriving this early. The Philtranco bus wasn't due to depart until
8am, so left our baggage with them and set off to find breakfast. Surprised to
get to the other side of the terminal and find a row of buses all going
northwards to Manila and heading off between 7:30 and 8:30am. Checking the
costs proves a bit tricky as Philtranco gave us a confirmed total price and
after writing out the ticket, told us it didn't include the ferry, whereas the
others did, but then some other cost isn't included. Most don't include the
ferry terminal fee. After trying to work out how long it would get to various
northern destinations, decided to change plan and only go as far as Irosin, which we should reach at maybe
7pm. Eaglestar bus company came up with a fully inclusive price of 500 pesos,
so opted for them. The buses were falling apart and claimed to be aircon...I
think because of the holes in the floor! Going to be a long day, but not
bothered about any other stops along the way.
The
terminal was an opportunity to pick up some snacks for the journey; one local
delicacy is Binagol. Made Pure Talyan
(whatever that is?), coconut, peanut, milk, Vanilla, Malagkit (rice) and
eggs...it is sold in coconut shells and banana leaf and delicious.
In
normal tradition, the new bus station cannot provide a working toilet (Comfort
Room or CR as they are called here). Why is it that a simple thing like a
toilet and water supply is so hard to maintain. You end up with buckets, no
locks on doors, and a general feeling of being sub-human after visiting one of
these things. Surely it isn't asking much to repair the broken things with the
mass of 5 pesos people pay to use them?
At
Catbalogan the bus stopped for its second break. The Filipinos love dried fish
and all things fishy or derived from fish. The odour when what seems like fifty
vendors boarding the bus selling this stuff is enough to make you pass out. A
majority of them got on here selling what I can only describe as 'Vomit in a
bottle'. One guy said it tastes ok if you add Calamansi (lemon)...really...it
is still vomit! I think it was some form of tiny seacreature in vile sewerage
flavoured juice. You want a bag of elastic bands...sorry that's noodles. How
about some gunge out of a washing machine...sorry that's mashed sea creatures
again! Toilet stop...no, not here...just hold on unless you really are
desparate to produce your own vomit in a bottle!
A
frustrating thing...we had been sitting on the bus for about half an hour
getting annoyed that we weren't moving yet. Thought I would get off and find
out what was happening, to find a pair of wheels off the bus and a mechanic
replacing the brakes. Nobody thought to explain to any of the passengers. About
1 1/2 hours we sat there, and then the bus drove around the corner and stopped
again at yet another bus station. It costs nothing to tell your passengers what
is going on, but do they bother...nope. Could have had a meal in that time,
instead of suffering the barrage of gunk sellers on the bus!
So
merrily merrily we set off northwards on our happy journey, with Shiera wanting
to murder the bus driver. It took much restraint to to prevent a massacre. With
a brief stop in Calbayog to waste more time, we arrived at the ferry port of
Allen. Now, had we not had our delay earlier, we would have made the 4pm ferry,
but alas we didn't. :-( Instead we had to sit around until the 6:30pm ferry.
Allen isn't a place you can extol the virtues of - a little lacking in much to
do, we were bored after 20 minutes of playing with the locals and having a cup
of coffee. I nearly joined in the Videoke it was that bad!
Most
ports have an all inclusive 'Terminal fee'. Not here; Step 1 is the Insurance fee
of 10 pesos; Step 2 the terminal fee of 20 pesos; Step 3 is the Registration
fee of 5 pesos. So, three queues and then a fourth queue to fill in the
passenger forms, one for the passenger details, then a second form for the
Insurance details. So, why does no other port in the Philippines feel the need
to do this? Life is such a mystery sometimes.
As
the sun set on a long day of frustration, with the klunky old ferry we were
about to board looking liking it might not survive the 2 hours crossing to the
other side, we say goodbye to Samar, and head across the San Bernardine Strait
for Matnog in Sorsogon province aboard the Grand
Star.
Arrived
in Matnok at 9:15pm and was on the road north within about 20 minutes. Got
dropped off in Irosin with no idea of what was going to happen next.
Fortunatley, even though the place was almost deserted, there was a tricycle
driver nearby. One possible place to stay in town, but that was fairly poor
apparently. The better alternative seemed to be a resort, some 7km away which
had hot springs and rooms for 400 or so. The Mateo Hot Springs resort turned
out to be a dump. The room cost 1000 pesos for a very basic room with its own
bathroom. No facilities open for even a cup of coffee. So we were tired after a
very long day and no food or drink with us. Got frustrated with the owner that
she wouldn't even make us a drink. The hot springs were open and so we went for
a relaxing soak to ease away the stresses of the day. The issue with the bus
had lost us around 3 hours and messed up the plan a bit, but that is travel.
You cannot do anything about it.
Fri Mar 13th - Woke up early by the roosters and the sound of heavy
rain, soon followed by activity outside and the sound of motorbikes. Had a bit
of an issue last night with the beds being infested with ants and not really
wanting to sleep in them, but was so tired, just had to put up with it and
ignore them.
Breakfast
by the hot springs followed by a dip. The loction is really beautiful. Palms
trees, pretty bougainvillea for splashes of colour and thatched huts for
picnics surrounding the pools, all nestled beneath a volcano.
Caught
a bus from the main highway intersection to Naspi for 100 pesos, and then a
Jeepney to Donsol.
Last
time I was in Donsol was 12th December last year. It was a bit premature to
expect to see the Butanding, and didn't see any. There had been one sighting
that day and five the previous day, so very erratic. I am hoping for better
luck this time.
The
Donsol Jeepney arrived and was so overcrowded, there was no choice other than
to ride on the roof. Was fun and a great way to see the countriside. When I was
last here in December I remembered it being pretty, but the weather wasn't that
good then. This time it was beautiful weather and even more pretty. If there is
one way to draw attention, it is for a foreigner to be sat on the roof of the
transport, and so attracted many cheers and happy responses from folks along
the way.
Checken
into the Santiago Lodge, where I had
stayed last December, then out for an explore. Donsol is much quieter than it
was last time, and also much hotter, so uncomfortable to be outside for to
long.
Jumped
in a tricycle to the Butanding
Interaction Centre, otherwise called the Visitor Centre, about 4km out of
town and 15 pesos each. Wanted to see if there was enough people to make up a
group for tomorrow morning. As luck had it, there was. They allow a maximum of
7 on the Bangcas and a maximum of 6 divers around each Whale-Shark (Butanding).
Shiera doesn't want to go in and there were four french people signing up, so
that worked out well, so organised it for 7:30am. They are also trying to push
other things now, such as 'Firefly watching, and cruises, but the prices are a
bit steep. 1200 pesos to see some fireflies which you can do with a tricycle
driver for a hundred pesos in the town. After completing the paperwork, an
intorductory video to watch....more tomorrow.
A
walk along the beach afterwards...the beach is grey/black sand being a volcanic
area. Not very attractive, but ok and soft under foot. What is interesting is
in the water; Masses of pearlescent fragile shells. Great for jewellery, ornament
making, or garden decoration.
After
cutting through one of the resorts, we oticed a small group of locals planting
rice in the rice paddies along the roadside. Shiera felt like having a go, so
joined in and I followed to have a go too. Wonderful warm slimy grey mud
between your toes and upto your knees is a great sensation, and good fun. Back
to the sea to wash off again and then back to town as the heat was crazy now.
Ahead
of sunset we took a cooler walk out of town towards the water front..a nice
collection of huts over the water and so many happy people who greeted us as we
wonderd through. This place has such a nice vibe and a lazy pace.
A
meal at the café in town with a couple of Filipino specialities; Spicy Jackfruit
in coconut; Laina - made with leaves and coconut; Halo-Halo to finish.
Scrumptious is the only word to explain it.
Needed
to walk off dinner so went to check out the church. A choir was rehearsing, so
sat with them and listened up in the balconies for a while. Beautiful harmonies
followed by a crystal clear starry evening, made for a nice end to a magic day.
When
I was here in December they were renovating the community centre in the town plaza.
This had now been finished and the buildings painted; all were looking smart.
Sorsogon
is a beautiful region, one of the Philippines best. Donsol is an attractive
town and well organised and maintained.
Sat Mar 14th - Up at 6am to have breakfast as have to be at the
Interaction Centre for 7:30am.
As
part of a keep fit campaign by the mayor, there is a dance aerobics class in
the town plaza from 7am til 9am on Saturday mornings. Couldn't miss this
opportunity, so with little time to spare before having to head off I joined
in. Got recognised by a few from when I was here is December, which was a
surprise.
Paid
off the balance of 585 pesos each at the centre. I thought the price was 2,500
when I was here in December, but now it is 3,500 pesos for the boat plus 300
registration fee for foreigners and 100 for locals. Hiring a snorkel, mask and
fins costs a further 300 pesos at the centre, but a discounted price can be
arranged if you know who to talk to.
A
bit about the Whale-Shark...Latin name Rhincodon
Typus, but locally known as the Butanding, or the Toki-Toki in the Visayas.
It is the world's largest fish, growing upto 18m in length, weighing up to 40
tonnes, and living for upto 100 years.
Its
2 metre wide mouth acts as a filter feeder for Plankton, Krill, squid and small
fish. Food enters through its mouth and out of its gills like a normal fish.
As
part of the protection agreement, divers are theoretically not allowed within 3
or 4 metres of them, but that is close enough anyway. They reckon that those in
this area grow upto 12 metres. Met our captain, Ronaldo who gave a brief
introduction and then set off. Couldn't believe our luck when we spotted our
first Butanding within 2 minutes of setting off. Rapidly on with the snorkel
gear and into the water...wow! Beautiful and magnifiscent creature, and about 7
metres long. Followed it for about a couple of minutes. Over the next few hours
w were lucky to see 10...yes...10! The maximum was about 9 metres long. Easy
enough to spot as they cast a dark shadow on the surface of the water, and
sometimes the fin pokes out of the water. Although they say you aren't supposed
to get that close, you have no real choice as the visability was only upto 2
metres at times. I even got to stroke one which we followed for a good five
minutes or more. I was thrilled that we had been so lucky, a definite highlight
of the recent weeks.
As
a celebration I had a cocktail as a treat at the Amora resort with lunch. It
had been an exciting experience and better than I had expected....wow again!
Wanted
to buy an 'I've swam with a Butanding' baseball cap to replace the one I lost
yesterday, but they don't do them. Plenty of T-shirts and other stuff that you
don't want to buy, but no baseball caps :-(
Tired
after all of the excitement (and the cocktail), back to the Santiago for a
sleep.
Sun 15th Mar - Today is my Mother's 84th birthday...happy birthday to
you, happy birthday to you etc etc.
Moving
on to Legaspi today. An early morning walk to get breakfast. A cup of brewed
cffee then a local treat of Puyong Bigas
with coconut jam. They use small coconuts to mould grated sweetened rice
into, and make a hollow into which a dollop of the caramelised coconut and
moscavado jam mix goes, which is then covered and the whole thing cooked in a
specially made steamer for about 30 seconds. Served in banana leaf for 2.5
pesos each, they are delicious with a coffee.
Breakfast
at Andrea's café again and the owner from upstairs (Thelma) appeared for a
chat. Donsol is a place I have a soft spot for it is a friendly and happy
place. Not in-your-face or overpowering, and nestled in a beautiful area within
Sorsogon. It is obviously staking its claim on the tourism map for the
Whale-Shark, but it does offer more.
Checked
out and then picked up a Jeepney going to Daraga (60 pesos), the adjacent town
to Legaspi where most transport stops. A pleasant ride, fairly empty as now
late in the morning so had missed the early morning rush.
Legaspi is the stop-off point for the
perfectly shaped active volcano Mount Mayon. At 2,421 metres high and about
48km across its base, it dominates the scenery for a long way. In the early
part of the day it has been shrowded in mist and later in the day by heat haze,
so not easy to get a clear crisp view of it to take photographs. Being active
it is spewing fumes from the top and last eruopted in 2004. It is possible to
do a trek to its crater in 2 days and 1 night, but you have to be fairly fit
and neither of us are up to it at the moment, so decided to give it a miss.
Got
to Daraga and then jumped straight from one Jeepney to another aiming for
Legaspi (10 pesos). Staying at the Legaspi Tourist Inn (700 pesos), which is
ideally located for the town centre. The main mall is across the road and the
Pacific mall a few minutes away. It is sale time now and so the malls have some
great deals on. Bought some new sun glasses and baseball hat to replace the one
I had lost on the way to Donsol.
Popped
into a tour office to check on the climbing options. Can go to a low point, camp
1, a point near to the top, or the very top, either as a part day or a few
days, so many options available to consider.
In
the evening the plaza and market area filled up with food stalls selling
anything from peanuts to burgers to local specialities. The best food I have
seen in this type of place in a long while. Had already eaten earlier, so
disappinted that we hadn't seen this first. We are in an area famed for its
'Pili' nuts (the town of Pili is north of here), and so you can buy it in many
forms. Some free samples available, and so felt sick later with too
much...pilinut butter was yummee with breadsticks!
Mon 16th Mar - Had considered doing a tour to part way up Mount Mayon
with Bicol Adventures, who are based in the same building as the Tourist Inn,
but they wanted 3,500 pesos for it. Far too expensive. After considering the
options, we decided to do it ourselves and see what happened. The main base
camp for the mountain is in Santo Domingo.
Only costs 18 pesos to get there and took around 25 minutes. From there we
asked around the tricycle drivers if they knew a guide who could do us a deal.
We were taken to a place where the guide wanted to do a 'standard tourist
package' and charge us 75 dollars each! No way Jose...After much bartering and
discussion of options, we ended up with agreeing on 1000 pesos total to go and
see the new lava bed from the 2006 eruption. As this wasn't going to take that
long, we agreed on no food or drink to be included. Three motorbikes
turned up, one of which was Joel the guide, to take us to Bouyon village. From
that point it got very difficult. But thanks to really expert drivers we
managed the terrain easy enough. A Caribou traffic jam along the way was funny.
The dosile fly covered beasts just stare at you nonchalantly until they got
dragged out of the way by the farmer, so that we could pass!
Most of the route was along a soft volcanic
ash bed until we eventually arrived at a wall
of broken lava rock, which is noticeably different to the surrounding area. Had
to scramble up to reach the main bed. The view was amazing. The snaking bed
clearly winds its way from the top of the mountain to where we were stood.
Steam still coming from the ground in many places. Awesome!
The
eruption lasted for 6 months and most of the residents had to be evacuated to a
nearby hilltop for safety. Many refused who had livestock and couldn't leave
them behind. Most resturned 2 months after the end of the eruption.
Joel
owned a buko plantation as well as rice fields and invited us back for Merienda.
Searched around a few food stalls for some 'Bicol Express (a very spicy chili
mix) and some Jackfruit in coconut, the rest was free. The tour guide and his
friends treated us to a super lunch, including as much fresh Buko as we could
managed, which they picked fresh from the palm, plus a large supply of fresh
Pili nuts from his tree. What we didn't realise was that the pulp that
surrounds the Pili kernel can also be eaten. An interesting pulpy texture, but
worth a try with some chili and rice.
All
fed and happy, they offered us a free trip to the famous Cagsawa church near to Daraga. Famous due to the ruins that appear
on the publicity literature with the towering mount Mayon behind. So kind of
them, and agreed to cover the cost of the gasoline.
Had
a wonderful day and saw more than we expected and for a fraction of the cost of
going on an organised tour, plus the benefit of being treated so well by the
locals.
In
the evening, we fancied dinner in market at what they call a 'turo-turo' or
'point-point', as you usually have no idea what it is, so you just point to
what you think looks edible! One of my favourites has become Jackfruit in
coconut, and have this whenever I see it. It is basically unripe Jackfruit,
stewed until very soft but with the addition of other ingredients. Another was
a form of Laing (pork or fish) made with Malunggay leaves. Eating in this
country is the biggest education I have experienced out of all of the countries
I have ever visited. There is a whole language surrounding it, and so many
things you don't recognise, that you have no choice but to just point.
Tue Mar 17th - After shopping in the sales for shoes at Pacific Mall, took
a tricycle to the 'Satellite Market' bus terminal (30 pesos) to catch GT
Express minibus to Naga (150 pesos). Took around 2 hours.
Didn't
take long to find somewhere to stay as plenty of tourist inns. Stayed at the
'Sampaguita Tourist Inn'. Clean and bright with free wi-fi and cheap food 24
hours a day.
Wanted
to go camping somewhere around the Caramoan peninsula and thought it worth
checking out the outdoor centre listed in the guidebook. As usual, the book is
out of date and the shop no longer hired tents. The map also wasn't too helpful
and gave up looking for any tourist information places. What was interesting is
that the one train line that runs from Manila has become defunct in many places
due to neglect and bad safety, killing many people in numerous derailments.
Found the track whilst walking and followed it to see if we could find out where
the station was. The station is closed off and the track overgrown with weeds
and strewn with rubbish. Children now use it as a playground, and the last
train to come here lies rusting in the station sidings, minus its engine.
Apparently, the line is to be re-instated this September. For now, the train
stops much further north of here. Trying to find out where is still a bit
tricky.
Naga
city is a congested place, overrun with fume spewing tricycles and Jeepneys, to
the point of being choking. Spent a while on-line trying to piece together the
options for escape and struggled with getting information. The Caramoan
peninsula is supposed to be the next Boracay, but for now it is a fairly tricky
place to get around, and monopolised by a few resorts who are fully booked, and
others that would take a day of many connections to reach, plus needing to get
out of Naga at 5am to stand a chance of getting there at all. Gave up and
decided to go north to Daet tomorrow instead, which should be much easier.
