Philippine Travel Notes

Two blocks away from the municipal hall , I chanced upon the 'also fairly young' Our Lady of the Angels Parish Church of Mapanas , commonly called Mapanas Church . I hope you get the drift of these "fairly young" pronouncements that I keep saying. It is because this town was created from 7 barangays of Gamay only in 1966, and this church was created as a parish only in 1975. So it's rather young compared to many! So I did not expect to find historic things here, like I did at Palapag . It was closed (churches are like that now) . But to my left, there was an open gate. Beautiful new fence & gate. Mala-eskwelahan ang arrive! Thank you sa mga donors! Syempre, enter da dragon na agad - baka mag-automatic close pa yan - malay natin! Like at many churches, I suspected I'd find an ajar side door. Ay, just as I said above, nowadays churches normally close their many entrances, leaving just 1 open or ajar . We already know the rationale behind that, r...

From the Guinpandayan View Deck , I went straight to poblacion Mapanas, skipping the Pinusilan Rocks as I've been there last year. I realized I was running out of time! First I saw was the municipal hall, since it's just along the highway. And this was it? My scooter driver said matter of factly that that is really it. Honga naman ano? Ayan nakasulat na eh! Yet based on my roaming experiences, it can't be the real frontage. I told him to stay where he was, and I went around via the street at right. O eto... That is their municipal hall compound. And the building at left edge of that photo, is what faces the highway. Well, the compound is still or 'already small' for a town hall. Aw, Mapanas is a small town, even by today's standards. Maybe what they have still properly fits all their municipal employees! They only have 13 barangays now, which grew from the original 7 barrios during creation in 1966 - a fairly young municipality. I stood in front of the...

My roam of the northeastern towns of Samar Island continued. After the Rakitdakit Rock at Palapag, my scooter ambled the southward run to the next town, Mapanas. It is just about 9 or so kilometers. But there are always things-to-see along the way, right? Right. And I didn't anymore check my list - my driver knows them - plus more! As I marveled at the seemingly serpentine form of this coastal highway, Buyungaw (yes my driver!) was telling me about a waterfall just on the roadside, but "dry" now. But that waterfall topic was quickly 'shelved' (because it has no water now anyway), when we again saw, a number of rocks and boulders on the pacific side of the road! Plus, where there are no fallen boulders, the snake-like road really got my attention! Do roads really have to sway like that? Am just curious. I don't despise them. In fact, as passenger, I like invariably curving roads (when the pavement is smooth lang ha?) . Every ride is more exciting ...

What is it? A rock! That's it! But it's nice to see from a distance, and all the more wondrous when you go near it! It could be anything to any visitor, but one thing was for sure this time - I didn't want to go any nearer, even if my scooter driver was with me and urging me to go further ! I said "nebir butig", at humalakhak ang insik! Yep, Tsinoy ang driver ko, sociel ako! Let's start from the very beginning... 3 minutes after the fallen rocks , driver swerved left and entered a private property. He was telling me about the owner of this place, I heard everything but wasn't, at all, listening. Well I think I remember him saying 'lawyer' and/or 'councilor', I'm not sure. Anyway, he said there is always a woman-caretaker, who works on this farm, mostly alone, that's why we couldn't see anyone who'd collect our fees. We entered anyway. It's a short walk to the beach (around 50 meters). Oh we saw the manang a...

After the Galleon Port visit, it was time to finally say goodbye to Palapag, and hop to Mapanas. Is this far? Not really. Just a little above 20 kilometers. 20 minutes or so? But I had planned stops here-and-there ! This was actually one compelling reason why I hired a habal-habal (aw scooter pala) - as I can't do that with 'regular' vans or buses ! And on a habal-habal, it's slower so you get to see more! Hmm, let's expound a bit about Traveling in The Provinces ... bow! Why not rent a car? (which I didn't mention in my Out Of Palapag story) Mind you, I asked around if there was a real rent-a-car service here arounds. When I say "real" , I mean a true business of renting out cars like that of Haven's in Tacloban. Or Hertz, Avis, Europcar, Budget, etc., etc.! None . I think it is only Tacloban that has, in the likes of Haven's nga - they may not be the best (yet), but I tried & tested them! Rent-A-Car . Not the car ...

I did not even know there was such a thing! Thanks to my driver for suggesting that we pass by this port. Dagdag kaalaman! Oh yes, an additional historical knowledge! Physically, it's actually nothing but a 'pantalan', no different than many little ports all over this archipelago. But it has 'historical value' if you are into those kinds of things. That's where the concrete structure starts jutting out to sea for probably 100 meters. That habal-habal, aw scooter nga pala [pronounced: is-koo-ter] was my ride. And as you can see at right, is a historical marker planted by the National Historical Commission in 2015, describing the historical significance of this very place/locale. I tried zooming another shot I had of the marker, so I can show the words clearly. So what did I learn? Let me English my Tagalog heheh. Hagii, puyde ba Waray nala? Anyway, this port was a last stop of galleons, to load up on firewood, food and water en route to Acapulco...

How do you get out of Palapag? You can count the ways! Yes, there are options. In most cases, travelers just reverse the way they came in. It can be via a bus, van, jeep, tricyle or habal-habal, depending on where they're going - e.g., westward to Catarman, or southward to Lapining, etc.! Syempre, if you're driving your own vehicle check your map. There could be a better way, in terms of "what to see", than via that road you passed coming in. If there are! If you're riding buses or vans , you head out to the transport terminal behind the new public market ( Merkado Palapag ) - via a tricycle, pedicab, habal-habal or even walk. That place is about 800 meters from the municipal plaza passing by their cemetery! Who rides the buses ? Those going to far places like Bicol or Manila would be better off riding the big buses. They just pass by Palapag from far south (as far as Guiuan) . Of course, the reverse is similar: if you're going to places far ...