Buenos Aires (Victoria) to Allen, then Calbayog

I went to Allen but not to roam yet. I just needed a ride to Calbayog from Victoria - best way to do this is to depart from Allen which is only 5 minutes away from Buenos Aires - even if it backtracks! Why so? Because vans (fastest means) are usually already full when departing from Allen - the station of origin. So it will be 'luck in a million' for you to catch a ride along the route. Besides, Grand Tours is a terminal-to-terminal kind of service, the fare is still P100 to Calbayog, whether you ride at Allen or Victoria.
Original plan was: the 1PM Grand Tours van would pick me up at ‘Spice of Life’ at Buenos Aires beach (this was pre-arranged as early as yesterday via a friend in Allen). How does that work? Well, the reserved seat (paid) is left empty on departure from Allen - where reserved passenger joins 5-mins later along the way. Now you know. Convenient, right?

But I could not find lunch in Buenos Aires where I was supposed to wait for the van! So, as mentioned in the previous story and the first paragraph above, I instead took a trike to the van terminal in Allen itself! Its just 5 minutes by tricycle at minimum fare! Then looked for food there. Not as if I was looking for anything grand of a lunch. Fine if turo-turo style, as long as I had somewhere cozy to sit and (preferably) watch people (and things) go by. On a regular Tuesday, Buenos Aires is too quiet for this to materialize :)

So, to Allen I went!

I saw this... (I knew it was there, but I did not anymore take a peep):
Wayang-wayang Beach Resort is just a short walk away from Spice of Life (about 500 or so meters). Its like this… Spice of Life is in Barangay Buenos Aires - the northernmost in the town of Victoria that is by the boundary with Barangay Jubasan - the southernmost of the town of Allen, where Wayang-wayang Resort sits! They are practically neighbors.

On hindsight though, I should have tried having lunch at Wayang-wayang and waited for my van while there! It looks like it has a well appointed restaurant! But my biases caused me to skip this resort. I know (from pictures) that Wayang-wayang, although a nice place, does not have a real sandy beach. It’s more of a breakwater, dumped with sand on top, to make it appear like it is still “the” beach. Just like how it is at Mactan's Imperial Palace.

Anyway, like the travel from Victoria town center to Buenos Aires, this trip from Buenos Aires to Allen was also along a picturesque shoreline (still with a view of San Antonio and Capul. Thankfully I rode on a tricycle for that maximum unrestricted view and breezy feel!

Now this, was my destination in Allen!

Definitely the most ‘unmodern’ of Grand Tours' terminals. But I like this big old house, obviously an interesting thing from the past that soon will be replaced with a modernistic concrete building – whether by Grand Tours or its owners. Unless this transport company finds somewhere more worthwhile as a station!

I proceeded to their counters, told them I had reservation on Seat No. 2 of their 1PM Calbayog trip and that I was the one to be picked up at Spice Of Life Resort in Buenos Aires. Hmm, seeing that Seat No. 1 was still free, I took it too, so I could place my backpack on it, and me, comfy!

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