My UV Express Ride to Palompon

From that title alone, I am sure some of you will be asking, what am I going to do in Palompon anyway? And why the commute? Yeah, 10 months resident of Tacloban here :)

Its like this...
I wanted to see Kalanggaman Island, so, I had to first go to Palompon, Leyte - the 'usual' jump-off point to the island. O ano? Excited ka na?! Okay okay... This story will become the first of a series of blog entries about my Kalanggaman Island Visit! Yehey!

Albeit quick and mostly a 'mental debate', I did some research before going!

Why the commute?
Ah well, its the only best way for traveling alone. UV Express Vans in this region are anyway not as dilapidated as it is in Cagayan Valley! I do have an AUV and a driver to boot (yayamanin ba?!), but those are just for going around this region (Region VIII) on "official business". Besides, if I used that mode, which is not really "bawal" per se, I'd have to deal with extra baggage - what to do with Jonathan the driver and where to park the car. Hasul ba! Besides too, after commuting, I can tell you how it goes! Eto na nga...

Where in Tacloban?
Just where in Tacloban do I take a ride to Palompon Leyte? I asked around, there were many confusing and sometimes conflicting suggestions on where to take-off from. In the end, I decided I'll get out from the Tacloban City Transport Terminal in Abucay. They call it Abucay Terminal most of the time. It'll be easy to find this terminal soon - just across is an upcoming Robinsons Mall.

Behind that wall of so many ads will soon rise Robinsons Tacloban North

Note: it is true, there are so many "private van terminals" (randomly located) in the city other than the big Abucay Terminal - and that is what confused me! I hope that someday, someone will make a summarized list of where those terminals are, plus their routes.

What time to go? (from Tacloban to Palompon)
An important question with equally confusing answers as above. My technique was: first consider what time the boats start crossing from Palompon to Kalanggaman. Answer: 7AM! Some folks said it can be as early as 6AM. Duda ako! Thus, I targeted a 7AM boat ride - so my island day tour is optimized, and I could return to Palompon at noon, or so.

To catch a 7AM boat ride in Palompon, then I would have to leave Tacloban no later than 4AM (since it takes 3 hours by van). Aga-aga? Kaadlawon? Kaagahon?! Hasul! Hasula!

So, for comfort and convenience, I decided to leave Tacloban between a noontime and an afternoon. Then look for a hotel at Palompon, sleep the night over, then wake-up at 6AM for the 7AM boat ride to the island. That was the final 'crossed-fingers' grand plan!

The D-Day (yes, Departure Day)
My driver, Jonathan, brought me to Abucay with a repetitive ang kulit plea "sir, ako na lang maghatid sayo sa Palompon". I jokingly dismissed that with "shut-up, hindi pwede"!

On arrival at the Abucay Terminal, I started looking for the vans that go to Palompon

Not there. All those buses are either going Manila or Mindanao :)

Its not easy, especially if its your first time. I had to roam around this place, probably the size of a football field, for some minutes on a hot sunny midday.

They do have their (removable) signages, but those are not easy to read from a distance

So you will really have to stroll around, reading those destination boards one by one!

I eventually found the "pila", and the next-best available seat for me was 4. Yep, Seat Number 4. Do you know where that is? Let's count: Seat No. 1 is beside the driver; 2 is beside 1 (window side); 3 is behind the driver; 4 is to the right of 3, and; 5 is door-side. So seats 3, 4 and 5 comprise that row immediately behind the driver. Got it?! Gitna ako :(

I was 4, therefore boxed-in by passengers on my either side, so how could I have taken pictures along the way? Huhuhu, yes, I was silently screaming... Jonathaaaan, come here and just bring me to Palompon, now na! But no can do, uh huh, no can do, cannot be!

THAT was my front view for the entire 3-hour ride. Why is it dark on the driver's side to the extent that only half the rear-view mirror is seen? Mr. Driver is leaning all the way back on his seat, aside from he has a big head hehe, he has long black flowing hair (not tied) that reaches some inches below his shoulders. Nagpa-rebond pa yata si manong!

To console myself, I just kept looking at that cute mutant whatever on the dashboard

It has the forehead of a baby tiger, stripes of a zebra, color of Alf, and snout of a hippo!

At 12:37PM, my 12NN-scheduled trip took off. Good I had lunch before taking this ride. Mind you, I still (pathetically) attempted to snap photos as the 3-hour ride went along. Haaaay buhaaaay!

2 hours into the ride, we reached this Kananga intersection (pronounced ka-nang-ga)

One more hour... And it was raining... OMG... I prayed "not tomorrow please..."

Less than half an hour to destination.. we were at Villaba...

Still raining... Still praying... Lord don't make it rain tomorrow please...

Entering the town of Palompon, I could already see the sea...

I am going somewhere there tomorrow. Still intermittently raining. Still praying...

And I arrived at the town center of Palompon. But let's make that my next story!

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