Merida To Isabel Joyride

From Merida, my next destination on this joyride was the town of Isabel - only 20kms (or less?) via the coastal road. I have to emphasize "coastal road" since there is a (new) bypass road via the mountains, which is purportedly only about 2kms shorter than that original coastal pass! Hmm, does that matter?

Doesn't it cast doubts in your mind? It did on mine, of course. But I gather (from reliable sources) that having that new road via the mountains has been proven to be definitely faster - by five minutes haha!

For today's joyride, I had to use the (original) coastal road since I intended to see the existing touristic whatevers worth a peep or even exploration by you and me, the curious. Later na yung bypass, okay?

So here we go!

As we exited Merida, all the way to entering Isabel, there were a scattering of old wooden houses..,

Not anymore that many, as most of them are being refurbished to 'modernity'. But there are still those that evoke some memories of how our forebears lived in the recent past. Like the big wide windows.

Look at that bench (red arrow)! It can tell a long story that could even become a book if we want to!

Seriously? Yes, seriously. Let me start.., I can confidently say that not too many four-wheeled vehicles pass by this road, a.k.a this neighborhood. Why? Because if there were that many vehicles, which we know are mostly smoke-belchers, then this area would be dusty (or smoky) that no on would like to sit beside this road, therefore no one would want to build such a bench for a "resting place", right?! Very!

Then imagine this, during the evenings way down into the night, the neighborhood would congregate at the bench, one armed with a guitar, another with tuba and Coke. Rural Happiness, di ba? You can try imagining, there'll be other possible fantastic things that can happen just because of that "tambayan"!

Just to remind me (and you my dear readers), I was traveling a coastal road with views of the sea..,

The peninsular south of north-western Leyte, dotted with nice fishing villages and rural beach resorts.

Intermittently there would be multicabs ferrying passengers on an otherwise quiet highway..,

With sightings of attractive structures here and there..,

Tolingon is the "corner" village of this peninsula, and southernmost barangay of Isabel next to Merida.

A wonderful sight, even poignant I guess, at 10kms from Isabel - A mother and her two daughters..,

All in Sunday dresses. Walking, probably on the way to (or maybe going home from) a church service.

I really love the laid-back way of living in the provinces. Like on this scene, no vehicles needed to go to church. But, in contrast, if you look at what they're wearing (especially the footwear) and compare that to how we folks in the metropolis garb ourselves when going to church, we ought to be ashamed, 'no?

Oh, here is something I've been curious about for quite some time now.., the bus stopS! [yes, plural]

This is 'probably' the only place in the whole Philippines, where you see too many "bus stop" signages (not necessarily waiting sheds), where commuter vehicles (buses, vans, jeeps) do not have to stop at!

Some are new, others are faded, some are at waiting kiosks, some in the midst of nothing! Confusing!

At times (I mean in many areas), there are even two of them near at, or across each other! Da da duh?

Good that my driver reacted when he sensed I was consciously taking pictures of many of these as we rolled by. Without me asking, he educated me by saying "shuttle service ito hit mga taga-li-de, sir".

That led me to ask what is "li-de", and I learned he meant LIDE = Leyte Industrial Development Estate - that I have known all along (in theory) not knowing that I was already approaching the very said place!

Aw sus, and so we were already in the town of Isabel, catapulted by LIDE to economic prominence!

But let's talk more about Isabel in my next entry!