Philippine Travel Notes

This is only about 8 or 9 kilometers of a joy ride. I heard many people even just ride tricycles or habal-habal between these two towns. I actually just passed-by yesterday on my way to Allen from Catarman, remember? But, when you love traveling, "going to" is not really the same as coming back! Many wonderful things always await to delight you! Like these... I whispered "ang lakas ng loob mo manong!", noting that that habal-habal has a heavy load but its driver had the nerve to overtake the trike! Look beyond, a vehicle is coming! In my curiosity, I asked my driver to tail the habal-habal closely for me to see the load. I couldn't make out what the contents were. Definitely not rice. But still, that's 15 sacks, and definitely it could not be as light as cotton! Might even be heavier than rice. I think! And hey what a chance! Look at that vehicle on the opposite lane. It's not "kuliglig", but it also has just three wheels. Therefore ...

It took more than 10 minutes, probably nearing 15 from San Jose to this welcome arch. This is the resort town we passed-by yesterday, going to Allen from Catarman. So, in 27 or so hours, I was back in Bobon. Not passing-by this time, but visiting the town center. Going to the very heart of town is also like Rosario and San Jose where there is a forking road from the highway. However, there is no big DPWH road signage on the Y-junction. My driver just knows this town, so we went straight to the church and municipal hall without asking around. Don't bet on that welcome arch too (first picture above). That is at the boundary between Bobon and San Jose, still some 5kms to Bobon town center! Anyway, the road we took from the highway goes all the way here, as in this very spot... Turn left here if you are going to the municipal hall. Why? Because if you walk through those grassy greens, you will encounter a tall fence. "Separation of Church and State" ba! This is the ...

On the road again, on a lovely bright morning! Yehey! This time I was on an easy run from Catarman for an 8AM meeting at Allen - the north-western edge of Samar Island. We knew it takes about an hour (50kms?) but we left early at 6AM, so we'd have enough time for the morning traffic (kids going to school) as many schools are by the highway. Then, still ample time for a hot 'tinola' breakfast at Allen, and be cool until the meeting! We opted to pass by the (fairly) new road at the end of the runway, instead of the usual (a street that crosses it), as we knew the PAL flight to Manila departs at about a few minutes before 7AM - where that street would be temporarily closed to land vehicles. Nice plan. All set. And here we go! Let's start with this corner going out of Catarman towards the west.. Going straight is back to where we came from yesterday - Lope De vega, and onwards to Calbayog if you like. While my route today goes rightwards to the end of runway 22 (or ...