Cycling to Tabac; Ferry to Catanduanes
Wednesday April 10, 2013 6:00 a.m. Boat from Tobaco, Luzon to Virac, Catanduanes, Philippines I almost didn’t make it out of Legazpi yesterday. I woke up feeling that I just wanted to hang out for ...
Exploring Virac and Catanduanes
Thursday April 11, 2013 6:30 a.m. Virac, Catanduanes If I were informed that I was here on this world as a kind of messiah to deliver my important message, I know exactly what my message ...
Photo Walkabout in Virac, Catanduanes
Friday April 12, 2013 6:30 a.m. Virac, Catanduanes, Philippines I lost the war of the little things this morning. The man in the room beside me was snoring like a freight train and at an ...
Cycling Catanduanes 1 – “Are you sure?”
The manager of the hotel in Virac raised her eyebrows at me when I told her of my plans to ride my bicycle to Pandan – the town at the northern tip of Catanduanes. “Are ...
Cycling Catanduanes 2 – A Night in Salvacion
The real adventure began at the end of my first day when I stopped at the little barangay of Salvacion and met Grandpa and his sea of granddaughters. As I rode along, I pondered just ...
Cycling Catanduanes 3 – Videoke Nightmare in Caramoran
In the morning, Grandpa took me on a tour of Salvacion before I left. He knew everyone in the barangay, of course, and he introduced me to everyone, including his five brothers. Five brothers and ...
Cycling Catanduanes 4 – Journey to San Vicente
I had asked lots of people over the previous couple of days about the road going from Pandan and back to Virac along the east coast. From these people I got a variety of answers ...
Cycling Catanduanes 5 – The Barangay Captain of San Vicente
San Vicente did not, as I suspected, have any kind of hotel or pension or inn or guest house or lodging. In that situation, I figured I would be sleeping in my tent and I ...
Cycling Catanduanes 6 – Trying to Say “Bagamanoc”
The following day was by far the hardest day of the circuit around Catanduanes – far harder than my ride from Pandan to San Vicente. It didn’t start out that terribly hard. I rode through ...
Cycling Catanduanes 7 – Good Cop/Bad Cop in Viga
I had been assured by many, many people that once I reached Bagamanoc my life of crashing and banging over rough and rocky roads would be over. It would be cement paving all the way ...
Cycling Catanduanes 8 – My Gigmoto Host Domingo Tatel
I did make it to Gigmoto and though I didn’t find the perfect lodging I was looking for – a nice bungalow on the beach with its own bathroom and water supply – I found ...
Cycling Catanduanes 9 – Hanging Out at Pururan Surf Beach
My last night in Gigmoto passed pleasantly enough. Domingo and his cousin ate their meal beside me on the dining room table and we all watched TV afterward. They were both quite amused by the ...
Cycling Catanduanes 10 – Epilogue and Return to Virac
I could have stayed at Pururan for another day quite easily, but there didn’t seem to be much point. There was nothing to do there if you weren’t going to surf. And though it was ...
From Catanduanes back to Legazpi
Sunday April 28, 2013 Villa Toledo Hotel, Virac, Catanduanes I got back to Virac perhaps a bit quicker than I would have liked. I was interested in staying in a couple of places an extra ...