Articles in Biliran Trip
Plans to Go to Biliran
The skies look good this morning so I imagine I will be hitting the road. I hope that physically I do better than I did on my ride here from Tacloban. I don’t have my hopes up too far, though. I’m not in good shape. My right ankle is very sore. It’s difficult to walk first thing in the morning. My right knee is sore …
Mountainous Route to Naval, Biliran
I am now in the bustling town of Naval, so it’s understood that I did load up my bike and head out of Caligara yesterday when the weather seemed to be breaking. Packing up was a long and involved process. As I mentioned, my gear has simply refused to fall into neat packages on this trip. Nothing seems to fit right in any of my …
Walking Around Naval
I spent yesterday simply walking around Naval exploring and waiting for the charm of the town to reveal itself. The exploring was interesting, as always, but the charm remained elusive.
I had had enough of riding my bike through congested streets, so I set off on foot with my pannier bag converted to a knapsack. I had my camera with me, intending to make it a …
Cycling Around Biliran
Another chorus of roosters and the eye-burning stench of cigarette smoke to greet the new day. I don’t know why, but it appears that I’ve become much more sensitive to cigarette smoke. It has actually become a big problem in the Philippines. People smoke in the hotel rooms all around me, and the smoke slowly seeps into my room. Even the smallest amount causes my …
Cross-Island Road on Biliran
It’s rare that I make the right decision. But two days ago, it happened. It was when I rode my bike north out of Naval to explore that part of the island. I reached a point where I had to decide whether to keep going in a loop and go in a circle back to Naval going across the middle of the island or to …
Creatures in the Philippines
Still on the island of Biliran. Still raining. There were downpours last night that I thought would sweep away the building. The rain hits the roof with a deafening sound that builds and builds and builds. This hotel sits on the edge of town and I get beautiful views across green fields into trees and villages and then on to the mountains. The fields are …
Feeding the Pig at a Local Farm
I’m at my keyboard a bit early this morning – 6 a.m. – because I had/have plans to leave this morning. Unfortunately, another typhoon has formed. This one is headed for Taiwan, but it is still off the coast of the Philippines, and it is large enough that it is cloudy and rainy here. The weather might clear, but chances are it will get worse. …
Visit to a Cockfighting Arena
Mark, the fellow that runs the sari-sar store and who took me out to his farm on his motorcycle, wasn’t around for a couple of days. Yesterday morning, however, I spotted him at his store – which is at the front of his house – and we had a chance to chat some more. I got a lot of information from him about his life
Mark …