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 beautiful, it was no more beautiful than other places I’d been on Catanduanes and it was far less interesting. Add to that the higher expenses of staying there and how dissatisfied I was with the restaurant/café, and I really didn’t feel like staying another night. I really missed just being out there in “normal” Catanduanes, and I decided to leave in the morning.

I woke up just after sunrise the next morning, and after breakfast and a couple of hours of enjoying the beach and the views, I slowly packed up my bike and was ready to leave at 9. I knew it was about 30 kilometers to Virac and I had been assured by everyone that the road was cemented the entire way. Still, I wasn’t counting on that, and even if it was cemented, there could be massive mountains in the way and it could still be a long and physical day.

I felt so great upon leaving Pururan. It was fantastic to be back on the road and chatting with people at the side of the road and saying “hello” back to everyone that called out “Hey, Joe.” I found Baras to be an interesting and friendly place. I’d much rather have spent the night in Baras experiencing Filipino life than sitting on that empty beach at Pururan. There was good food everywhere out on display. I felt at home.

People had warned me about some very steep and long climbs that I faced. In the end, though, it was the easiest day I’d had on the road by far. There was one quite long climb, but the road was cemented and I just slowly powered my way up. It was no big deal, and I enjoyed all the small barangays along the way. I swept down the slope on the other side and then it was pretty much flat all the way to Virac.

After settling back into a nice room at the Villa Toledo in Virac (HIGHLY recommended to all, by the way), I dropped by the tourism office and was pleased to find the woman that had offered to take me with the tour group long ago. She apologized for having to leave early that day. The tour group had insisted on it, and she couldn’t wait for me. I told her about my journey around Catanduanes, and she went through all the pictures I’d taken on my camera. It was great to be able to share my experiences with someone who could understand them to an extend.

I saw the manager of the Villa Toledo briefly – the woman who had asked me “Are you sure?” when I announced my intentions to cycle around Catanduanes. She didn’t react in any way when she saw me and did not ask about my trip. However, the owner of the hotel, a friendly man named Peter, was very interested and I had a satisfying chat with him telling him of all my glowing impressions of Catanduanes and what it was like to be out there cycling.

I slept well that night, and I was at Jollibee just after six the next morning for a pleasant cup of coffee. The chilled air and pounding night club music seemed like old friends now. And I recognized a song by Avril Lavigne. That threw my mind back to my very first night on the road – my night in Salvacion at the restaurant with the many posters of this upbeat Canadian pop star. Only ten days had passed since that night, but in the way of journeys like this, it felt much longer ago. It felt like life consisted of this island and little else. Virac had gone from being the end of the world in my eyes to almost the entire world. I wondered what it would feel like to be on the ferry heading away from Catanduanes. I know that I will miss this place once I leave it. I was very glad that I had come here so soon on my journey. My time in the many small barangays – with Grandpa, with Alfred, with the barangay captain of San Vicente, with the postmaster – could easily become the benchmark on which to judge further travels in the Philippines. I’d learned a lot about what these 7,107 islands of the Philippines have to offer and also what I was capable of on the bike. I felt encouraged to go as much into the countryside as possible, knowing that the best experiences lie not perhaps in big centers but in the smallest barangays where everyone calls me Joe and then soon knows my real name.

 

Tags: barangay captain, Catanduanes Bike Trip, Philippines Bike Trip 2013, Pururan, Villa Toledo, Virac