Articles tagged with: barangay
A Wonderful Night in Viriato
I was cycling at a pretty good pace (good for me, that is), and some rough calculations told me that I could make it to Calbayog before dark if I wanted to. However, the land had other ideas about that and it suddenly became much hillier and I was reduced to my usual stately crawl up long steep slopes. At that pace, reaching Calbyog seemed …
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 Filipino sitcom playing. I guess it would be unfair to criticize a sitcom, but it was extremely corny and over-acted. I also noted that nearly every single member of the …
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 something that in its way might be a lot better. It was certainly a lot more interesting – a room in a private home.
The owner of the house was Domingo …
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 from there to Virac, I was told. I should have known better than to trust any of these informants. One road from Bagmananoc to Virac may indeed have been paved. …
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 some pleasant countryside and villages, occasionally climbing up some steep hills and bouncing and crashing down the other side. My goal for the day was the barangay of Bagmananoc – …
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 understood from many conversations I’d had that I should present myself to the barangay captain to obtain his permission and protection. I rode around San Vicente, and people actually made …
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 no sisters at all. And then DNA evened up the affair quite a bit by providing him with an entire sea of granddaughters. The five brothers were all farmers and …
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 where I was going to spend the night. I was prepared to spend the night in my tent, but I wasn’t fully organized for that. I did not have food …