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Cycling Around Biliran

Submitted by on August 30, 2013 – 3:35 pm
Scenery on Biliran from the Main Road

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 eyes and throat to burn. By the end of the day, I sometimes can’t even keep my eyes open, they hurt so much. It’s compounded by the habit of burning piles of garbage. I can add this to the vast number of things that individuals get away with doing in the third world – things that end up having a negative effect on everyone else. I suppose the problem is that lots of garbage gets produced (particularly plastic bags) and there isn’t much in the way of garbage disposal. Therefore, people just sweep everything up into piles and then set fire to it. These piles of garbage don’t flare up into big flames and then burn up. Instead, they smoulder and send out thick clouds of toxic fumes. One of these piles will burn for two days in a row non-stop. A fire was lit in a yard near my room’s window yesterday afternoon, and the smoke poured into my room all night making it very uncomfortable. It seems to have burned itself out during the night, but I’m sure another garbage pile will be set on fire soon enough.

I’m pleased to report, however, that treating my infected bug bites with methyl alcohol appears to be very effective. The infected bite on my elbow cleared up completely. I then developed a far worse one on my right leg on the calf. The infection spread quickly until an area about a foot long running up and down my leg was extremely sore. I was having trouble putting weight on that leg because of the pain from the infection. But I started applying methyl alcohol to the center of the infection and over the last couple of days, the infection has receded and it looks like it is going to heal completely. That is great news, as it will save me a lot of trouble – visits to the hospital and antibiotic treatments.

Yesterday, I set off on my bicycle for a tour around the island. The island is small enough that I didn’t have to pack up my gear. I just set off with water for the day plus one pannier bag containing a tool kit, food, and my camera.

I went north along the coast road toward a town called Almeria. It was a very beautiful area with the newly planted rice fields all around and the quite high mountains in the distance. It was nice to be riding without the full load on my bike and I made it up the steep inclines easier, though not as easily as I expected. Even with just the bike, it was a struggle in first gear to make it to the top of these steep climbs.

I had seen signs for a hotel called Marvin’s as I approached Naval a couple of days ago. I discovered on this ride that it is located about 2 kilometers outside of Naval. I rode down the lane to this hotel to check it out to see if it was better than where I am currently staying. It looked to be a pretty fancy place, and it was located far from the center of town. That would make it less appealing to me. There wouldn’t be any places to eat in the surrounding area.

I also came across a couple of beach resorts. One seemed nice enough, though they only offered rooms. There were no beach bungalows. There is a huge amount of Filipino tourism, and most of these places cater to that market. As such, they are somewhat upmarket and are designed to handle large groups. Their aircon rooms were 1,000 pesos a night and their regular rooms were 400. Lately, I haven’t come across any nice beaches with white sand. To find those, you have to take a boat to the smaller islands offshore. The beaches on the main islands have all been dark sand. Worse, they are very shallow and somewhat muddy. You can only go swimming there at high tide. At low tide, there is just a wide mud plain. And when the water returns with the tide, it is usually a bit murky. I stopped a one resort to have a cold drink. I was the only person there and the waiter in the little restaurant answered my questions about the room prices. He also told me that it cost 700 pesos to rent a boot to paddle out to the nearest offshore island. I’m generally disappointed in how high the prices are. Of course, the prices are low for normal tourism. But for a long-term trip, 700 pesos just to rent a little paddle boat is a bit much. In the Philippines, I’ve often thought it would be great to have a small boat of one’s own just to paddle around in – a kayak or something like that. Don’t think I could manage to put one on my bike, though. I’d have to get a boat trailer.

The sun was out in full force, and the local people all thought it was necessary to point this out to me. People pointed up at the sun and then at their own heads, indicating to me that it was quite hot outside and that I shouldn’t be riding a bike, certainly not without a hat. Everyone was friendly and since I was in a good mood, I was kept busy returning all the greetings. Lots of groups of young men were lounging about in the shade. Many of them wanted me to stop and chat with them, but I just waved and kept cycling. I’ve stopped in the past, and I just get grilled about having or not having a Filipina wife. There are only so many times you can have the same conversation.

Ameria turned out to be a pleasant little spot. It was larger than I expected but not so large as to have traffic problems. There were a couple of nice-looking eateries and a few stores. In one alleyway, I spotted a balding middle-aged American man in a doorway. He had clearly done the expected thing and had married a local woman and was living there now. I had gotten the impression that a few retired Americans and Europeans lived on Biliran (just as they did on Camiguin), but this was the only foreigner I’ve seen anywhere. It’s been so long since I’ve encountered any foreigners let alone talked to one. I’m turning into quite the recluse.

In the end, I spent so much time exploring the little villages that I passed along the coast that I didn’t have the time or the energy to go all the way around the island. I simply stopped when I was about 30 kilometers from Naval and returned along the same road. I was worried that I wouldn’t have had the energy to go all the way around anyway. To complete that route, I’d have had to cycle over the center of the island, and that would have meant a large climb. I decided that it would be best to save that for another day. That might be where I go today.

 

 

Walking Around Naval
Cross-Island Road on Biliran

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