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Jungle Night Noises – Camping at Bulusan Volcano Natural Park

May 13, 2013 – 11:20 am
Lake at Bulusan Volcano Natural Park

It turned out that the camping area was more of a myth than reality. It wasn’t a camping area as such. They just allowed people to put up their tent on a small grassy patch right beside the park buildings. That was fine with me, and I decided to stay there. They even had a bathroom available and tables and chairs – everything I could …

Coast Road Paradise – Cycling from Sorsogon to Bulusan

May 12, 2013 – 11:13 am
Crossing a Bridge Along the Coast

I’m very happy to report that my next day of cycling – tough as it was, and it was very tough – was far more pleasant than my first. It was different because I quickly managed to turn off the main highway and follow a coastal road. Following the coast road means covering a lot more distance and going up and down steep hills as …

Bus and Truck Madness – Cycling from Legazpi to Sorsogon City

May 11, 2013 – 10:54 am
The Handlebars of My Bike on the Road to Sorsogon

Bus and Truck Madness – Cycling from Legazpi to Sorsogon City
Speaking of a menacing aspect, I was saying that I eventually got on my bicycle and rode the 60 or 70 kilometers to the next town in Bicol – a bustling little place called Sorsogon. The Bicol region is divided into two provinces – Albay and Sorsogon. The town of Legazpi is in Albay Province. …

From Catanduanes back to Legazpi

May 3, 2013 – 3:57 pm
Denatured Alcohol for a Trangia Stove

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 night – places like San Vicente. However, I was a bit worried about my luggage in Legazpi. I had been gone longer than I’d anticipated, and I was worried that they would …

Cycling Catanduanes 8 – My Gigmoto Host Domingo Tatel

April 20, 2013 – 10:40 am
My hosts in Gigmoto - the gracious Domingo Tatel and his cousin

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 6 – Trying to Say “Bagamanoc”

April 17, 2013 – 10:31 am
One of the many people I chatted with on this day.

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 4 – Journey to San Vicente

April 16, 2013 – 10:21 am
Baldoc, Catanduanes - The people here supplied me with cold water.

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. Most said variants on the “too far” and “impossible” line. Others said that the entire road was under construction just like the road from Virac to Pandan. Others said that …

Cycling Catanduanes 3 – Videoke Nightmare in Caramoran

April 16, 2013 – 10:13 am
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

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 …