Ugh, the heat. I am sweating in places that I didn’t know could sweat, and showering with cold water is very welcome. I am drinking a lot of water and mopping my brow constantly. Steve, one of the other volunteers, jokes that I am like an old lady because as I go nowhere without my fan.

Melissa left Sugod yesterday so I got to move into the bigger room. I was quite happy in my smaller room, but Ma’am Tess insisted, and I’ve learned that it’s very hard to argue with her. I’ve tried to get her to serve me dinner on a plastic plate just like everyone else, but she is adamant that volunteers must eat off the good crockery.

Banuae and Batad were amazing, I hope to post pictures soon. I have decided to give the experience the title of “Transport Nightmares” , or “examples of how traveling in 3rd world countries is always an adventure, and things never go the way they ought to,” or maybe even “When Typhoons Attack.” You’ll see why in a minute. As I mentioned in the previous post, the plans were for me to catch the 10-hour boat to Manila to meet Carolyn. So, I left Sugod for San Agustin (it rained all the way and I arrived soaked – that’s the reality of almost no covered transport! ) Once there, I jumped on a very full jeepney headed to Odiongan, and endured an uncomfortable 2 hours sandwiched between people and bags of rice. Halfway there, we got struck by lightning! Well, okay, it wasn’t lightning, it was a tire that blew, the tire directly under my seat. The noise was so loud, I really did think it was lightning and that we were all toast. After tyre repairs, we were finally on our way again and soon in Odiongan for the 5pm boat. Did I say 5pm? I meant 11pm! I was told that the boat wouldn’t leave until 11pm due to an imminent typhoon in Manila, and the new boarding time was 9pm. An hour later (5pm) we are told to board. And then we sit. And sit. For 6 hours we all sit on the boat and the boat goes NOWHERE. Filipinos are excellent at waiting though, they have infinite patience. No-one complains and makes a fuss. Sometime around midnight we eventually set sail, and arrive in Manila at 9.30am. I meet Carolyn and then go worship at the house of Starbucks, eat pasta, and discover tofu chips!!!! Oh the joy!
Then we try to get a taxi, fail miserably, and are rescued by a kind lady who pleads with taxi drivers until one agrees to drive us to the bus terminal for our 10 hour overnight bus to Banuae, gateway to the rice terraces. Of course when we get there they have no record of our booking, but luckily there are still a few seats left. We are also told that due to the recent typhoon in the area, the bus will only take us to Lampac, from where we’ll have to find alternative transport to Banuae. With no other options, and our sense of adventure strong (thank you, coffee), we decide to head to Banuae anyway. Our bus sets off at 10pm, and for a while all is good. We wake up at 3.30am when our bus stops. It stops and doesn’t move for SEVEN HOURS. Due to landslides (again, due to a typhoon), a bridge has collapsed and traffic is moving only in one direction. And so again, we sit and wait. Our bus finally moves again at 10.30am until we reach the collapsed bridge. We climb off, grab our bags, and make our way across the 2 rickety planks to the other side. We jump on jeepney #1 and continue on our way.
(us sitting on the top jeepney #1, definitely the best spot onboard)
We change jeepneys again in the next small town, and then again after another big landslide forces us to abandon jeepney #2 and make our way first through the mud of the landslide and then through the bush next to the landslide.


Jeepney number 3 finally drops us off in Banuae at around 5pm, a massive 19 hours after we left Manila. We found a nice hotel (ensuite, clean, for the grand total of NZ$14), find food, and then fall asleep. The next day we head to Batad with our guide, Michael, and 3 Filipino tourists. We drive for about an hour, but are prevented from getting all the way to the saddle by ….. a landslide caused by ….. (you guessed it) …. a typhoon!
So we climb out and start hiking to the top. We reach the saddle and then walk for an hour until we reach Batad. (There is no transport into the town. Everything is brought in on foot.) We have lunch, and then go walking among the terraces in the rain. It was beautiful!
Definitely worth the 2 hours of hiking and the rain dripping down my back and the blisters on my feet. We leave Batad late, and hike in the dark up to the saddle and back down to the landslide, only to find our van, driver and guide MIA. We keep walking, and seek refuge under the makeshift tent of a group of roadworkers who tell us we are beautiful. About an hour later, Michael and the van are back, and we head back to the hotel. A day later we’re back in Manila after an uneventful bus ride back, and the day after that I catch the boat back to Tablas. Whew!
(the bus ticket office)