Coming from Manila to Cebu doesn't take
long. Clocking the flight, it takes less than three hours but I
remember it taking about two hours. From the airport we caught a cab
to the house we would stay at. We stayed with a couple and their last
name was North. The Norths were warm and very welcoming. We had a
gracious meal and did some laundry. The next morning we were given a
ride to the bus terminal.
Finding the bus to Bacolod was a breeze
but had to wait to buy our tickets until comfortably in our seats.
Luckily, the bus was almost empty on the way to the ferry. Meg and I
played cards and listen to audiobooks. Before we got to the ferry the
bus stopped and let everyone out for food. The line was so long that
I had barely eaten half of my food before I was forced to abandon
everything, because the bus was leaving. I made haste to the bus, as
it was doing a stop and go routine that I'd seen before, which was
bus-sign language for, “hurry up or I'll leave you!”
We made it to the ferry and had to get
out again to purchase the terminal fees, which is common at ferries
and airports, and usually isn't more than 100 P (about $3 USD). The
ferry wasn't bad at all. There was a first class section to the
ferry, which had air conditioning, and an economy section with long
benches, such as those at some churches. Additionally, there was a
mid-range ticket that we purchased and these tickets left you with
your own bed to lay in or lounge how you please. Meg passed out
shortly after laying down and I enjoyed the breeze, the sun, and some
Harry Potter on audiobook. I believe I was into my 2nd or
3rd Harry Potter book at this point. After the ferry, we
piled back into the bus and had picked up a few people at the port as
the bus now became much more full.
Arriving into the Bacolod bus terminal
in the late evening and with a few places for the night as options
already picked out, we went to task on locating them and choosing
one. None of our first picks that came from a guide book were very
nice and some even had a pungent smell of mold. We walked around
aimlessly and asked a few locals. We were coming up with null. Meg
remembered a hotel we had passed on the tricycle ride to the first
hotel that we had checked out. A new search began with the night fast
approaching, and in the end we found a winner.
Dropping our things off at the place
(Blue Roof Inn – Pension House) we'd found to be nice, comfortably
cheap, and acceptably clean, we then headed out for a spot of food.
Finding a place to eat was an equally time consuming task as we
couldn't make up our minds on what we wanted, what was an acceptable
price, and a restaurant that was still open. Some time later and
hunger gnawing at us, we gave up and landed in a restaurant with no
glee or smiles on our faces at the choice of the place.
Leaving the restaurant with our bellies
full, we tackled one of the markets to get some mangoes and
bandannas. With fresh fruit for the morning and no more choices to
make for the night, we called it a night. The next morning we just
had to wait for a ride to the farm that we'd be working on for the
next two weeks.
Tip for the Day: Don't assume your
shoes are up to snuff for a big hike or long walk without having
given them at least a test run or two...your feet will be better off.
Just a short clip of some neat art while traveling on the bus:
No comments:
Post a Comment