La Leyte-Samar Sizzle

At last, I went east!

Go grab a map. Go, go, this can wait. Do you have it? Look right. See those two islands which look like they’re kissing each other? Apparently, you can already go around Leyte and Samar for three days or less if you wanted to. Imagine that.

Before my sis could finish asking me if I’d like to go with her on a low-budget weekend tour around Leyte and Samar, I was already mentally packing my travel bag. I thought, wow, talk about raging seas from the Pacific Ocean (never mind the storms), of Visca, the MacArthur landing, and… and… what else do I know of these islands?

Unfortunately, the Internet does not offer much info on Samar and Leyte, either. You go to the travel sites and rarely do you find these provinces mentioned. It even took me some time to get my hands on a reliable map. I gave up looking for a listing of hotels.

So what? It just makes it more of an adventure.

Day One

8:00 AM

We took the 6 AM SuperCat trip and landed in Ormoc City. The ticket cost around P580 pesos. Art (my sis’ honey) and his dark green Adventure met us at the terminal. First stop – guess. What else? Jollibee!

I didn’t see much of Ormoc City but from where we were, I could see that they have recovered well from the great flood. The town center looks like every other town center in the Philippines—there’s Jollibee, Mercury drug stores, bakeshops, the common sari-sari stores, old cinemas and more. I see no mall or a coffee shop, though. Bummer.

10:00 AM

Still in Ormoc, we went on to Lake Danao. You turn right from the main road and follow the off-beaten path. It was scenic enough but more, I was dazzled by the weather. You’d be amazed at how quickly it changes. It could be sunny, drizzling, or both. And the air was always cool.

Our first glimpse of Lake Danao was disappointing. This was it? My sis and I rolled our eyes. It took us a long time going there, and then this was it? The least it could have been was bigger. I’m gonna kill Henryl, I said. He told me it was nice so how could I not insist that we go?

Then we explored further. There’s a banca for rent for P50 an hour. We opted for the floating cottage instead at P75. We discovered it was worth it.

The lake is indeed bigger. You just have to look on the other side to see that it stretches way back to Lake Danao Elementary School. The view is fantastic. It’s so peaceful, it’s almost magical.

You see the majestic mountains up ahead covered with pine cones, banana trees and ferns. (By the way, there are edible ferns for sale at the side of the road). The twisting lake sparkles as the sun’s rays and raindrops hit the surface.

The water’s cold. It looks dark and is said be 75 meters deep at the center. Scary. Imagine sizzling lumot and what other creatures crawling down there. Makes me wonder if a cousin of the Loch Ness monster lives there, too.

But all in all, I’ll let Henryl live after all.

11:00 AM

We went back to the main road, sped down Kananga and stopped at Breakneck Ridge. If you’re not looking for it, chances are you’ll miss it. There are about 40 steps going up, some of which are already mossy from non-use.

The place used to be a Japanese stronghold, I’m told. Today, it’s a memorial. A few Japanese still go there to light a candle and pay homage to their ancestors.

The area’s really not that big. On one side you see the sea and on the other, you see the hills, the plains and the road leading to the camp. With the view, their soldiers were easily alerted to enemies trying to breach the territory they stole from us. There’s a hut with Japanese writings inside I do not understand. I just hope that whatever accolades they put there, they also remember the atrocities they did to our people and learn from it.

The place was eerie. I was afraid to take pictures there.

12:30 PM

Brought some home made cookies in Carigara. Yummy.

2:00 PM

Tacloban City. Well, it looks like Cagayan -- or almost like it. And they have Bo’s coffee (awraaytt!) Here, people already speak Waray and I was told not to ask for sili. (I wonder what happens if I do… hmmm)

As we munched on lunch in a place called Ocho, I decided that Leyte is indeed a sleepy province. People are laidback and seem to go about their business like they have all the time in the world. I kinda miss that kind of environment.

We passed by the Sto. Niño shrine, Price Mansion, and UP Tacloban (it’s big!). I scrutinized sculptural monuments such as the Crucified Christ with the map of Leyte at the back, as well as the topless Madonna of Japan. She’s beautiful and she looks Asian, I like it.

3:00 PM

While we were on our way to Palo, I realized that the Japanese and Americans are quite a big thing in the history of Leyte. Here, it seems, they go “Bad Japanese!” and “Hail Americans!”

I really can’t blame them. As I saw MacArthur and his troops frozen in that “I shall return” moment in a very elaborate park by the Pacific Ocean, I too was ready to shout “Hail, MacArthur!” Gosh, he managed to look so cute and so M-A-N at the same time, I think I had a momentary lapse of sanity and mooned over him a bit. Achoo!

4:00 PM

On to Samar. There it was -- the famous San Juanico Bridge! Methinks it’s really the nicest bridge I saw in my life. Aside from the unique L-S shape of the bridge, you’d be delighted by the little green islands accessorizing the blue sea. Unfortunately, we’re not allowed to stop so I couldn’t take pictures.

The road to Catbalogan and then Calbayog, Samar is literally a pain in the ass. There are potholes everywhere on the twisted road. But somehow, the scenery makes you forget all that.

Seeing Leyte and now Samar, I realize where they get the term “Tropical Paradise”. You remember when you were a kid and were asked to draw a landscape? Typically, it goes with this mix -- the nipa hut, the plains, the mountains, and the setting/rising sun. Now I know that those early masterpieces were inspired by the beauty of these provinces.

The scenery looks like a cross between going to Baguio and Medellin. They’ve got wider plains though and more hills or mountains.

8:00 PM

Calbayog is a coastal town. One side is lined by the sea. In this town, we met my sister’s Chinese friend Alvin who apparently owns the town of Calbayog (hehehe, just kidding)

He took us to Kamayan sa Karayman where we had one of the best seafood meals in our lives. Over saucy fish, veggie omelet, crabs, fried shrimps, squid, and etc., I listened to them talk on and on about corrupt politics and how difficult it is to deal with businessmen in Samar. You’ve got to know how to play the game there.

Alvin checked us in at La Vista Pensionne. It’s said to be one of the better ones, but it still looked “horror” to me. Good thing I was told early on not to expect much from Samar hotels. Besides, I was too tired and sleepy by then to really care.


DAY 2

9:30 AM

Breakfast at Alvin’s place -- located at the 5th floor of his building. A typical Chinese, his family has a store below and a temple on the top floor.

The breakfast was wonderful. Thank you, Alvin, for that great hospitality. You’re the best!

As for Samar, well, let’s just say it’s a place I’m glad to have been to once in my life. But go back? It can wait for long.

11:00 AM

Onto the very looooong trip from Samar back to the other side of Leyte – Tacloban, Palo, Mayorga, Abuyog, and then Baybay.

6:00 PM

Wowowow! I’ve got to say that Baybay, Leyte is my favorite of them all. And I concede – VISCA, now known as LSU or Leyte State University, is the most beautiful campus I’ve seen. Yeah, even better looking than UP.

Where else can you find plantations with mosquito nets? Or a thriving mini zoo inside the campus? There’s a variety of cottage-like dorms up and down the hill. When you go up, there are the colleges with a great view of the sea, the majestic mountains and more. And it’s cold, I like it. Makes me wanna go back to school there just so I can bask in it everyday and write!

7:00 PM

We checked in at LSU Hostel, fronting the Camotes Sea. We found a few lovers by the beach. I was delighted to find non-aircon rooms good for two at only P300. The room is big, clean and definitely better looking than La Vista in Samar. If the cool air is not enough for you, there are also air-conditioned rooms at P600. If you want to add TV and a ref, rates vary at P1,000, P1,200, and P1,600.

Then we went to the port of Baybay at the town proper, where they reputedly have the best tasting barbecued chicken. Yeah, it was good – soft and tender, if you like. But San Pedro’s lechon manok is still the best.


DAY 3

6:30 AM

The drive to Hilongos while the sun was rising behind the mountains was definitely the best view I’ve seen so far. Especially when you see the trees and the colors of the light reflected in the watery plains.

You know how you sometimes throw in the word spectacular just to come up with an adjective though the subject really falls short of spectacular? Or how you use spectacular as a cliché though you really don’t mean it?

Well, this time, this is it – it’s really spectacular. Stunning-impressive-fantastic-fabulous spectacular. God’s truth, I fell in love with it. I was so quiet during the ride, I didn’t want to go.

In Hilongos, we purchased Oceanjet tickets at P500 each back to Cebu. We boarded at 8:00 AM. As I looked at the coast one last time, I only have one thought in my mind:

I shall return.