bouncing buses and super small boats.

I encountered many more adventures this past week than I had originally planned. I have learned to be flexible and in this I have found myself in the strangest places with new friends each time.

I had spent a little over two months in Tacloban, Leyte, another island, a year and a half ago. I have many friends there that I have missed so much. From the moment I arrived here in Bohol I had planned to spend October 31st to November 8th in Tacloban hanging out with friends once again since the Deaf school will be on semester break. Well, the AG church I have been attending was holding a women’s conference from November 3-4th. So I prayed about it and talked with some friends who also thought it would be beneficial to come back to Bohol early and attend the women’s conference.

The adventure starts on October 31st. I woke up at 3am in order to do my devotions and prepare myself before leaving at 4:30am. I knew the first van left the terminal at 6am, however I live 5km away from the terminal and needed to find a ride. So I gave myself plenty of time to wave one down. At 4:30am I proceeded to walk about 1 km to the highway where I only waited about 15 minutes before a tricycle driver (a motorcycle with a really cool side car) was able to pick me up and take me to the terminal. At 5am I was not prepared to argue with him in my broken Visayan so I paid almost twice the rate I was prepared (still only about 50cents) as he took me the long way to the terminal. As many of you know, time is not really of importance in third world countries. So even though the first van leaves at 6am… really we left about 5:30 since the van was already full. 50 degrees hotter and Two hours later I found myself in Ubay, another city on the other side of Bohol. I was told I could take a boat to Leyte for very cheap. Along with that advice I was told it was only a little smaller than the ships I had taken in the past. Well… the ships seated about 200 and were enclosed… this boat was maxed out at 40 with splashes from the ocean on occasion.. And that is 40 Filipinos, so really only 20 Americans. Not to mention about 10 minutes into the open sea that same friend who told me to take that boat text me and said that another typhoon was heading toward manila and maybe I should take the bigger boat to be safe. Thanks. On this boat I made some friends who harvest seaweed for a living. They actually make a lot of money doing this. They have their own private section near a small island. They gave me their phone numbers and prompted me to call them once Josh arrives and they will have us come with to their plot and let us snorkel for free while they harvest some seaweed. I am not sure if Josh is up for that, but I sure am. Don’t worry mom, I won’t go alone. Another two hours later and I arrived in Bato, Leyte. I was able to catch a van from Bato to Tacloban which took about 3 and a half hours. It was a long trip. I could have taken a plane ride which takes 1 hour for about $25, but this trip cost me about $6 total and I met some new friends.

Once I arrived in Tacloban I was shocked! It is a new city. They built a HUGE mall, even bigger than the malls here in Bohol. And also they tore down the small store that I always went to and built a bigger version of it adding a KFC and a Pizza Hut! Not only that, they have Stop lights and cops now! People seemed to be obeying the traffic laws even more than they do in Bohol. They also built a dome that has different bars and coffee shops all around it. There is WiFi every corner you turn. And my favorite Videoke (karaoke with pictures) bar has closed down, moved across town and now has Huts and cement floors instead of Nipa walls with a dirt ground. The people seem to have more confidence no matter what part of town I was in. A much different feel to the entire city. All I have to say is that if I had arrived in Tacloban now instead of a year and a half ago, it would have been a different experience. It made me realize the importance of God’s timing at an even greater depth.

After the short trip of seeing all my friends and accidentally making new ones, I was off again at 3am on Monday morning. I found a van that was going to Maasin, Leyte. None were going to Bato. I was almost positive that Bato was on the way to Maasin. However, my Vasayan was no good in Tacloban since they speak Wary-Wary. And all I could remember was Please, thank-you, how much does it cost, and Stop. So, those phrases didn’t help in figuring out my way back to Bohol. Anyway, yes, Bato was on the way and I got off near the port and rode on a bicycle of nice guy to the end of the pier. I noticed there was a boat going to Talibon, Bohol that left half an hour earlier than the boat to Ubay. They are both equal distance to Tagbilaran, however the boat should take less time to get to Talibon by the way of the waves. This would have been true if we had not had engine trouble half way to bohol. No problem, we made it. It took much longer, but we made it. Then once I arrived I decided to take the bus that was ready to leave, rather than wait for a van to fill up. The bus was so full I had to hang on to the outside of it for the first 10 minutes, then I was able to stand inside for another 15 minutes before getting a seat. November 1st is All souls All saints day. Bad day to travel. All the Filipinos go to the grave site of their dead loved ones and celebrate the life they remember with that person. Everyone travels on the 1st and 2nd as they are National holidays as well. The entire bus ride ended up taking 5 hours. I should have waited for a van. Either way, I made it.

I didn’t realize how much actually happened this past week. I guess the Women’s conference will have to wait until another post. I will try to put up pictures of it all soon. Thanks for your prayers. I am certain that is why I have peace when I travel without an itinerary and still arrive