Will wonders never cease? The sun is shining for the second day in a row! And “all the things” are good and right in the world…

“you’re my blue skies, you’re my sunny day….”

I took advantage of the sunshine yesterday to take a walk I’ve been contemplating since I first arrived in Barretto. Hiking along the National Highway to the Kalaklan Gate at the old Navy base. I’ve hesitated about doing so because it seemed it might be dangerous given the heavy traffic, generally poor Filipino driving skills including disrespect for pedestrians, and a lack of shoulder in places. But I’m getting bored with limited walking choices here in town so I said “fuck it, I’m going to walk to the base!”. And off I went. (spoiler alert: I survived. Hence, I am able to post some photos of the adventure)

This is the highway right outside Barretto proper. It’s quite a scenic walk actually.

Must be nice to live next to a waterfall. Except maybe when it’s not.

The shoulder was actually almost non-existent in places and so for obvious reasons I didn’t stand there to take a photo. Also, I discovered that the white line DOES NOT prevent vehicles from encroaching on my rightful place to walk…

Still, in a worse case scenario I suppose my burial would have been convenient.

The hike also afforded some new perspectives on the beauty of Subic Bay…

All told it was about two hours to the gate and back.

Will I make the hike again? Perhaps. It did get a little dicey in places and I’m not sure risking life and limb is the smartest course of action. Glad I crossed this off my bucket list at least. I think I’ll incorporate some variety in my walks by taking a Jeepney to the base and then walking on the comparatively wide and well maintained streets there. We’ll see.

Last night after darts I joined in a birthday celebration for one of my fellow darters. I was actually surprised he sprang to the full lechon feast. It’s the national dish of the Philippines doncha know?

It’s one of my favorite traditional foods here. Similar to pulled pork (and I’ve had it where everyone is literally pulling the meat of with their fingers and eating it) without the sauce. Lots of folks really go for the crispy skin as well.

Nothing to lose your head over though. Unless you are the pig.

Anyway, the day ended better than it began and that’s about the best you can hope for I suppose.