The Wednesday Walkers changed things up and took a rare trip out to SBMA (aka The old Navy base) for our adventure. With our smaller turnout lately, we have more transportation options. Scott’s car carried the four of us comfortably and allowed us to explore some new terrain. The skies were threatening, but the rain held off throughout our 7K pavement hike.
A good day on base!
I went home to rest and refresh; then, I was off to the Wednesday feeding at Hideaway. I sent Joy out to get whatever she and the girls wanted. She came back with chicken, pork on a stick, and pancit.
After leaving Hideaway, I stopped at Blue Butterfly and shared a drink with my favorite there, Tanya. There was a lady walking the streets selling food from a basket. I asked the girls if they were hungry and got an affirmative response. Tanya spoke to the vendor in Tagalog; then I paid for 270 pesos worth of food (not sure what, some kind of burger-like thing). The vendor went on her way. Later I noticed that most of the food was uneaten, and Tanya told me it was not fresh. Apparently, the vendor had assured her otherwise. It’s the first time I’ve seen that happen, and obviously, it is the last time I’ll make a purchase from this woman (I’ve made several in the past, but now she has lost my trust).
I finished my night at Wet Spot and enjoyed some time with the big shots at the back slapper’s table. Later, I noticed Saja was back to work (she’s a schoolmate of Mary), so I invited her over for a drink. Her boyfriend has returned to his homeland, Germany, I think she said, for work, and she has come back to Wet Spot, at least for now.
And so ended another night in the Bars of Barretto. At least there was no trouble of this kind:
I never walk home. That’s what trikes are for!
This felt more like one of my walks, what with all that asphalt. Go longer, in that case! I wanna see 20K if you’re on flat ground! Hell, you and I did about 18K together the last time we met.
I decided not to live here because it was too much like home–I wanted to live in the Philippines, damn it!
Are you OK with that decision?
I think one of my major gripes living there would have to be the overly frequent power outages. That would bug the hell out of me after a while. In my ancient apartment building, we have planned outages a few times a year because the maintenance crew is always stripping out and replacing old wiring somewhere in the building. That’s already annoying. I can’t imagine the power dropping every time there’s serious weather. The frustration would come from the fact that repeated power outages mean people never learn their lesson and improve the power infrastructure. It’s like accidentally walking into the same huge pothole every single day.
The menu
So, given the menu’s nautical design, I’m guessing Vasco da Gama (amusingly, the email address on the menu mentions another navigator: Magellan). Was the fare seafood-themed? I could go for a pile of fried clams with hushpuppies on the side.
Anchors away!
Yes: anchors aweigh, indeed.
As you can see, pancit is a noodley dish. I don’t particularly care for it. Filipinas seem crazy about it, though.
Looks a bit like Korean-Chinese japchae.
A good day, all in all. No special drama, aside from the woman not selling fresh food. Did you make up for the bad food by buying better food?
Interesting walk. Did not know much about the history of Subic Bay, so your post piqued my interest. Thought this comment I found was interesting:
“On November 24, 2022, a day before the 30th anniversary of the U.S. Navy’s departure, Rolen C. Paulino, chairman of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), said that he would be “very surprised” if Subic Bay does not return to service as a U.S. military facility through the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement,”
Did you see any signs of US military presence during your walk?
Brian, during the recent joint US-PI military exercise there were several American Navy ships in port and lots of cargo and troops were flown into the air field at Cubi Point. So, for that two weeks you could definitely spot a lot of American military personnel on SBMA. They are all gone now and I saw nothing during the walk to indicate a permanent presence is coming in the future. Everything I’ve read about the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement says the former bases at Subic and Clark in Angeles will NOT be reactivated.
We shall see what happens in reality. The facilities at SBMA seem like they would be ideal to support a larger US military presence here.
Kevin, I gotta say, 8-10K is my comfort level, even on flat paved ground. I didn’t remember we had gone as far as we did during our walk; I guess I’ve really lost my stamina since that day. I could see myself doing a long morning and another long afternoon walk; I’d just need a significant rest break (i.e., nap) in between.
Nope, during the hike, I commented that I had made the right choice in rejecting retired life on SBMA. It would have been a completely different lifestyle and would have required having a vehicle. It would be nice and comfortable in many ways but also boring. It still has that vanilla “living in America” vibe. Maybe if I had a wife and was a stay-at-home kind of guy, it would be okay, but I’m glad I chose Barretto.
As to the power situation, we do get more outages than I was used to in Korea or the States, but they do come with every storm. We have had a couple of recent scheduled “brownouts” while the power company trims tree branches away from the lines, which should help reduce outages in the coming stormy season. But yeah, it’s a pain in the ass (when I lose power, I also have no water pressure), and I can hear the generators come on all over the neighborhood. For me, it hasn’t been so frequent or long in the dark as to warrant such a purchase. I guess I’m adapting to life in the third world. And don’t get me started on those damn potholes!
I don’t know a whole lot about Vasco’s, but have I heard the owner was a shipwreck treasure hunter at one time. There is a small museum attached to the restaurant displaying some artifacts. There is definitely a nautical theme to the place, but it is not reflected in the food offerings, which are pretty much your standard resto-bar fare. It’s funny; I hadn’t made the connection between Vasco de Gama and the name of the place. Of course, Magellan was the Spanish explorer who “discovered” the Philippines and got killed by a local warlord named Lapu-Lapu down in Cebu during his first (and last) visit.
Anchors Away is just another way to spell “too lazy to look it up.” Thanks for the link! I won’t make that mistake again.
No, I didn’t buy any replacement food for the girls. I really only bought from the vendor to help her out. As I mentioned, I had bought stuff from her for bargirls several times in the past. Coincidentally, she was at Sloppy Joe’s last night when I arrived last night, and she didn’t say anything to me about buying from her. I think she knows that I know what she did.