Off the beaten track | Long Time Gone

Had a good time exploring some new terrain yesterday. 12 kilometers and 3.5 hours with the “Walkers” will do that I suppose. Mostly flat lands but we made up for it with distance.

I went back out to the same area this morning for some more exploration. I won’t usually do that on my own, but at some point you just have to go for it. Still, walking through some of the poverty-stricken shanty towns made me feel a little nervous. I removed my debit card from the wallet and stashed it away in a different pocket just in case. I’d be screwed without that as it is my primary source of cash here these days. Anyway, it all went fine and I’m sure my paranoia was unjustified. In fact, I’ve got a new 1.5 hour walk that I can now incorporate into my weekly routine.

35,000+ was a first for the Philippines.

Enjoyed scenic vistas like the Grand Canyon of the Philippines…

I actually did a return visit to this little village in Barangay Purok this morning…

Dan, aka Bum Burglar, our leader for the Walker’s hike enjoying a well-earned beer at Cheap Charlies.

Actually, that was his second beer. Since we came back into Barretto through my subdivision, I invited the group to my house for a cold one.

I started my morning with the requisite walk with my Buddy, then headed out to Baloy Beach for some breakfast at the Blue Rock resort. I enjoyed my favorite food from France:

Then I made my way back out to Purok for another look around. This may be the Philippines, but it is December. So I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised to see–

99 bottles of beer on the tree, 99 bottles of beer. Take one down, pass it around, 98 bottles of beer on the tree…

The above is another good example of the creative use of trash here. I’ve actually been quite impressed by the ingenuity of the locals, poor though they may be, in finding ways to express their Christmas spirit.

And the people are indeed full of the holiday good cheer. Several times on my walk people would holler out from passing vehicles “Merry Christmas, Joe!” (Joe is the common term the locals use for us Yanks). It sounds sincere and nice even to a non-believer like me.

What is not so nice is what the locals do with the garbage that is not converted to Christmas decorations. I’ve mentioned the littering and dumping in the rivers. And what is not thrown away inappropriately is burned, contrary to local ordinances prohibiting such fires. The result is this: