Jovan woke us up at 4:30. We had to be to the corner very early to catch the first bus to Ubay, the port for the ferries to Leyte. Jovan’s folks were up to see us off. We had a little wait at the corner for the bus but it showed up and we got on. We did get a gorgeous sunrise through the palm trees while we waited though!
I can’t report much on the ride because I slept most of the way. From where the bus stopped to the dock took a squeezed tricycle ride, with three white guys, a Filipino, our backpacks, and the driver. At the dock, we purchased our tickets and said goodbye to Jovan. He needed to leave to catch his bus back.
We rode the Leopards ferry, a big Filipino style boat with benches to sit on. We were early for the 9 o’clock departure so sat for a while and relaxed on the boat. A few more people got on, but it wasnt nearly full. Close to the departure time, the crew came through and made us all put on life jackets. A coast guard guy walked through the boat, got off, and everybody removed their life jackets!
The view from the boat was beautiful, too, but I spent some time sleeping there too. The ride was a little over 2 hours.
The boat lands in Hilongos. When we arrived, we needed food so we got adobo at a little restaurant by the road, and got a ride up to a van to Tacloban.
We did pretty well on the van. They never packed it really tight and so we were almost comfortable. It took about 2 1/2 hours to get to Tacloban. The driver was in a hurry and hit 125 kph at one point! The van dropped us at Robinsons and Renford met us there. We grabbed some food at KFC (chicken nuggets and spaghetti) and headed to Ford’s house. Ford and Mayettte live just a couple blocks from where Ford’s house was last time I was here.
We visited a while, then left by pedicab for Sharon’s house for singing. Sharon’s girls, KC and Sherylaine who is married to Edward, Ford’s mom Mana Lilia, Mayette’s mom Mana Hermenia, and Mayette’s sister Jesamine were there for singing and Jordan and Bev showed up in time for refreshments. The house was full and it was an awesome evening of singing, laughing, and visiting.
Back at Ford’s, some I did laundry til late and went to bed.
restless feet 