Touring Negros - Sipalay

Wednesday, February 3rd;

Wellbeach to Sipalay is a longer drive. The roads remain good while you are in Negros Oriental but once you leave Bayawan you have some very interesting stretches. We stopped less because Leroy knew we would need the time but we saw some interesting sights as we traveled.

We passed a man on a tricycle, one hand on the handlebar of his bike, one holding a tuna. The tuna was big enough that it almost touched the pavement. As we passed we saw he had his child in front of him, hanging on for dear life.

It was Market day somewhere nearby and many of the tricycles now had cages on the sidecar carrying one or more water buffalo.

A bus went by filled to the brim with people and among the bags and luggage on the top a small goat was all curled up for the ride.

We stopped in a small village of bamboo houses where the road looked down over a valley of rice paddies. Dan got out to take pictures and the children waved shyly to us coming out of their homes to have their pictures taken.

We drove into Bayawan and headed for the waterfront for our mid-morning cold drink. On a side street we passed a garden FULL of orchids and the lady was picking a huge bouquet. The waterfront has been designed as a wide roadway with a boardwalk on the ocean side. It goes far past the actual town as if the city planners have great ideas for the future and expect the town to catch up. At the moment it ends in a lovely stand of nipa growing by the water.

We found an art gallery on the sand and wandered, apparently alone, until we found a mother and child sound asleep on a bed among the displays. One of the artists arrived from across the street and we spoke to him for a bit. Riza liked his painting of African children but he did not feel it was finished so it was not for sale. I liked the yellow beach scene but how to get it home???

We stopped nearby for our soda and then carried on again. We were in lots of time to get to Sipalay before a lunch stop.

Well we were until we heard the unmistakable sound of a flat tire. The one that had been fixed failed us again. A passing motorist stopped to help and the men got the spare back on. We decided to go back to Bayawan as it was large enough to fix or replace the tire. Continuing on over very bad road with no spare would have been foolhardy.

Once again we were on our way and now we had to travel to make the distance before sunset. We still saw interesting sights along the way. A man on a motorbike with his passenger riding behind him balancing a table on his head. The dirt road wound up hills and down to the sea with lookouts often giving marvelous views of bays and fishing villages.

We caught up with a little blue car - Steve and Kathy had decided to join us one more night. We followed them through Sipalay and down to the beach beyond.

Our fist stop was Artistic Divers but it had a much younger more boisterous crowd. We walked down the beach and chose to stop at Robinson@Cruse. Very quiet in a pleasant garden setting with a nice pool. Each raised cabana by the pool had a raised seating area and a private change area as well. The sun was setting as we checked in and we walked down the beach to enjoy the last rays.

As we turned to come back we decided to stop at Easy Divers for dinner. This was the resort where we had planned to stay. I recommend it! Dinner was marvelous, the resort and the dive shop appear very professionally run. The rooms are cottages scattered up the hill. We really enjoyed our evening and walked back up the beach in the dark.

Our last night on this adventure. In the morning we headed back to Calibago. We bought more market baskets from a vendor Riza knew. We stopped at Kabankalan for lunch at a roadside restaurant with amazing orchids. We visited Riza’s father for a few moments and the garden we raided is on the mend! We drove into a small town and into the middle of the fiesta and parade! We saw a long flatbed truck lying down beside the road. The brave driver must have decided to head for the fields rather than kill the people in the van he collided with.

And then we were passing through Mercia and down the familiar rough road to Calibago. The dog was still sleeping in the middle of the road. The bamboo house has two walls and half a roof now as the owner continues to build. There were only two lady water buffalo in the creek enjoying their spa. The roosters on the hill were cowering in their little houses out of the hot afternoon sun. Then we drove down into the village and saw Caesar’s smiling face as he held the gate open to welcome us home. Good to be back in our quiet, cool place on the river!