This proved a bit of a sprint through these areas as we were running low on time. We had got the slow boat across to Leyte and in Bato we were able to get an even slower bus to Tacloban City. They had a giant jehovah's witness conference on in the city at the time, but we were able to get a cheap hotel. The quality of accommodation relative to the price is so much greater in Leyte and Samar than it is in the touristy parts of the country.
There wasn't a lot to do so we got a buffet breakfast and took a van to Calbayog. This took forever as well, but the scenery was really beautiful. If you want to see a really pretty area with not many tourists then I would recommend spending some time on Samar. We regretted not having much time to look around there. Hire a motorbike and enjoy the scenery. In Calbayog we got a late van to Allen and found a shitty but cheap hotel in this shitty little town. Allen really is a dump. I am not sure why LP recommends you should stay this side if you arrive late, because the other side doesn't look any shitter and the buses and ferries are 24 hours. I doubt LP goes anywhere they say they do after what we just found out in Kerinci Valley but thats for later when I catch up with myself in Sumatra. We decided to visit Biri for the day in case we got trapped there. It was somewhat of a mistake. I would definitely recommend staying on the Biri Islands if you come here.
In the morning they wanted us to take a tricycle for 150 pesos to the local town with the boats to Biri Island. We had also been told that the boats went at 6am. Both of these are bollocks. The town is 10km from Allen and I called their bluff by deciding to walk. Sure enough 5 minutes later a jeepney comes by and we paid only 10 pesos each. I would advise setting off at 7am and insisting on the jeepney and the price of 10 pesos per person. The public boat is 50 pesos each, but naturally they wanted a 'special trip' fare for only 1000 or so. I feel so special with all these 'special trips'. We stood our ground and about 8am or so we left for 50 pesos each. When you land head left to the main town and follow the road round to the rock formations. They try to sell you cheap motorcycle trips and tell you its miles away. Be careful. You have to pay a fee to see the rocks and you pay an additional fee for transport so that cheap fare stops being cheap. Its only about a 4km walk maximum to the rock formations from the town and with the additional walk it took us just over an hour from the boat landing. The scenery is impressive, but the rocks are stunning. One of the prettiest places we have seen on our trip. The rocks have been carved up into stunning vistas by the sea. You can swim over to the rock formations on your left when you arrive, but the ones on the right can be waded to after walking across the bridge and are probably the more impressive of the two. We met a local woman and her Australian husband to be and naturally were invited for food and drink. It was nice but rushed as we were wary of missing the last public boat back around midday or 1pm. Its another reason to stay on the island. When we got back to the port they told us there were no more public boats and that we would have to pay 200 each and wait an hour. I had my suspicions so I walked about 100 metres further and got offered a public boat for 50 each. You can't trust boatmen in this country. Overall it was well worth the trip. Even the ordinary islands on the way back had stunning beaches and water, but this was just becoming par for the course in the Philippines. We had to break some money and came back to Allen. We wanted to find out what time the boats went, but the people were fucking useless. Allen was one of the most annoying places we stayed in the Philippines. The boats just leave when full with no fixed timetable. Great. We met a German couple in the evening and they seemed to be the only other travellers not going to Palawan. They had travelled all over South East Asia many times and lamented the fact that there weren't many genuine travellers anymore. Shit. Maybe it wasn't a difference between Asia and Latin America. Maybe it was just a universal change in traveller types. They said it had been cool to meet some real travellers and once again we were heading in the opposite direction to some cool people.
There was a delay with the ferry the next day. Of course. We then had a fight about taking jeepneys on the far side and eventually had to settle for a fee to Sorsogon. From there we got a bus to Legazpi. We were getting tired of transport here. If only we flew lol. Most of the hotels were full and we had to wander around for a while before we found somewhere. Mt Mayon was covered in clouds but it is still a perfectly formed volcano. Really pretty.
In the morning we visited the Cagasawa ruins by jeepney, which are not as tacky as LP says and worth a detour. We then took our bags up to Danaga church for a beautiful lunch overlooking Mt Mayon. This time there were no clouds. We tried Bicol food for the first time. Its spicier than the normal food here and done with a lot of coconut. The dishes are truly tasty though Naga is where we would really see the level of food. When we finished we went down and got a bus to Naga. We chatted with a local policeman all the way there and it was onwards to the final part of our time in the Philippines.
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