Mamanwa Tribe in Samar
I was cruising along the back roads of central Samar and came across this settlement called the Mamanwa tribe.
After a quick introduction, the group leader, Jennifer agreed to let us take a few pictures and talk with us.
She is only 19 years old but has been designated the chief of this rag-tag group re-settled in this remote area of Samar by the Philippine government.
She is now in her first year of high school in Calapi, Samar, but she has wisdom beyond her years and walks with confident authority.
These people speak both Waray and Cebuano and have been transplanted to this area from Leyte.
They seem ethnically mixed but I believe that the genuine Mamanwa are genetically Negrito.
They are now in the process of growing rice on the hillsides. Life here is hard enough for the locals and this little band of survivors is just getting by.
This is the official sign with it’s own light. Very impressive.
Life is very difficult in central Samar.
Heading into the back country!
I really enjoy riding back there but it is not without risk.
Mamanwa Tribe
Climbing Mount Apo
General Santos
Growing Orchids
Judy's Resto Bar
Logging with Motorcycles
Mount Mayon
Balabac Island
Biri Island
Calbiga Cave
Capul Island
Mangrove Swamp Palawan
Mikes's Resort
sounds really interesting, would love some more info for our next trip and comments on the roads and location.
learning much about samar from your experiences, great work.
Thanks for your comments, Bruce.
There are not that many roads in Samar so it doesn’t take long to cover the entire “road” system. One big change that you will find is that the National Highway, running north to south on the west coast, has been completely re-done and is now one of the best roads in the Philippines.
dp
Hey thats great to have this confirmed DP. Remember last time we drove this, pouring rain most days and the road was just terrible, mud and slush just like what you experienced….I hated it how ever my brother had no such problems. Still, all part of the adventure. Seemed the further we went the worse it became until it ran out of road all together.
The friendly people and great scenery more than made up for the roads. Now we will be spoilt as intend to head to Allen after taking the central road and down to Guiuam .
Thanks
Bruce
Hi DP
This is Lindsay, brother of Bruce. Really enjoy your website and many of your Philippine motor cycle travel experiences you write about mirror ours. We first rode right around Samar in 2007 and really enjoyed it. I think Bruce emailed you about the delightful little English pub we came across in Palapag, it’s called the Cobadonga Inn. Believe me it was a welcome sight when we rode into town….. I have found some pics of it so if you can give me an email address I will forward them.
Not sure if you have been down to the town of Guiuan on the southern tip of Samar. Can recommend a couple of days there, very relaxing, there are a few nice beach resorts – very inexpensive.
We are planning another Samar trip in June and look forward to seeing you.
Thanks for such an interesting website and the wonderful details you include in it, I just love reading all about your travels.
Kind Regards
Lindsay
Hello Lindsay,
You and your brother sure get around!
I kind of blew right through Palapag but will have to find that English pub next time through that town!
You can go quite a ways past Guiuan past “Surf Camp” (with the 2 meter high concrete wall blocking the view of the surf from non-paying passers by) and over a small bridge to a narrow island at the tip of Samar if you want to.
I never stayed there yet so don’t have any recommendations for lodging – sorry!
cheers
dp
Hi DP
Yes, we actually went into that “Surf Camp” place to see just what it was like….
Have a look here: http://cobadonga-inn.com/
Cheers
Lindsay
Hi Lindsay -
I think that the link you provided refers to the “English pub” your brother told me about in Palapag – Northern Samar.
It looks like a cool place to stop and get refreshed!
The “Surf Camp” is on the peninsula past Guiuan. I hate to see the beautiful view of the surf get walled off with a two meter cement block wall like that!
I won’t go there just on principle. I would probably be able to make money on the internet if I advertised places that do that kind of stuff but it’s not my style.
cheers
dp
Hi DP
Yes, that is the pub we stayed at in Palapag, it certainly is a cool place to stop. We had ridden into town after taking the pumpboats from Rawis (and the butt-clenching experience of watching the locals load the bikes down those steps) We were looking with some trepidation for a place to stay. Bruce spotted the pub and went inside to take a look…. the outside gives no clues as to what lays within. He came back out with a rather stunned look on his face… “go in and take a look…” The last thing you expect to see in north Samar is the inside of that pub! Food was great and the SMG ice-cold. And they have a laundry service. Unfortunately the owner was away on business, works in the oil industry from memory.
Agreed, the “Surf Camp” is a monumental icon to misguided folly. We went in through sheer curiosity. Nobody was staying there. Millions and millions of pesos have been spent on a very questionable development that has no local infrastructure to support it. Any “guests” will be bored out of their brains on the third day after arrival. The staff informed us it was for sale…. A not uncommon story in the Philippines.
We are planning another of our annual forays into the Philippine outback. Our base is Siquijor, we will probably go Siquijor-Dumaguete-Cebu, stop there for a few days R&R. Then to Bohol to look up some old friends in Andar, then cross over to Leyte from Bohol and have a good look around Lake Danao.
You mentioned you suspect a road may exist through the center from Lake Danao to Jaro or Pastrana all the way to Tacloban. We had a look on Google Earth and it seems to support that assumption, however (as always) a portion of the image is low res. Any further info on this you may have is welcome.
From Tacloban we will cross into Samar, probably take the central road across and down to Guian again, then back around the south coast and up the west coast to Allen and go on to Luzon.
May catch you early-mid June for a cold one.
Cheers
Lindsay
Hi Lindsay,
Thanks for the update. I finally got the rest of my gear moved to Leyte yesterday. I did 4 round trips of 450 kilometers with my tv, dive gear, stove, propane tank etc on my 5 seater habble-habble. Rarely have I witnessed even a Filipino this weighted down. I stacked the deck in my favor by leaving at 2 am to avoid the heat and whatever traffic there might be. Took 5 hours one way and 5 back. Hopefully that will be the last time I do that!
I might run up to Lake Danao sometime next week and spend a day exploring that road. It does get muddy and rutted especially on the inclines but I have followed it quite some distance in the past. I believe that it will turn into a one lane bike trail the further one goes.
…will try to get back to you on that!
I agree on the “Surf Camp” – it would have been so much better for the country if the powers that be had turned that beach into a National Park because it was such a treasure.
…please keep us informed and update us with other good info!
cheers
dp
Hi DP
My God, what a mission! I admire your dedication and the strength of your new seat. The Honda must have been groaning on the hills. Indeed, one would never see a local that weighed down…. some wouldn’t own that much stuff anyway! Speaking from the weight viewpoint, I have seen some pretty solid pigs aboard habble habbles.
Would truly appreciate it if you can do a little research on that road, see if it does end up in Tacloban. A bit of asking around may yield something.
At Milagro there is a Transco substation, I am thinking the staff there may have some knowledge of area roads. Also at Malitbog there is a Geothermal plant, same may apply.
http://wikimapia.org/#lat=11.091829&lon=124.6448708&z=13&l=0&m=a&v=2
Cheers
Lindsay
Greetings Lindsay,
I plan to drive up to Nueva Vista tonight and will ask my girlfriend’s father if he knows more about that road that passes Lake Danao.
It might be a real hidden gem.
We had a lot of rain in the area last night so the road/trail is probably in really bad condition today.
Thanks for the updates and other info you and Bruce put up on the site!
dp
ps – saw a Caribao on a tricycle today. They put a rice bag over its head so it doesn’t panic. Wow…talk about a shifting load possibility!
Hi DP
Really appreciate that. We are quite keen to see if we can get through to Tacloban from Lake Danao. Really enjoy those bush tracks that few travellers use.
Bruce has been here in NZ for the last 4 weeks, heads back home to Fil today. Last night (over a few medicinal shirazs’) we made further plans. Biri Island is on the “must do” list, the pics on your website look really nice.
My partner Juvee and I fly out of NZ May 18, really looking forward to getting back. Spend a couple of days in Dumaguete (where she comes from) then I’ll go over to Siquijor, join Bruce and give the bikes a good service. Then pack the bags and hit the road… can’t wait!
Have you been to the caves at Sohotoun National Park in Samar? We did that trip in 2006, amazing experience. The local guide spoke excellent English and spoke about the Spanish era and events from that time as if it were yesterday. A time not without it’s brutalities.
A caribao wearing a rice bag on a tricycle? Mate, that would have to be a sight worth seeing! Load shift? I can imagine… steep gradient downhill… speed increasing… engine hitting max overrev… brakes heating up nicely… caribao gets a sniff of this and decides he wants off…..
Cheers
Lindsay
DP would of loved to see a picture of that one…..amazing
Hi Lindsay,
I have driven to the river where Sohoton Cave is but my girl has had enough of “caving” so we passed on going in the cave itself.
She was “cured” of caving when I took her on a 3 day expedition through the Calbiga Cave system.
Muddy, wet, rain dripping from the stalactites, bats, crickets, and snakes – enough!
dp
Hi DP
Sohotoun Caves are dry, relatively free of unpleasant life forms and quite user friendly. They are huge, you can mostly walk upright and have stunning formations in all colours and shades of the rainbow. We spent several hours in the main cave, a good camera flash essential for amazing pics. Trip upriver to the cave is also a nice interlude, from coastal mangrove and fishing villages to narrow gorges with interesting limestone formations. Local guides are good sorts and (at least in 2006) were not mercenary.
Cheers
Lindsay
Hi Lindsay,
Thanks for the info. I might run up there with Joni one of these days.
Sounds great!
ps I checked on that road past Lake Danao last night and the word is that it carries on all the way to Tacloban. It is more of a trail but should be fun on a motorbike!
cheers
dp
Hi DP
Great, thanks for checking that out. We will have a crack at it and see where we get to. Really appreciate your help.
Will arrive Ormoc toward the end of May, we would love to catch up with you for a yarn and a couple of cold ones if you have the time. We are both on Smart, can you email your cell number to me or Bruce?
Cheers
Lindsay
Hi Lindsay,
Sounds great. Crash at my place (in Ormoc) if you want for the night. I can show you where the trail starts in the morning!
09205553686 smart
cheers
dp – rick
Hi DP
Mate, that’s great, really appreciated. Been all the way around Leyte and right down San Ricardo at the very bottom, spent a night in Maasin (where all the Leyte bayots seem to congregate) We called in to visit an old Kiwi expat near Malitbog… will tell you more about that when we get to Ormoc. Never done any back roads in Leyte so looking forward to it.
Juvee and I arrive Cebu 19th, stay one night then go to Dumaguete for a few days, get my teeth fixed and do the family thing. Then over to Siquijor to Bruces’, give the bikes an oil change and a service. Never been impressed with the front brake since I bought it so gonna fit some modern EBC carbon graphite pads, will see if that helps. Rather not use the dog to stop the bike…
Still laughing about that caribou wearing a rice bag on a tricycle! Excellent!
Cheers
Lindsay
Hi Lindsay,
Sounds like a plan.
See you when you get here!
dp
dutchpickle halo! I am Ninfa from PIA Samar; glad to read ur adventure and happy to see pics of the Mamanwas in Samar. thanks, not many Samarnons are aware such a group of people exists. One thing is great tho, one couple Lorna and Alfredo (from the group) said they are sending their kids to school to be educated not like them who can’t read nor write. thanks again!
Hello Ninfa,
That is great news! Thanks for your comment!
dp