Road to Taft

Road through the Taft Rainforest in central Samar We decided to take a cruise over the mountain on the road to Taft in central Samar. The vegetation is lush and the rivers are pure. Hollowed out bamboo poles route the water from the mountain streams to the road where it is collected for drinking water. There are not many roads through the middle of Samar because it is one of the least developed islands in the Philippine archipeligo. We came across a huge landslide that required road graders to construct a pass around the boulders because they were too big to move. It is quite unusual for foreigners to be riding in that part of the world and MP's at military checkpoint were clearly surprised and I gracefully sailed through the roadblocks without stopping. The yelled where are you going? I waved back with a smile and a "Take care boys!" As a foreigner you can get away with a lot out here and I didn't think to come to a full stop. There is an NPA element (New Peoples Army) in Samar, but they are generally pretty good blokes that just raid the police and army camps for their weapons. Samar is a poor province and seems to neglected by the govt. so some take a different approach to try to change things. Politicians usually run for office to make money, not changes and it is commonly accepted that most politicians are corrupt and will not do anything for anyone if they don't benefit personally. This is a beautiful part of the Philippines but with little or no infrastructure, it is understandable why few tourists come here. Samar is ideal for the odd traveler that likes to get off into the countryside. The caves and waterfalls are largely unexplored except by caving teams from Italy and France. It is best that you have a little camping experience if they are into this sort of thing because you will have to take your own food and lodging along. Day trips can be made from Catbalogan and Calbiga. There are hotels in Catbalogan and homestays in Calbiga. There is also a Philippine eagle sanctuary up in those hills but unless you are a serious birder it would be a whole lot easier and less painful to see them in the zoo. 2008   www.dutchpickle.com

 

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