Saturday, Sept. 24, 2016
Debrah and I made a last-minute decision to go to the island of Leyte to visit the family of one of the girls from Cebu Hope Center. Her mom has a new baby boy, and the girl wanted to see photos of her little brother.
Since I've spent so much time in Cebu City -- not my favorite place -- we decided to do the two-hour bus ride out to Argao again and visit our friends there. Most tourists skip Argao on their way to swimming with whale sharks in Oslob, but the old historic center is nice, as well as the quiet beach, and quaint downtown. Of course, I'm a fan of BJ's and always stop for a meal when I can. Joy can prepare quiche, curries, Thai soups, dynamite poppers, salads, anything you want.
We just had to leave by 6:00 to get back in time for our night ferry to Leyte. Seems like we slept overnight on boats half of the time I spent in the Philippines this time.
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| St. Michael's Parish Church in historic Argao |
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The old baluarte (fort) has been converted into a hotel, where Joy's daughter got married in April.
The roof is damaged on the historic city hall and will be costly to repair.
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| A carnival was in town in anticipation of the big St. Michael's Festival beginning Sept. 28 |
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| Joy's niece Den-Den joined us to walk down to the carnival. Filipinos don't usually walk because of the heat, but my friends know I prefer to walk everywhere. |
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| The local marching band from St. Michael's High School. |
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| Of course, Debrah and Den-Den have to join the band. The kids don't seem excited about the idea. |
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| Bingo is a popular game in Argao. |
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| Filipinos make many sweet desserts with bananas. |
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| During the holidays happy kids enjoy the beach at Argao. |
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| BJ's by-the-Sea is the white building next to the squatters' huts. |
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| It's fun to dive off the pier near BJs. |
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| Butch the used clothing vender sings all the same American songs I know from the 1960s and 70s. |
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| These motorcycles with side cars for passengers are called tricycles and serve as taxis and private family cars too. |
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| Debrah at the Nature Park |
Two hour bus ride back to Cebu City and back to the port. Debrah and I are getting good at this.
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| Another night ferry, this time to the island of Leyte, which was devastated by Typhoon Yolanda in 2013. |
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