At a mall, a computer shop cleaned my laptop, as the keyboard got stuck from
time to time. They gave it a thorough cleaning free of charge. The money saved
was used at a café that sold delicious slices of cheesecake.
The market area was hardly five minutes away, but miles from the mall and all its
fancy lights and shops. However, this was where most of the day’s pictures were
taken. I was offered an oven-fresh bread roll at one of the stalls. Delicious. How
exceedingly kind? How much could a bicycle rickshaw man make? He, highly likely,
needed the bread more than I.
By evening, the bike shop phoned to say they were still working on the bike and it
would be ready the following morning.
Bacolod – Kabankalan - 90 km
With the bike running like new, the route led further south, across massive rivers,
past rice paddies and sugarcane fields. Beyond the city limits and amongst
farmlands, all seemed busy harvesting. The trusted water buffalo was in high
demand, pulling and tugging in rice paddies and sugarcane fields. Large trucks,
loaded sky-high with sugarcane, dropped bits as they drove along, leaving the
road littered with stalks.
The way led past Bago, Valladolid, Pontevedra and Hinigaran, featuring century-old
churches. Inspecting these, the children of the Philippines impressed me. They
eagerly approached, asking intelligent questions and wanting their picture taken,
all while being extremely polite.
One of my Project-365 friends lived in Kabankalan, and I wanted to meet up with
her. However, finding a stranger in town was more difficult than foreseen. I was
sadly unable to contact her without a phone and intermittent internet.