Kabakala – Sipalay - 83 km
On a misty morning, while pre-harvest burning smoke hung thick in the air, I
cycled the eighty-three kilometres to Sipalay. Sugarcane field burning was carried
out before harvesting. To make the process easier, the leaves were burned off the
stalks. This pre-harvest burning was a common practice worldwide. The burning
enabled manual pickers to collect the crop quickly and with less injury. Still, it was
a significant contributor to air pollution.
Sipalay
The reason for going to Sipalay was to investigate the nearby beaches. The
weather, however, came in and rain poured down all day. I was happy to stay put
and enjoyed a day of vegging out.
Sipalay – Bayawan - 79 km
My early departure was due to what looked like a mountainous area, and sharp the
gradient sure was. Still, the pleasant morning air made it a lovely ride after the
previous night’s storm. Once over the hilly bit, the road levelled out and headed
along the coast.
The ride felt like a real Sunday afternoon cycle, peddling past nipa houses on
stilts, sari-sari stores, buffalos lazily grazing in the rice fields, past small
settlements where joyous singing came from makeshift churches and where
Sunday markets were in full swing, taking up the best part of the road.