The remainder of the evening was spent under a fan, downloading photos and
writing the journal.
Vitali – Ipil – 65 km
As there was no need to hang around Vitali, breakfast was a quick bite from a
restaurant. No sooner had I finished the meal than the restaurant owner led me
off to view her sister’s corpse. Information received was that she died of a heart
attack (fortunately, not food poisoning!). Upon being encouraged to take pictures,
I politely declined, and swiftly made my way out the door before being escorted to
the funeral. Hahaha.
Although cycling along the coastal route, the road didn’t run flush next to the
ocean. Whenever the path reached a high point, one could see a bright blue ocean
below, sprinkled with tiny islands.
Mindanao felt like a long, drawn-out village, and there was hardly a time one was
out of the public eye. But, being a short ride, the larger town of Ipil soon rolled
into view. Surprisingly, Ipil sported a comfortable hotel with a great restaurant and
a swimming pool.
Ipil – Buug – 75 km
I got underway in a drizzle and, once or twice, had to pull over until the worst had
passed. Yet again, the road was slightly hilly but not as bad as predicted. The way
led past plenty of tiny settlements where it appeared the main occupation was
doing laundry. Palm-woven huts and sari-sari stores, selling the whole shebang
from crackers to shampoo sachets, abounded.
On reaching Buug, spotting a hotel was simple, as the town wasn’t large. Still, it
had a vast and interesting fish market, selling an extensive selection of fresh and
dried fish, both big and small.