Popular Post Butch Posted June 8, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted June 8, 2020 (edited) These pics are a few years old, but as is the case in the RP, up Country not much changes over time. We headed out to the Province of Albay where Mrs Butch was raised, the family returned to the village for a visit. Here are some pics of provincial life in the RP, once you get out of the utter madness that is Manila and Quezon. On the way in, it was jungle, jungle and more jungle. Mrs Butch pointed the village out to me, apparently it's beyond the jungle. First off, the only road is a bit dicey. As the Mayon Volcano is within earshot, the pyroclastic flows block the roads off, so it's then a case of getting the dynamite out of the shed and blowing a hole in it. Also, the sand here is ideal for building, so several small cottage industries have sprung up. This was on the main road out of Legazpi, these guys dig from sunrise to late afternoon, providing sand for building. We arrived at the village, and headed to the Cousins house where I was shown around, it was the highest building in the Village at 3 Stories, the family used to be very well off, and had the place built back in the 70's, but as time went on and things went wrong, they couldn't afford to complete it. This is the view from the roof of the house which has massive potential to be a nice terrace, but like everything in the RP, it remains half finished. Panoramic view of the village from the roof of a small "Water park / hotel" View from the top of the House More from the house And again The Roof area itself, so you can see what I mean more views We went for a wander in the Village itself, life is so sedate and quiet here: This is the street water supply, it still works and Mrs butch managed to break the handle while buggering about with it, much to the displeasure of her Mum.I fixed it though, a bolt had just come loose. No traffic at all, people prefer to walk or M/C Guys sit and chat over a beer. Same time, same place every day PUJ Stood idle, only works at the weekends and is one of about 3 in the village Rush Hour Another view from the Roof. As there is no traffic, the families dry their rice on the road surface. I understand they also do this in LOS. We then went to see the place where Mrs Butch was born, and the family lived. She got very emotional during this time, perhaps because back then she was too young to understand the hardships her mother faced bringing up 5 kids, then leaving town with just them and the clothes on their back. The "house" has not changed at all, the family living there "rent" it from the Cousins. Fully fitted Kitchen Mrs Butch would sleep where the pans are, it was cooler there and the rats avoided it. That's the ensuite bathroom and shower. Living space The front area we then went for a walk to see the boats come in, notice the black sand beach from the Volcano It would make a lovely beach, if only it were not so polluted with plastic rubbish. The fishermen live on the beach, but sadly also dump their trash there. Not sure of the price, probably doubled because I'm white. View of the Mayon. End of the beach. Hope you enjoyed that, my next TR is about a local boat trip we made. Edited June 8, 2020 by Butch 8 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkey_omelette Posted June 8, 2020 Share Posted June 8, 2020 Great report and pics 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boydeste Posted June 11, 2020 Share Posted June 11, 2020 On 6/8/2020 at 10:44 AM, monkey_omelette said: Great report and pics Ditto from me. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maipenrai Posted June 11, 2020 Share Posted June 11, 2020 Great photos, nice to see such a rustic area of the PI.. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horizondave Posted June 11, 2020 Share Posted June 11, 2020 A beautiful area of the Philippines. I once took a trip by plane and coach taking in Naga, Legaspi and Sorsogon before heading across to the Samar and the Visayas. They used to say that most of the Philippine beauty queens came from Bicol. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aqualung Posted June 12, 2020 Share Posted June 12, 2020 Enjoyed the report and the photos. Tfp. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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