Da Trip Page 18

The girl on the motorbike said we were lucky there was a vulcanizing place just one mile south. Ok, it was 3 miles south and no sign but no matter it was the only building in miles. An older couple who we found out came from Mindanao was living there who fixed flat tires. Great, Maricel could talk visaya and not the strange Palawanian it seemed they were raised near each other in Mindanao. The wife grows cashews, roasts and peels them. She sells them by the kilos in the market for extra money. So, the tube was off and the repair started. An old bike motor piston and a “C” clamp were the tools of the day. The piston was made hot and an older tube was glued to my tube and clamped over with the hot flat piston. Amazing, but the tear was too big and he couldn’t stop the leaking 100%. I sent him to the next town to get a new tube. When he got back he had to go to a friends house coz he had no wrench to take off the wheels. So this took hours and it was getting dark. We finally got under way and decided to go it in the dark. No traffic, nice road but fallen rocks on the mountain to keep it challenging. We made it to Puerto Princesa about 9pm and found Jolly Bees. Who was there but the couple who were in the next nipa hut in Pacungan. He was German and his gf was from Manila and worked in a bar. They seemed happy together and we chatted a while and he told us where the cheapest and best hotel was located. We left the Jolly Bees and didn’t go where they suggested coz I wanted a place with a TV. I wanted to know if the US was still there and what Bush was up-to. Next morning we got a ticket for Iloilo but the boat didn’t leave till evening so we rode around the town on the motor bike having lunch and site seeing all day. My back seat driver Maricel would tell me where to go and it was lots of fun dodging in and out of traffic with the radio blasting going no place. To be continued: page 18