Traversing the iconic San Juanico Bridge

San Juanico Bridge is the country's famous 2.16 km bridge that connects the island provinces of Samar and Leyte, over the San Juanico strait. Its "L" and "S" shapes makes it more impressive than the longer yet straight Candaba Viaduct, a land bridge in NLEX where itlog (egg) becomes ebun (bird  in Tagalog), when crossed from Bulacan to Pampanga.

Built from 1969 to 1973, this beautiful bridge was touted to be the late dictator President Marcos' gift to her wife Imelda, who hails from Leyte. These are photos taken from a moving jeepney, on our way from Tacloban to Basey, Samar.

Binagol and Moron of Tacloban

Visitors in Tacloban should not miss their famous delicacies -- binagol and moron. I was lucky to chance upon these 2 Visayan delicacies in Aida's store along Zamora street, near the Jollibee restaurant. The shop owner said his goods come from Abucay daily, but came in late that morning, so they are still very warm. 

The binagol above is a sweetened gabi (taro) cooked with sugar, coconut and condensed milks in a coconut shell, then wrapped with banana leaves. Its a sugar overdose, so diabetics must watch their intake. Here's a closer look of an opened binagol, where the ingredient mixture have caramelized:

A DIY Tour of Tacloban and Palo in Leyte

The other Friday, I brought my two sons and Mrs. Noelizm in Tacloban to see the sights in Leyte and Samar. Upon arriving at Tacloban Airport, we just rode the San Jose-Tacloban jeepney at Php 13/person fare, instead of taking the expensive taxicab or vans to the downtown.

We arrived at Welcome Home Pensione by 11:00 am to drop our bags. Luckily, our reserved room is unoccupied, so we were allowed to check-in early for Php 800/night with 2 double beds. The room is basic yet clean. Only bath soap and bathroom tissue are provided as room supplies. Wifi is available at the garden area.