About 20 miles east of Tagbilaran....
...and an hour or so by
jeepney you come to the pretty little town of Valencia, Population around
22,000.
which includes those who
live in the barangays surrounding the town.
The public market is in the center of the town. The market is open in the center
with permanent shops surrounding the open air stalls. It's very well organized
with merchandise in the front, vegetables in the middle and fish and meat
in the rear. on sunday you can find just about anything. the perishables
as sold early, so if you go in the afternoon, you might not find very much fish
chicken or pork. It's just as well, I didn't see any refrigeration, and
ice was scarce. You can buy a plastic chair, a steel bucket, a pair of shoes, or
used clothing shipped in from the thrift stores in the states. The
building in the front along the road has general merchandise, grocery, and a
hardware store and at the end, my favorite - the bakery. I would get up
early in the morning and walk to the bakery and buy a cup of coffee (instant)
and pandesal. when you are served coffee, you get a cup of hot water, the jar of
instant, a tablespoon - (teaspoons and dinner knives are not used in the
Philippines) - and a can of dry milk powder. I'm a big coffee drinker and
of all the things I missed, real coffee was number one, right up
there with beef and potatoes. Market day in Valencia is Sunday and
the town is especially busy. Jeepneys and busses park in front of the
market and you as you walk by some one will usually ask where do you want to
go. In addition to transportation, the jeepneys serve as a means of
communication with the people inland.
Valencia does not have telephone service, while PLDT has a public telephone
office, no one has private phone service. I did see some people are
carrying cell phones. I didn't get a chance to ask if the repeater in
Tagbilaran covered all of the town, but it's encouraging to see any kind
of phone service. If you need to send a message to some one up in the
barrio, you only need tell someone in the jeepney going that way and eventually
your message will be delivered. The fare to Tagbilaran City is 15 peso
(about 40c) the trip takes an hour it seems like they stop every 50 feet, to let
some one on or off. The vehicles are designed for smaller people and while
I'm not a big person, I find most of them uncomfortable. They have
seats everywhere and you sit three across, We usually pay for one empty
seat so I can get my big butt in. I like to take the jeepney in the other
direction to Jagna, to shop at the market. Jagna is a deep water seaport
and the selection of fish and imported fruits and vegetables is Better. On
one trip I saw apples from Washington State, Oranges from Florida, Durian from
Davao, and even potatoes from Idaho. As you travel east along the
provincial highway you come to the town hall. The church and convent
are a little further east up on a slight rise in the road. Just beyond the
church is Badiang Springs, a natural fed swimming pool and family recreation
area.
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