Sunday, June 10, 2012

San Salvador, San Carlos, Negros Occidental

Last June 05, 2011, I travelled from Bacolod City to San Carlos City via San Salvador. Then from San Carlos I went to Canlaon, and back to Bacolod. It was a Sunday, I left Bacolod around 11 am and was back by almost 8pm.

This is Mt. Silay on the horizon, beyond wide plains of sugarcane plantations.


San Salvador Benedicto is also known as the "summer capital" of Negros due to its relatively high elevation, cooler temperature, and many beautiful scenes. I think it's nestled on sort of a plateau between Mt. Silay and Mt. Canlaon.



This is the bus terminal in San Carlos City. The city proper is a bit far from here, one needs to ride a tricucle or trisikad. I was amused at those mini-buses that carry passengers up the roof.


The tricycles here are a bit weird looking.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Took the same route yesterday from Bacolod on the way to Cebu via San Carlos-Toledo route. For my adventurous choice of path, the short ride of 2+ hours was a surprise from my childhood memory of really long bus ride from San Carlos to Bacolod. I woke up from my dose to a scenery that was also a pleasant surprise: high elevation road, beautiful and green with few solid buildings and sparsely inhabited. There were some rice terraces, too. Regretted my fatigue that made me dose off. Would be great to retrace this the beautiful winding road on a private vehicle.
We stopped at a roadside joint for a pee stop and what did I find! A bouquet of fresh flowers of varieties that would cost a fortune for I see them mostly in glossy design magazines. One of them is a flame-torch-like flower. I touched and smelled it to believe for they looked plastic but they were real! The water felt so fresh, I tasted it and it was sweet! The village lady confirmed that it is spring water.
Arrival at the San Carlos bus terminal was a surreal experience for it was so bare, hardly an economic activity that I see elsewhere in the Philippine cities. I felt like I was somewhere nowhere. The port was bare. I too wondered why they have such a big tricycle for a such a seemingly "sleepy" city.
The tough-looking tricycle driver turned out to be a kind-hearted guy who seemed grateful for the P100 fare I offered him for my ride and my 4-piece cargo companions. Stark contrast from those Bacolod guys who tried to rip me off.
Almost missed the roro boat ride to Toledo. I dreaded the idea of being stuck in this city until the next crossing availability.