Last day in Puerto

My last day in Puerto involved a self-led tour. I first headed to the crocodile Farm by jeepney. There were a lot of crocodiles.

I purchased a tour ticket and hung out for a while. The tour was in English and took about 15 minutes. We were led through the crocodile enclosures, where there were different tanks for different ages and species of croc. The largest one was ridiculously huge! I can’t remember the exact dimensions, but it must have been almost 20 feet long. After the tour was over, we were given leave to explore the small zoo in the back, with numerous native species. The cages were poorly maintained as a whole, with the worst being that of the pythons, who were crawling in their own feces. L The coolest animal was the bearcat, because of its name. We were given the option of holding one for a fee, and could have also held a young croc. They were also selling croc meat dishes. I don’t know where they got the meat, as we were told the facility was one for breeding/rehabilitating and releasing only. I would have eaten some, but I wasn’t hungry yet, as it was only mid morning.

Gigantor

Smaller, but still really big

It woke up just as I got there

Pretty parrot

Croc skin in the foyer

After that, I tried to walk to the Eco Farm. A friendly police officer pointed me in the wrong direction, though I don’t think it was on purpose. I eventually got to the sign at a fork in the road, and headed down what I would later discover to be the really long detour path. I saw a small café and took some pictures, and then headed on my way.

Walking along the road

Asian cows are weird after Texas cattle all my life

A prison, not really
Just a noisy schoolhouse

Cute setup at the cafe

I must have walked for almost two hours before I finally made it to the eco farm. I was completely drenched at that point, Jakob style. :P There was a visitor house, open to the elements, where I decided to sit down and rest. They even had books, one of which I started reading. I stayed for a good long while, leaving only after I saw that everything was crawling with ants. The juice packet in my backpack from the day before had broken open earlier and had resulted in a sticky delicious mess for the insects.

Tired, sweaty, and sunburnt

After finding my way back to the main road, I walked along it for a while until an elderly man offered me a ride. Turns out he was the ex chief of police from Puerto. He dropped me off at the side road to my next destination, Baker’s Hill.

Baker’s Hill is basically where a lot of rich people live and have their restaurants. The main attraction is the Baker’s Hill establishment: a bakery, a few restaurants, a nice house, a playground, and some birds. Rather underwhelming. I bought some ube at the bakery, though I still have no idea what that is, and looked for the restaurant that I had seen recommended on the internet. No luck. I ended up eating at a really expensive place. The food was presented well, but in smaller quantities than I’d become used to.

At the entrance

Halo-halo, an icy milkshake with chewy somethings in it

Organic Caesar salad

After my meal, I proceeded to fall asleep on a rocking chair platform and watched a rain storm approach.

I waited out the storm at the bakery, buying some brownie bites and started walking down the hill.

On the way back, I almost got attacked by a dog, but an old man heading in the other direction chased him away. I love strangers.

Back in Puerto, I ate dinner and found an internet cafe so I could reassure my parents that I was still alive.

Small green cafe with ancient machines

It was soooo good

At that point, I decided to head to the bus station and wait the few hours until my bus left. I took a jeepney there and met an adorable mother with a young child while I was waiting. She told me she was sleeping at the entrance to the chicken feed warehouse, and even helped me find a restroom. She fell asleep waiting with me, and when it was time to leave, I debated whether to wake her up to say goodbye or leave quietly. I decided to let her sleep with her baby in her arms, and boarded the bus.

The young mother, sorry for the bad picture quality