We said goodbye to Joel and thanked him again for his hospitality. He would not accept any payment from us, and we realized that he truly treated us like family.
The view we saw that morning was gorgeous! I felt like we were truly at the ends of the earth, on the opposite side of the island where not many travelers journey. The path was right on the edge of the ocean, and the locals made me laugh when we greeted them. They always laugh because they are surprised we speak their language. We made several conversations in the villages when we stopped for water and enjoyed the very interesting places we never knew existed.
Things I saw: unique houses, a 3.5 foot snake (dead in the road, thankfully), a little boy riding a water buffalo through a ravine, breathtaking views from the summit overlooking the ocean, our city and the mountain behind. Thank you, Lord! All of this was shared with my wonderful husband, Nate, who journeys with me on bike!
The last adventure of the day was when Nate's tire blew. We had brought with us a tire patching kit, but the Lord provided again another local Filipino man who stopped immediately on his motercycle to help us. The place we stopped was conveniently located beside someone's balay (house), and the person who stopped to help us was so willing to give us the time I never seem to have. Again I learned to love others as myself.
While the men worked on the tire, I sat in the shade with the neighbors. They offered me fresh buko juice (coconut juice). A guy climbed a tree, cut down a coconut and carved a hole for me to drink the juice from. I was thankful because I was almost out of water, and I was so thirsty! I was also thankful because I had been needing a break really badly from the heat and the riding (just before that I took a dip in a pool of water with the water buffalos--I was desparate to cool down!). God provided everything, from neighbors, to shade, to men that helped repair the tire. We finally made it together back across the island and to the ferry. When I got to the shower at home and layed in my clean clothes in my soft bed I had more thanksgiving in my heart than I had in a long time. We really did make it home! The whole bike trip almost seemed like a dream, but it will stick with us for a long time! Thank you, Lord!
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