Moo-moo Huntings and Nightshots at The San Juanico Bridge

MacGyver-ing: To emulate the 80′s hit show’s protagonist’s resourcefulness and problem solving skills. The poster man for “winging it”

So the night of the 25th, that is what I did. Constructed a makeshift gear release from Jenga blocks, sandpaper, masking tape and lack of humiliation to use my beloved Tripod.
Would you blame me for being too much of a cheapskate that i’d forego buying a replacement one for 500P at Hidalgo?

Well… Nightshots at the San Juanico Bridge wasn’t on the original plan, it was just cause we had extra time to walk around Tacloban the night after we went Skimboarding in Tanauan. Unfortunately, jeepneys have stopped plying the road to San Juanico a few hours before 8pm and it’s a good 22kms from the City center. Fortunately, while buying grapes at a stall a good natured cop helped us get a tricycle for 200 pesos, roundtrip!

I’ve heard about San Juanico since Grade 1, bombarded by the grainy black and white photographs in my Sibika and Hekasi books, then fast-forward to 14 years later and no college degree yet, I’m happy to say that at least i’m slowly crossing off the
“can-only-dream-of-destinations” in my list.

This is the largest bridge in the Philippines. the most famous, the longest, the prettiest, grandest bridge in between Samar and Leyte, the former being the hometown of Imelda Marcos, the regal wife of Ferdinand Marcos who was the infamous dictator of the 70′s. Historical nuggets dot the internet, from conspiracy theories, praises and petty taunts against their nouveau riche ways. Now i have nothing to say about that except that i like Imelda and i don’t want to dissect their political career or state the history of the bridge. *yawn*

While Tacloban and Leyte is known for Pineapples and the Coke Factory the entirety of Samar is still a puzzling mystery. Legends about the mystical island said only through whispers especially those of Biringan City. I, a non-believer of the occult and elementals took this in stride until… dun.dun.dun.duuuuunnn (my excuse for dramatic music)

Well, The San Juanico Bridge isn’t haunted per se. But rumours about the worker’s killed during construction and their blood rubbed on the foundations of the bridge circulated all the way to the late 90′s. But all i got was a little tickle in my tummy whenever a huge bus gently rocks the bridge emulating an earthquake.

If you could spare the 200 and trust in a random tricycle driver, you should really go see the San Juanico at night, it’s very much different when just passing through it from a van during the day. At night it’s darker and colder, to be exact. Creepier? I think not.

It's actually creepier during the day.