Road Trip in Catanduanes and Surfing in Sorsogon Philippines with Erwan Heussaff (Part 1)

- Good morning.

The back always suffers a little.

It was raining all
of last night, so...

Yeah.

I'm expecting the worst
going outside now.

Checking our gear,

and then we'll start packing up
and heading out.

But I need coffee first.

There's nothing quite like
the possibilities

of the open road.

Every turn brings you stories,
every bump a rush

of adrenaline
and unexpected discoveries.

Stop where you want to,
sleep where you can,

and pick up some
of your favorite bites

along the way.

That's delicious.

Welcome to Bicol.

This is Forager.

***- Wala na raw byahe ng barko.
Wala ng byahe kasi Signal No. 1 na ang Catanduanes.

- Okay. Team meeting.

- I love this.

- The LPA we were tracking,

the lower pressure area
has become Signal No. 1 storm.

We just got confirmation
from Harold that the boats

are not leaving...

The boats are not leaving...

What is it called?

Tabaco? The Tabaco Port.

- Yup.

- Situation in Catanduanes
is it'll be raining

and storming today,
probably tomorrow.

The next days hopefully
is just rain.

So the question is:
What do we do now?

So we figure out
what we can shoot

in and around Albay.

Right? Maybe we can finally go
to the Jollikod carinderia

Defeat makes a man look
so unattractive.

We're not defeated yet.

- Because we are rangers.

- Ready?

(hums)

(chants)

Let's get to work!

To start the day
on a positive note,

we found a river
to play around in

with our cars.

The Ford Ranger stands out
as an ideal off-road vehicle,

blending power, agility,
and rugged design

to conquer diverse terrains.

The Ranger's versatility
and durability make it

a top choice for adventurers
seeking to explore

off the beaten path destinations.

So we found a really cool river
to play around with

and a trail leading up
just kind of like

in this jungle area
which is great.

There are pili trees and stuff.

It's always a lot of fun
to put these cars to the test.

So I'm currently driving
the Ford Ranger Wildtrak

with all the ARB accessories
that you can get outfitted

at your local Ford dealership.

You can kind of ask them
to put the accessories for you

depending on what you need
and customize it

to your actual personal needs.

And then, the other crew
is riding the Ford Ranger Raptor

which is a beast,

which I'll probably
drive tomorrow.

Let's eat.

So we're now at Jollikod

where we were supposed
to go to yesterday

but it was closed.

But since it's a Monday now,
it's open.

And this place looks
absolutely dope.

Like, there's little
carinderia style booth

in the beginning,
but then you go down deeper

and it's a beautiful,
really nice looking restaurant,

and it's nice and cool.

And there are sauce stations.

It's probably one
of the best I've seen.

You have fried garlic,
you've got a bunch of spices

and chili powders and stuff.

Toothpicks, essential.

You have a whole selection
of different types of bagoong.

Cutting board
with a nice knife

to cut your siling labuyo
which is native,

which is great.

Calamansi.

You got fish sauce
for the table.

We have different types
of vinegars.

And then, the third station here
is all your soy umami.

On the top here,
we've got all our different

chili sauces.

You've got your sweet
chili sauces and your tabasco,

and then your soy sauce
and vinegar.

So it's pretty insane.

You know, they always say
the sauce is probably

the most personal thing
to a Filipino,

so it really comes down
to how you like to make it.

So I'm going to make mine.

Yummy, yummy, yummy.

Go look at the sauce station.

It's the most insane thing
I've ever seen in my life.

Chicharon can mend
a broken heart

and a broken spirit.

We are yet to be broken.

This carinderia
is something else.

It's been featured a few times,
but we're trying it

for the first time.

We've got our malunggay ginataan.

She also called it
a malunggay laing.

Whoa.

They love their spice here.

That's good.

And the malunggay
has some bitterness too

which I really actually
really appreciate.

I really like that.

And the tinapa,

that base kind of umami flavor
that you want.

Wow.

Classic.

I'm never going to get tired
of that dish.

Their Bicol Express.

Very different.

Nice and fruity almost,
and sour, and spicy.

Is there calamansi here, miss?

Ah, okay.

So there's calamansi inside
which is nice.

It gives it
a nice freshness to it.

Ginataan squid.

That's interesting.

Not too chewy,
right balance,

right amount of flavor.

And I love that even though
all these three dishes

are inherently
all different versions

of ginataan, using coconut milk
as the bases of the sauce

and the stew,

all of them are very distinct
in flavor.

And there's a finesse to it
which is always

what kind of surprises me
when I go to certain carinderias.

And this is one of those
that really can tell the people

making the food actually care
about the dishes

that they're putting together.

You can taste that finesse
and that pride.

Like, it's not a flavor
but it's a structure

that enables the best flavor
to come out from the dish.

We're actually not far
from Sorsogon.

We've been to Sorsogon before.

We never featured it really
as its own province

which we won't have time
to do this time,

but who says typhoon,
usually says waves.

So we'll go back to Gubat,
maybe eat some pili,

maybe surf some waves.

Maybe all that's going
to [ _ ] also,

we don't know.

We're just going to eat
and pray to the Lord.

Hi!

I was super unsure though.

Ah, there.

Okay. So this is the situation.

Kristine has deaccelerated.

- If it’s already Signal No. 1
here in Catanduanes,

what more here?

- We have three options
in front of us.

The first is we wait in Albay
to see if the storm

passes through
but we won't know

when we'll be able to shoot..

This could take up to a week.

The second is to cancel shooting
the Catanduanes trip

and drive down to Samar instead
but the RoRo would still have

to depart.

The third is to just wait
and see how the typhoon

picks up tomorrow.

If it gets bad,
we will need to both fly

and drive back to Manila
right away

to avoid getting stranded.

(chuckles)

(grunts)

I hate packing up.

The next morning,
the choice was clear,

the typhoon went
from Signal No. 1 to 3

and was climbing up to 4.

We had to leave
as soon as possible.

Bye!

- Thanks, E.

Hello!

(laughs)

- Be careful on the trip. Ingat sa byahe

- Juls.

- Bye boys. See you next week.

Let's go Julius.

So for the first time ever,
in FEATR's history,

for a travel shoot,
we've been defeated

by the weather.

It has won.

Not our fault.

Out of our hands.

We really tried to do our best.

So we're flying back to Manila
and we have rescheduled it

to next weekend.

If you do watch
these videos to the end,

maybe you understand
a little bit about kind

of like the logistical issues
that we have to deal with.

And rescheduling a shoot
takes a lot of time, effort,

a lot of money.

People's schedules have
to change.

You know, we are seven shooting
but there are more people

relying on us when we go
to these provinces

and islands that
we've already kind

of prearranged things with,
so it's a mess.

So that's why we try
not to cancel

but we really had no choice.

Watch our flights be cancelled.

(chuckles)

(laughs)

Philippine Airlines
was cancelled just now.

So stay close.

Good thing you're next
to the airport.

Maybe see you in five minutes.

Typhoon Kristine struck
the Philippines in a way

that not many people
were expecting.

Each time we travel,
we try to keep in touch

with both locals
and government agencies,

and we thought that
it would bring some rain

and pass, but we were wrong.

It ended up inflicting
severe damage

across multiple regions.

The storm resulted
in some deaths and displaced

hundreds of thousands
of people.

The Bicol region
was particularly hard hit,

especially Naga.

The typhoon's heavy rainfall
led to widespread flooding

and landslides.

People are still rebuilding
as we speak

so just try and contribute
any way you can.

One week later,
we are finally here.

Thankfully, most of Catanduanes

faired well during the typhoon.

This was not the case
when Typhoon Rolly hit

the island on November 1
of 2020.

They have since become
more prepared

and it's great to see them
bounce back so quickly.

Virac is conveniently located
just a 3-hour RoRo trip away

from the mainland.

However, it also has
an airport located

in south of the island
and an impressive

winding road network.

You can tell it's ready
to welcome lots of visitors

and I have a feeling
it's going to happen soon.

We have made it to Virac.

Finally, baby.

(honks)

- What's up?

There's a car, bro.

- How are you?

What, Chester's back
on the field!

Guys, you haven't met Chester.

He's our blond cutie.

- Hello!

- We usually don't bring him
with us

'cause he has health issues,
but apparently,

he's good now.

The weather is looking fantastic.

We've got some sun.

We are a happy crew.

I'm driving the Ford Ranger
Raptor today,

so it's going
to be a fast ride.

You excited boys?

- Yeah!

- Yeah!

- We met up with our
Catanduanes surf crew,

Jr., Paulo, Ian,
and of course, Ikoy.

- Lonely boy.

What's up? How are you?

In some of our previous
surf-centric episodes,

our shots were taken by Ikoy.

He is a local from Catanduanes
and now lives in Dubai.

He happened to be in town
for a trip so he rounded up

his friends to take us
around his home island.

For these kinds of adventures,
it's always important to roll

with people who know
the swells in the mountains.

They are also the best
to show you

around local secret spots.

We got coffee
at the very first restaurant

here on the Boulevard in Virac.

It's owned by one
of the OG surfers of the island,

and then we went hunting
for a local carinderia.

Hi!

- Hello. Good morning!

- Good morning!

What's available?

- We have delicious food.

Afritada.

- Afritada. Okay.

- Bopis?

- Bopis. My bopis
tastes delicious.

This is humba.

- Humba. Oh, yes.

Amazing.

What's this?

- Vegetables with banana blossom.

- Banana heart?

- Yes.

- Four, four, four.

Actually, four of everything.

Yeah. Easy for you.

Yeah. Four of everything.

Thank you!

- Thank you, too!

- I'm hungry.

I haven't eaten since last night.

Julius, we have

real siling labuyo.

It's that time.

Time for the real men to eat.

Thank you.

- Okay, welcome.

- So what you're saying,
this is kuyog?

- Kuyo.

- So this is danggit?

- Small danggit.

- And it's like fermented, right?

- So this is like
your fish sauce

or like a bagoong?

- It's like bagoong.

- How do you prepare it?

That's cool. It's the first time
I've ever seen that.

And you also eat the fish?

But you crush it?

Nice.

That's it. Perfect.

Thank you.

All right.

So we finally made it to Virac.

I'm happy we made it happen.

We're just going to get
a quick bite

and we're going
to head to the market,

and then, eventually
just start the journey

going north.

Find some snails,
maybe find some food

along the way,
and then camp tonight.

So we have some humba,
we have some—

she called this afritada.

We have banana heart
with crab which is pretty cool.

Bopis which is the lungs.

Kaon ta. (Let's eat)

- Let's eat.

Okay. Let me try
the humba first.

Some sauce.

You're not allowed
to eat this, right?

- I'm allowed.

- The lady said
she's very proud of her dish.

Tasty.

Let's try the banana blossom.

Some ginger in there,
some gata.

The addition of the crab
is pretty cool.

That's tasty.

Bopis.

That's clean.

I love this sort of danggit.

It's not overwhelming.

Whoa. The fish has a kick.

Whoa!

Super sour.

And with food like as rich
and sweet as this—perfect.

Beautiful.

Guys, sit down and eat.