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.

- They said there
are no more ferry trips.

There’s no more travel
because Catanduanes is already

under Signal No. 1.

- Okay. Team meeting.

- I love this.

- The LPA we were tracking,

the low 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,
it's 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)

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 their sauce station

is 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.

Gabi.

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.

(giggles)

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)

- Take care.

- Be careful on the trip.

- 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's 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 flight 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, if 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?

- Kuyog.

- 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.

That food was good.

I don't usually eat rice.

Like a whole plate.

I finished my plate of rice.

And I wanted more
'cause I wanted to put

more humba sauce on it.

That sauce is insane.

And then paired
with the kuyog, the fish.

Good times.

I was still not sure
where we are going

to be that night
so we went to the market

to just build a pantry
of local Bicolano ingredients

that will surely come in handy
later on when I'm cooking.

This is so good.

That was our new rule, right?

Instead of junk food this trip,
no junk food, fruits only.

We're good.

We then headed north
to meet a local mountaineer

who was keen on showing us
some of his favorite ingredients

to catch and forage in the wild.

We're finally back in the road
in the island of Catanduanes.

Finally. Thank God
that the typhoon here

wasn't as bad as the rest
of the Bicol region.

So they bounced back
really quickly.

They had a little bit
of flooding here and there

but in places that people
usually have flooding

so they're prepared for it.

The weather right now
is beautiful.

It's like the sun and the sky
is shining and smiling on us.

We have a 2-hour drive.

Catanduanes is so beautiful.

It kind of gives you
a little bit of a Siargao vibe

but with its own flavor,
and you can tell

it's still very much,
like, secretive.

Not a lot of people
have been here,

but it's so easy to get here
with the flight.

You know, we land straight
into Virac,

and then this whole place
becomes your playground.

And that's what we're going
to be doing

over the next few days
and I couldn't be more excited.

Listen to that engine.

Whoo!

There's a certain magic
to taking a road trip,

the open road,
the changing landscapes,

the freedom to go
wherever curiosity takes you.

It's like shedding the weight
of daily life and stepping

into something new and raw.

With every kilometer,
I feel more connected to nature

and become a tourist
in my own country.

Catanduanes is a gem
in the Philippines

that offers unspoiled beaches,
stunning cliffs,

an eastern coast filled
with surf breaks,

lagoons, rice terraces,
and lush rainforests.

Known as the Land
of the Howling Winds,

inhabited by the happy people,
Catanduanes is perfect

for adventurers
and nature lovers

who want to feel like
they're alone

and chasing something
that they can only find.

- This is Rickrick,
our local legend mountaineer.

- We're going to climb all that?

- When we're climbing,
he's the one that guides us.

- Ah, nice. Okay.

I was expecting just snails.

I didn't know we're going
to have, you know, frogs.

Do you know my biggest fear
is frogs?

(chuckles)

- That fear will be gone
after this.

- Oh, this is karakol?

- Yes.

- Ah, it's a really cool shape.

- This is different to kohols
because it's found on lowlands.

- So this can be found
on trees or not?

- Yes, on trees.

- On the bark of trees?
- Yes.

- Ah, so trunk.

- In the morning or
at nighttime?

- At night.

- On abaca plantations.

- In the mountains?

Oh, on abaca farms. Okay.

And then, to cook it...?

- You need to boil it first
for the slime to come out.

- Just with water?

- Once it's boiled,
it's when you will...

- Add a bit of salt?

- You'll then flavor it.

- How about this?

I'm not holding it.

I'm not holding it.

Let's try it.

Who's hungry for some frogs?

One person out of 10.

(laughs)

Okay. I'll do it.

- They said they top it on rice...

sitting down.

(laughs)

- Okay. Let's try it first,
and then he's going

to show us the areas
where these things are taken.

So this is the eel, right?

How do you call this here?

- Kasili.

- Kasili.

- It's also cooked in gata.

- And you eat it whole
or are there bones?

- It has bones in the middle.

- Yeah. These are always tasty.

I don't know if you guys
had eels before.

Delicious.

Is this still called "ulang" here?

- Yes.

- Let's try the ulang.
(giant freshwater prawn)

- These are from the wild.

- So ulang is available here
at the back?

- No, it's far.

- Oh, from the top
of the mountain?

- Yes, in the mountains.

- But it's still from the rivers
or streams?

- Streams.

- Yes, it's delicious.

That's really briny, salty,
really savory.

Okay. Frog time.

These are cleaned up frogs.

So this is just fried?

I'm going to get the leg.

- There's no sauce.

- Oh, you just
straight up eat it?

- You can dip it in vinegar.

- You know when people say
that frogs taste like chicken?

I don't think it does.
I think it tastes

like fried fish actually.

Crunchy fried part
of the tilapia,

that's what it tastes like to me.

Delicious.

And also the head?

- Yes.

- Why do you look unsure?

That's a frog eye right there.

That's for you.

So the gabi here is steamed,
mashed, and then

put together again, right?

And then, they boil it again
in gata?

That's tasty.

It's like a mashed taro ball
in some sweet gata.

- In that area, even there,
you’ll find karakol.

Here, sir, is the process
of preparing abaca.

He’s the one
managing things here.

Even in this type of tree,
it hides in the grass.

In the morning, it stays hidden,
but at night, it comes out.

- It climbs the tree.

- It can’t be exposed to heat
because its skin is thin—

it will die.

- It always stays in the shade.

At night, you can definitely catch it.

- I cooked up some
of the snails we picked up

from Rickrick and had everyone
try my take on it.

We sat around the fireplace,
exchanging stories,

listening to good music,
and some of us

even fell asleep under the stars.

As we ended our first day
in Catanduanes,

I was filled with gratitude
and relief.

Most of the people that we met
on the island province

that day told us
that they recovered quickly.

We got lucky on this trip
and we're able to make our way back

to Manila safely
when the typhoon hit.

However, for the people
who call Bicol home,

they had to bear
the brunt of it.

Some of them are still struggling
with its destruction today.

There's a saying
that the Filipino is waterproof,

that resilience is necessary

but should never be taken
for granted.

When these calamities happen,
always try and help

in any capacity that you can.

There's always someone
who might need a helping hand.

In the next episode,
we continue our exploration

of the island of Catanduanes.

We eventually make our way
to Puraran and camp

in one of the most scenic spots
I've ever seen in the country

and attempt to surf
the imposing majestic wave.