10 Wheeler Truck Mindanao Road Trip: Day 1

Driving your car or riding a bus would be your typical mode of transportation when moving about in Mindanao. However, I was lucky enough to experience a unique (and more adventurous) way of traveling in the southern region of the country. The title says it all, It's my 10 Wheeler Truck Mindanao Road Trip.

10 Wheeler Truck Mindanao Road Trip: Day 1

I got the privilege of riding a 10 wheeler truck for the first time during my latest visit to Mindanao during my summer vacation. It was my wife who suggested that I should try to write about something unique. She told me to join my father-in-law on one of his trips. 

The 10-wheeler truck that would bring me around three provinces in northern Mindanao

I found the idea very tempting because I know that very few bloggers experienced this kind of adventure yet and aside from that I was also eager to know the "how-to" in the trucking business in Mindanao.

The Backpack Adventure goes trucker mode

This is where I'll be staying for the next two days.

Check out our load

The wheels need to be cooled every once in a while. Check out hot it gets!

The old Milestone... 77 kilometers to Butuan City

The trip was scheduled in the afternoon because the wood to be delivered was going to be loaded into the truck sometime in the morning. I spent the day planning about the trip and talking to my wife. (She experienced the trip way back, so I asked about how she felt.) I also prayed that the weather conditions would be favorable for us because it was cloudy the whole day. Luckily my prayers were heard and my 3-day, 266-kilometer Prosperidad-Cagayan De Oro trip on a 10 wheeler truck pushed through.

BBQ dinner at Bayugan City

We left Prosperidad, Agusan Del Sur at around 5:30 in the afternoon. My brother-in-law decided to join us. He served as my translator and my Wikipedia during the whole travel. (He knows a lot about Mindanao and trucks plus he could talk using the Visayan dialect.)

Passing through the truck weighing device in Butuan City

One of our coffee break stops along the road

We stopped at Bayugan City, Agusan Del Sur for dinner at around 7:00PM. we had several more stopovers along the way due to Police checkpoints and coffee breaks.

Good night Kuya JP

Lights out for me too. Good night guys!

Our last stop for the day was in Gingoog City, Misamis Oriental. My father-in-law decided to call it a night after 9 hours of driving, so we pulled over near a police checkpoint and we set up our "military-type" hammock. My brother-in-law and I were the ones who slept in it. Lucky for us those hammocks have built-in mosquito nets and the huge truck and its cargo protects us from the dust coming from other passing trucks.

That pretty much ends day 1 of our three-day adventure. See you tomorrow!

Here's the second part 10 Wheeler Truck Mindanao Adventure: Day 2 and 3.

 Rating:
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Location: Prosperidad, Agusan del Sur, Philippines

Comments

  1. UnknownOctober 5, 2013 at 10:27 PM

    That seems so awsome trip u had friend Neil..hmn..and lunch looks so dilicious..hahaha

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Neil Alvin NicerioOctober 6, 2013 at 8:58 PM

      Hahaha that's true Raavi! At first I thought I was going to eat frogs but when I found out it was chicken whoa boy I shouted for joy!

      Delete
  2. Carlo MadridNovember 14, 2017 at 2:04 AM

    That is one cool and unique adventure you got there, Neil! And your picture makes me crave for some Filipino dish. Nakakamiss and bbq! haha

    ReplyDelete
  3. AlexanderNovember 14, 2017 at 4:16 AM

    Oh yeas! Trucks, street food and hammocks! Reminds of my student time

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Neil Alvin NicerioNovember 18, 2017 at 8:27 AM

      Really? I wonder what you do during your student years. =)

      Delete
  4. NehaNovember 14, 2017 at 12:49 PM

    What an experience. This is definitely one of a kind. Leave apart a 10 wheeler truck, I have not camped out in any truck so far and I badly want to do that. I hope this becomes more popular in rest of the world including India.

    ReplyDelete
  5. indra kNovember 14, 2017 at 6:38 PM

    Interesting trip. Different experience with different mode of transportation. Well done.

    ReplyDelete
  6. SwatiNovember 14, 2017 at 9:56 PM

    That seems like fun though not something I will ever do. Glad you enjoyed your Day1 and also learnt some about a trucker's life

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Neil Alvin NicerioNovember 18, 2017 at 8:33 AM

      Yes i did have fun. =) You should try this one out. =)

      Delete
  7. UnknownNovember 16, 2017 at 9:00 PM

    A truck trip looks interesting. How many people have ridden on trucks, very few I suppose. But truck trips are really very intensive in experience.

    ReplyDelete
  8. UnknownMarch 21, 2019 at 4:14 PM

    Really nice! You should have tried driving the truck hehe it would have been a really great experience for you!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Neil Alvin NicerioMarch 25, 2019 at 9:52 AM

      Hahaha! Would love to do that. =) Probably on my next visit.

      Delete
  9. AnonymousJuly 24, 2023 at 1:21 PM

    Interesting road trip. How I wish I could ride in a 10 wheeler too.

    ReplyDelete

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