"I find them one by one..."

Editor's Note: This blog entry is being posted after safely arriving in Manila Monday evening.

"Wow. He's gotta be hot," Tommy sighs.  Our driver scans the underbrush on the side of the road looking for more pieces - lug nuts, I think. "I find them one by one," he told me about thirty minutes ago. Aside from the tire and two lug nuts, small victories have been hard to come by. Although, I suppose finding an umbrella tucked under the backseat was a minor victory. It offers scant protection from the unrelenting midday sun. The only other shade is directly in front of the three wheeled hunk of metal that was, until about an hour ago, our van from El Nido to Puerto Princesa on the island of Palawan in the Philippines.

...Though anxiously awaiting our arrival to Puerto and ultimately Manila, I can't help but doze in and out. Now that we have reached the paved section of the six hour journey, the bone-jarring potholes have been replaced by relatively smooth pavement allowing for a few minutes of shut-eye. The A/C is on and the added expense of hiring a private van seems well worth it as Marta, Sara, Tommy and I sprawl out over every inch of the interior. Life's good. With half the trip behind us we are blazing down the steep winding road toward an on time arrival.

BOOM! SCREECH! In a flash, our left rear wheel has merged into oncoming traffic and is trying to pass us as our rear axel digs into the pavement and grinds along the road. The driver frantically grips the wheel and stomps on the brakes. We continue to skid when, out of the corner of my eye, I see the rear wheel traveling alongside us in its failed attempt to pass. It launches off the side of the road and deep into the thick underbrush. As I return my eyes to the front of the van I notice we are slowing to a stop.

The driver pops out to grab a rock to put under the tires. However, in his haste, we begin to roll again. Only there is no one in the driver's seat this time. He quickly jumps back into the cab and again stomps on the brakes. This time Tommy and I offer to get the rocks.

"Well, we should probably look for the tire."

"There is no way in hell we're going to find the tire in that," I rebut Tommy as I scan the dense vegetation that enveloped the tire and who know what else.

"I found the tire," Tommy yells after about three seconds of searching. I'm not sure how he managed that, but we're on the right track.

Unfortunately, here we sit. Still awaiting our way out as the time ticks down until our flight back to Manila.

Editor's note: Two hours after our wheel came off, another van came to the rescue and chauffeured us to Puerto just in time for our flight.

Our broken vehicle. I'm happy no one got hurt.