The Bonbonon Fuel Run: A Lesson in Logistics and Laughter
After Puerto Princesa, we decided on a final “quick” fuel stop in the narrow estuary of Bonbonon port to top up the diesel jerry cans. What followed was an unexpected, yet humorous, lesson in local logistics. While I focused on boat maintenance, Matt, set out to find a vehicle to transport twelve jerry cans. This mission quickly devolved into a case of lost in translation: locals, eager to help, kept insisting he hop on a small moped to go right now, completely missing his need for a vehicle that could handle 250kg of fuel. Their rescue arrived in the form of Eric, a cheerful local driving an incredibly makeshift, smoky trike - a masterpiece of cobbled together engineering. After clearing the rubbish out of his 'ute-tray', Eric and his trike helped us complete the refilling of our jerry cans. The trip back was a struggle; laden with the two blokes and the heavy fuel, the trike could barely make it up the hill between servo and dock, forcing Matt to hop off and walk just to keep it moving! This post concludes with a generous payment to Eric, the smiling saviour who made our critical fuel stop possible with his unique trike-ute.
Jason Haigh
10/28/20252 min read
After clearing in and out of Puerto Princesa we had 48 hours to depart the Philippines before our 950 NM leg to Palau. We decided a quick stop at Bonbonon port for a diesel top up would give us the necessary range. The stop in Bonbonon became a lesson in local logistics and a source of unexpected humour as we had arrived with no pre-arranged contacts or transport.
Upon entering the narrow estuary, we followed the river to a quaint fishing village, with it’s colourfully decked out fishing fleet and interesting docks. We dropped anchor, and set a plan; Matt would handle the diesel run while I focused on crucial boat chores like making water, checking the engine, and planning our route.
Matt's initial mission to find a "man-with-a-van" quickly turned into a humorous lost-in-translation moment. Armed with a single jerry can as a prop, he was accosted by helpful locals who, despite his desire for a vehicle to carry twelve jerry cans, kept insisting, "Hop on the moped and we go now!" The dialogue - a local pressing for a quick, two-person moped ride versus Matt’s insistence on capacity for 250kg of fuel - went on for a while before the message finally got through.
While we debated our options, our saviour arrived; a cheerful bloke named Eric on a trike that was truly a masterpiece of improvisation. This vehicle was a smoky, noisy contraption cobbled together from various bike parts, possibly a lawnmower, with a rough 'ute-tray' currently filled with rubbish.
Spotting this unique, multi-purpose machine, we flagged Eric down. After some discussion, he agreed to help – he chucked his rubbish onto the side of the road, and with Eric driving and Matt riding pillion, they set off with the empty cans. The trip back was the real test; laden with two blokes and 250kg of fuel, the trike struggled. When they hit the hill between the servo and the port, Matt had to hop off and walk beside the trike just to keep it moving at a snail’s pace! After all that effort, Eric’s "I'll let you decide" payment policy earned him 500 pesos (three times the going rate), putting a huge smile on the face of the man who saved our fuel stop with his incredible, makeshift trike taxi.
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