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Published: January 8th 2012
It wasn't an ideal start to the trip, I was in the kitchen doing a bit of tidying up before leaving for the airport when I received a text advising me that our flight to Darwin had been cancelled. We had booked the tickets via Darwin as as it was quite a bit cheaper and we wanted to have a stop over in Darwin on the way back. Anyway I rang Jetstar and they put us on flights the following morning to Darwin via Brisbane that got us there in time for the connecting flight to Manila via Singapore. It was a bit of a marathon, we left the house at 4.45am Friday morning and arrived in Manila at 4.00am (on time) Saturday morning.
The nice thing about arriving early in the morning is that there's very little traffic. When we arrived back at Mummy's place in Pasig I had a little sleep, I must have have just been dozing because I could a hear Christmas carols, a group of local college students had come to the house to sing about half a dozen carols, it sounded very melodious. A little later we visited Sue's inlaws (the Bernadino's), we had
a very nice lunch that we all enjoyed. That night was New Years Eve, we had dinner with Marianne and Joseph (my niece and her husband) then went to an outdoor restaurant/bar to listen to music followed by fireworks. The music was pretty ordinary (just drums) but the fireworks were good.
The following day we left for Tagaytay, the location of Dicky's wedding, it was about one and a half hours drive from Manila and because it's elevated it's cooler. We met Dicky and Nimfa at a restaurant with a great view of Lake Taal, the food was very good and very reasonable, for example a whole fish and five beers was 480 pesos (that's about $Au11). After lunch Ricky and I went for a massage, it was good but at 500 pesos for an hour a bit expensive by Philippine standards. That night we stayed at a very nice three bedroom condominium at a golfing resort called Midlands, it's connected to another resort called Highlands. We enjoyed a few bottles of Australian and Californian wine before retiring.
The following day (Monday) was the day of the wedding. Ricky and I started with a light breakfast of bagels
and croissants while the ladies went to a restaurant for a traditional Filipino breakfast before getting there hair and make-up done. We then toured around Tagaytay taking in the sites before meeting up with Ronald (he arrived in Tagaytay that morning) and having an early lunch at a very nice restaurant called Antonio's. I had Seafood Marinara, it was very good. As a final preparation for the wedding I then had a haircut, Eleanor reckoned it was the best haircut I've had for a long time, a class above the "Sing Song Hair Salon" where I usually get a "man cut".
The wedding was timed timed for 4.00pm and was about a fifteen minute drive from where we were based. It was at a golf resort called Splendido, the ceremony was outdoors and the location was very picturesque. Everything went very well, Nimfa and her bridesmaids all looked fantastic and Dicky also scrubbed up well. The reception was also good, we enjoyed the food and the entertainment and the dancing. Eleanor's cousin Manny played the organ and his friend Randy sang, this dynamic duo also played and sang at Eleanor and my wedding over 25 years ago, that's staying
power. Times move on though and now Randy's daughter also forms part of the team.
The following day we had a late breakfast at Highlands and then did a bit of fishing at the resort, the idea was to catch small fish in a pond using a bamboo rod and piece of fishing line. There was nothing caught approaching legal size but Mariannes kids still had a lot of fun. We then left for the return trip to Manila and for the "blessing of the Urn". It's a special mass where Eleanor's Fathers ashes were taken from a vault and blessed. Dinner that night was at a "all you can eat" buffet at a place called Vikings, it's on reclaimed land in Manila Bay. The buffet includes unlimited draft San Miguel beer plus fresh seafood that they grill for you.
Wednesday morning we (eight of us) left for our trip to Davao. The plane was delayed by an hour and a half, it was a good thing I had my book with me. When we arrived in Davao we were met by Nino and Florence (Eleanor's cousins) and proceeded to Tita Benny's house for another feast of crabs,
lechon (whole roasted suckling pig) and more. We then continued on to Paradise Island Beach resort where we stayed for two nights. The rersort is located on Samal Island and is reached by a ferry boat (punt) that transports cars, trucks and buses from Davao to the island, it's quite close though, maybe a ten minute trip. The cottage Eleanor and I stayed in was very comfortable, it had a balcony and was quite close to the beach. We had a quiet night there, just a few glasses of red with Rose and Ricky on our balcony and then off to bed.
The following morning was spent relaxing at the resort, swimming, paddling a kyak and exploring the nearby surrounds. Lunch was at the "Valera" family farm, about a half hour drive from the resort along dirt roads. Mummy and her brothers and sisters all own property there and there is also a small church funded by Mummy and most of her siblings. Here we were confronted by yet another feast that included barbequed local (free range) chicken, more lechon and a spicy dish made with goat. When we got back to the resort Eleanor and I had a
massage that was very relaxing, this time it was only 400 pesos ($Au9). That night we only had a very light dinner and listened to a duo at the resort, Eleanor started to feel unwell and unfortunately this continued to the next day - her birthday.
Friday the 6th of January was Eleanor's birthday and the 70th birthday of her Uncle Gaspar (aka Tito Pal). Before checking out of the resort Rose, Sue, Ronald and I did a 20 minute banana boat ride. this was a big inflatable banana towed by a jet ski. Sue was behind me, then Rose and Ronald at the rear, throughout the ride Sue was constantly screaming "this is so much fun". At the end we all came off, I think that's supposed to be part of the experience. At around 10am we left for the farm, first of all there was celebration mass for Tito Pal and Eleanor, it was conducted in English by a local Priest. We then had a birthday lunch, yet another feast this time featuring a goat stew made with Tito Pal's goats, the meat was very tender falling off the bone. After lunch we went back to Davao
Joeys daughter
Joey is Eleanor's cousin.and checked into the Marco Polo hotel, it was quite good though there was a faint smell of cigarettes in the hallway and room. Ronald and I then had a two hour massage, this was a real bargain only 350 Pesos (about $Au8) and it was very good. That night we had a birthday dinner at the Marco Polo for Eleanor, unfortunately she wasn't able to eat very much. After dinner I listened to a lady singer accompanied by grand piano in the lobby lounge and enjoyed a few quiet draft San Miguels.
Yesterday (Saturday) we left Davao and arrived back in Manila in the early afternoon. We dropped Sue off at the Bernadino's to spend some time with her inlaws before she leaves today for the US, we had afternnon tea with them and then drove back to the house in Pasig. Dinner was at Aunty Cora's where we were able to catch up with Eleanors cousins. It's been 25 years since I first met them all and they now have families of their own and even grand children, a get together like that is always quite a large one.
Today is Sunday and I'm having a
quiet day at the house, I've lost my appetite probably due to all the eating or I might have the stomach bug that Eleanor had. On Tuesday we are off to Boroacay for three days, then next Saturday we leave for Darwin where we will stay for two nights. We will be back in Sydney on Tuesday though I'm not due back at work to the following Monday so hopefully I'll be able to get a few surfs in. Cheers everyone and happy new year.
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Rose Marie
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As always, excellent blog, Glen! Love your entries!!! Enjoy Boracay!!!