Monday, April 2, 2012

3 Guimaras, Philippines pt.2

So we're on the RORO (ride-on, ride-off) boat and on our way to my parents' farm in Guimaras. It's about a 30 minute boat ride to the island.
Here are some of the things we saw on our excursion.
***Gilligan's Island theme song playing in the back...***
Once we docked in Guimaras, it's a 2 hour drive to get to our destination. Now... keep in mind there are 10 of us and 1 truck.
Yes...
10 people.
1 truck.
The girls LOVED it. They sat in the back along with MR., my nephew and niece, while the rest of us sat INSIDE. Crazy kids. I know-I know... not the safest or smartest thing, but...
ha-HA! Welcome to the Philippines!
Motorcycles and "Tri-cycads" (upper right corner pic) are the preferred method of transportation on the island. You can easily pack a family of four on one motorcycle. I wish I had a picture to show you. It's quite a sight.
Pigs on a joyride! Awww... poor guys... little do they know.
On our way, we stopped for some bananas and veggies.
Ahhh... home at last!
The architecture is a bit different here. Anything goes. No, your eyes aren't playing tricks... the columns underneath the deck are turquoise. My parents' are cool like that.
The upper right corner pic, you can see part of the their rice field (just across from their house). It's not planting season, so instead they plant corn and other various vegetables for themselves, friends and family.
On the other side of the property, there is an old mango tree. And I mean OLD. At first first I thought it was about 200 years old, but it's actually around 130. It's massive. There is so much history with this tree. The locals believe it to be enchanted. Inhabited by the "little people", something like dwarves, only not as nice. It was struck by lightening long time back and was split in half. It thrived... 
ah-mazing.
Picking mangoes.

At one point in time the tree produced upwards of 30 bushels of mangoes in one season, providing a good source of income along with their rice production.
Here's another view of the tree. Look, all the mangoes are wrapped in newspaper. Every single one.
This is our form of pesticides. It's crazy to see the entire tree with covered mangoes, but it works! You're probably wondering, "Who the heck covered all of them?!"
An older lady who's kinda like a distant relative is the one. Yup... she's in her late sixties and does it all herself. Maybe if I was chased by hungry wolves, I'll climb a tree.
Okie-dokie my friends... I'm off to do more photo editing.
Be back soon!

3 comments:

  1. oh, the awesome!!! loving these pics, Venus :)

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  2. this is soooo much FUN!!! i wish i can go home now :( u made me feel homesick again hehe---you all enjoy and have fun God bless, mmm yummy mango :)

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  3. great pics! looks like a fabulous trip! and how awesome is that mango tree?!

    ReplyDelete

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