After five years, Trini and I are again visiting the Philippines. The last time we were here was when the COVID-19 pandemic started to turn the world upside down. At that time we had to cut our vacation short to get to the airport and return to the U.S. Like hundreds (maybe thousands) of balikbayan (Filipinos going back to the Philippines for a visit) who re-booked their flights and paid enormous amounts of airlines penalty in order to safely return home. But that’s all in the past now and hoping it will never occur again.

Our direct flight from Los Angeles to Manila was the longest we’ve ever experienced – over 14 hours as a result of the headwinds! We arrived early afternoon on January 15th and was picked up at the airport by my nephew who took us to our hotel – Richmonde Hotel Ortigas in Pasig. The typical afternoon traffic mess added more than an hour to a relatively short-distance drive. The following morning, after we visited our favorite facial salon – The Dermatrium in Makati, we went to the malls (and there are plenty of them in Metro-Manila) to walk around and browse the local merchandise and native products before going back to the hotel via Grab (similar to Uber) for a nap. That night, our niece Ting sent her driver to pick us up to have dinner in their five-story house in Quezon City. Yes, you read it correctly, it’s a huge multi-floor residence with an ELEVATOR! The interior was meticulously decorated by a professional interior decorator.

The next day we flew to Tuguegarao City, Cagayan to visit my nieces and nephews and Trini’s relatives in Alcala (42 km from Tuguegarao). We only stayed for three days but it was well worth it – seeing relatives, catching up after 5 years and eating fresh vegetables, fish and meat!

It has always been a religious tradition to visit the shrine of the miraculous Our Lady of Piat.

Trini and I flew back to Manila sated with the great gastronomical experience and glad to see our relatives after five years. At the airport, our friend Voltaire Cuello picked us up to take to his newly-built American standard home located along the beach just outside the municipality of Sariaya in Quezon province about 72 miles southeast of Manila. It took us about four hours due to the bottleneck traffic when we passed by towns. Unlike in the United States where the freeways allow you to bypass towns and cities, here you practically come to a crawl when you go through towns due to narrow streets and volume of vehicles, especially, tricycles. The traffic mess gets messier due to the undisciplined drivers who ignore traffic laws and common sense. But as they say, “when in Rome, do as the Romans do“. Fortunately, Voltaire is an excellent albeit lead-foot driver.

The Cuello’s 3,000 square-foot home has four bedrooms and four and a half baths with central air conditioning, a luxury in the Philippines due to the exorbitant utility cost. All the countertops in the kitchen and bathrooms are made of kamagong (now a rare and expensive type of hardwood). Behind the huge backyard is a black sand beach which to my dismay seems to be neglected as shown by the widespread detritus! Trash of all kinds are strewn all over – plastic containers, old shoes, drift woods, etc.

This was our first time to visit Voltaire and Mellie Cuello’s place and we had such a wonderful time considering we only stayed there for three days. Trini and I made new friends – Tess, Myrna, and Helen – also from the U.S. Tess and Myrna are retired registered nurses and Helen a retired dietician. The Cuello’s help were both great cooks which added an inch or two around my waist! Our group sat around the dining table after dinner discussing different topics under the sun while imbibing fine red wines from Napa, South Africa, Argentina and Italy. I love folks who drink dry wine and not the sweet wine that I hate. We stayed up until the late hours of 9:00 pm (for seniors like us, that is late!). Trini and I bonded with Tess, Myrna and Helen and by the time we all said our farewells, we felt like we’ve known each other for a long time!

During our short stay we all went to see some of Tess’ “bucket list” like Mount Banahaw where we saw firsthand the hydroponic gardens growing various lettuce varieties. I tried a cup of their coffee which was okay. By the way, every morning Voltaire (our self-appointed barista) served us his own farm-grown Cafe de Voltaire. We also visited Kamay ni Jesus (The Hand of Jesus); however, the shrine was located on a steep hill only Tess, Myrna and Julian (Helen’s driver) dared to go all the way to the top. Julian, was called endearing names like Yong-Yong but Trini would innocently change or rename him Bujungjung or something not even close that we would be laughing. But Julian/Yongyong didn’t mind and would only smile at us! A real trooper!

For lunch, we stopped by Palaisdaan Restaurant – a quaint nipa-hut eatery “floating” on a man-made pond with large kois. We tried their delicious pancit Lucban, grilled eggplant in shrimp paste, grilled fish, sautéed vegetables, and a few other “healthy” dishes. No meats!

It so happened that is was the birthday of one of the help, Lina, so Mellie bought seven cupcakes and had Lina blow the seven tiny candles. Of course, we all sang the obligatory “Happy Birthday”!

Walking to the fish market was really an “experience“. You had to dodge the vendors on tricycles, dogs, cats, and other obstacles to get to the end of the pier where the market is located! As it was already mid-morning most of the fish were already sold although I saw a large lapulapu (a fish that belonged to the grouper family) priced at 500 pesos (less than 10USD). There was also a giant eel that looked like a deadly snake lying on an almost empty table. There were fearsome barracudas with their sharp teeth pointing at you.

Our last night in Casa de Cuello was spent strolling along the beach until the sun disappeared from the sky. Slowly we maneuvered our way in between the trashy sand avoiding hazardous obstacles. Along the way, I would be asking myself why the residents of such a beautiful place are so apathetic to the filthy condition of their beach. I surmised that other than apathy, the community and local leaders should bear the brunt of the blame!

Before parting ways with the Cuellos and our new friends, we visited the Cuello Farm in San Pablo, Laguna. In this five hectares, Voltaire planted more than 7,000 coffee trees and the same number of rubber trees. He also planted kalamansi (similar to lime or lemon in taste). The farm is also dotted with mature coconut trees and other fruit trees.

It was really a very memorable and relaxing visit in the province where the air is fresh and clean not to mention the culinary experience we shared with our new friends – Tess, Myrna and Helen! MAY OUR PATHS CROSS AGAIN IN THE NEAR FUTURE!