I am close to being at a loss for words. Spent the weekend at Calatagan, in Sofia and Patxi's country home. From their absolutely stunning home in their 7-hectare lot, to the mango orchards and the hospitality of our hosts and their staff, the weekend proved to be one unforgettable experience.
Arrived at around 6pm on Friday, and we were immediately shown to our rooms by the staff dressed in Filipiniana attire (Sofia et al were yet to arrive). Took a quick look around the beautiful Filipino themed house which had a spectacular view of the mango orchards. Later on, we (including Tech and her family) were joined by Sofia, Patxi, Ann and Loy and their children. (All in all there were ten children, ranging in age from 3 months to 13.) We had a lovely dinner of grilled ribs and seafood, and we stayed up till past 1am chatting.
The next day, the girls (that's me, Sofia, Tech and Ann) went for quite an energetic walk around the hacienda. Sofia pointed out a couple of balete trees - these Indian rubber trees grow around other trees and completely envelop them, making quite a creepy site. No wonder there are superstions regarding the balete and the kapre - the local Filipino ghoul.
The men and the children took quad bikes and took a closer look at the harvesting of the mangoes. We then met up at the pool house for a delicious lunch and spent the rest of the afternoon lounging around the pool area. The view from the infinity pool was over the orchards towards the sea - stunning indeed.
The children got along very well with Patxito (sp?), Bea, Cristina, Christian and August. Emilia and Clara, their newborn cousins, are clearly still too young for them to play with. I think Callum, Euan and Nikki proved to be an object of curiousity initially, with their English accents...
We went for a walk again this morning, and this time it was our turn to take a closer look at the mangoes. We also visited the vegetable 'patch' where we saw upo (the local version of the marrow), santol (a local fruit I cannot really describe), pomelo, tomatoes, calamansi (the local version of the lemon which makes the most delicious juice), bananas, limes, lots of herbs and many more fruits and vegetables that I cannot remember. We also saw a lot of birds eye chili plants - they were scattered everywhere in no particular order. Sofia explained the birds eat the plants and wherever they poo, new plants grow. Interesting.
We spent the rest of the morning lounging around the pool area again, till it was time to leave for Manila. Such a hard life!
1 comment:
You are TOO sosyal hanging out with the tisoys....so, you're having fun right?
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