Yesterday, after a jump from one island to another by plane and then a boat ride from there, we landed on Boracay Island. A short drive by van then deposited Desiree, me, and a good chunk of her family at the beautiful Mövenpick Resort.
I will be sharing more on Boracay later. For now, here are a few pictures from the resort.
—Mitchell
Hegman
Taal Volcano, located on the island of Luzon about two hours outside Manila in the crawl of traffic, is one of the most active and complex volcanoes in the Philippines. It sits within Taal Lake, creating a picturesque yet deceptive beauty. Geologically, Taal is a caldera volcano with numerous smaller craters and a history of frequent eruptions due to its position on the Pacific Ring of Fire. Historically, Taal has erupted more than 30 times since the 16th century, causing significant loss of life and property. Interestingly, the last major eruption occurred on January 12, 2020, only one day after Desiree and her family visited Taal. That eruption led to widespread evacuations and disruption. Ash even fell on Desiree’s sister’s house in nearby Cavite.
Desiree and I visited Taal with her sister and family in 2024. We ate dinner at a lovely eatery overlooking the lake and the volcano. Yesterday, on a flight back to Manila before we hop off to Boracay today, we flew over Taal, allowing for a perfect view from above.
I am posting two photographs of Taal from 2024 and one captured from the plane yesterday.
.jpg)
—Mitchell
Hegman
When it comes to affixing things to walls here on the islands, whether we are talking about works of art, wiring devices, cabinets… whatever, there seems to be little debate on keeping things plumb or in line with the nearest neighboring thing.
Here, commitment is key. Once it is decided to fasten something in place, you go for it no matter the orientation and then move on to the next task.
It’s rather weird for me to say this, especially considering my craftsman (keep things level and orderly) sensibilities, but I actually find a certain charm, at least freedom, in the island approach to this. Crooked stuff is so prevalent in some places, it becomes an order of its own.
I am posting a couple of examples from the crooked hotel in which we have been staying most recently.
—Mitchell
Hegman
Spelling is not my strong point. I would likely do better if words were spelled a bit closer to the way they sound. But the use of silent letters, and sometimes two letters together making the sound that another letter could make on its own (think “tough” versus “tuf” here), can make things get a bit hopeless for me.
When it comes right down to it, I think we throw a lot of unnecessary letters into words. Just right there “unnecessary” has two “n”s and “s”s scrunched together.
Today I’m sharing the photograph of a sign posted on the wall of the bathroom above our toilet here in the Philippines. The phrase “sewerage system” was used rather than “sewage system,” which struck me as odd coming from the U.S.
Thinking we might have some extra stuff at work here, I consulted the interweb.
It turns out that we might learn from those using English as a second or even third language. In proper English, sewage is the somewhat icky to majorly icky stuff we try to send off through the “sewerage” system, which is the actual pipes and whatnots that carry it (the sewage) away.
It is properly a sewerage system.
—Mitchell
Hegman
One of the most beautiful places I have seen in the Philippines is a small retreat owned by one of Desiree’s cousins. The retreat is very literally built on a mountaintop overlooking sugarcane fields and agricultural lands that stretch outward until they meet Bayawan City and the ocean just beyond. I also appreciate how it was constructed using a mix of new and traditional methods, including bamboo wall panels that give the place a natural warmth.
We visited the retreat yesterday evening, just as the light softened all around us.
From the top, even the sound of barking dogs and thundering lorries on the main road below eased into something near a whisper.
I’m sharing a few photographs from that visit.
—Mitchell
Hegman
In the Philippines, a special person is required to harvest coconuts. By special I mean someone with Evel Knievel sensibilities. You know, someone not afraid of riding a motorcycle into the side of a bus at full speed and not afraid of falling from the sky.
Just such a person climbed a tall coconut tree just outside Desiree’s father’s house. Once at the top, he both trimmed fronds and dropped a dozen or so coconuts to the ground.
Here’s the thing, the guy was no spring chicken. I would place him in his mid-forties, but he was wiry and sure of himself. And he climbed to what I would guess was something over 70 feet above the ground to begin whacking away at the fronds and fruit with a long knife. Consider this: he climbed the tree with bare hands and feet. No rope. No safety strap. Just a man and his own skills and confidence.
I’ve posted a photograph I captured of the man as he dropped a coconut to the ground. If you look toward the top center of the photograph, you can see the tall coconut tree he climbed. You should also be able to pick out the man clinging to the tree. Finally, in a patch of blue sky below that, you can see one of the coconuts he dropped.
—Mitchell
Hegman
In the U.S., living outside a city is simply called “living in the country,” and extremely remote places are thought of as “the wilderness.” Here in the Philippines, the equivalents would be “living in the province” and “living in the jungle.”
The province is an interesting, if not compelling place. At a minimum, you should expect to be surrounded by someone’s chickens. Several skinny dogs are practically guaranteed, and pigs and goats are never too far away. The whole place also seems to brim with fruit trees of every imaginable variety.
While spending time at Desiree’s family home in the province, we were welcomed by all of the above. I also encountered a few of the requisite gecko lizards inside the house and discovered a pretty good-sized toad in the bathroom.
We are talking about what would have been absolute paradise to me as a kid.
And I like it just fine now. Turns out the kid in me still approves.
Below are a few photographs from a day of province living.
—Mitchell
Hegman
