"Sur" to Vigan

(Author’s Note:  To enjoy this travelogue fully, curl up with it in your favorite “comfy” chair and have you favorite beverage at hand.  It is a little long – a “day’s worth of life” long, to be precise.

As it should “post” on the US Thanksgiving Day [Happy Turkey Day, folks], it makes a splendid alternative to football games unavailable in your TV broadcast area.)

It’s an old wives’ tale that, the longer a couple stays together, the more they tend to think alike.  (You gotta love those old wives – they possess a whole lot of knowledge and aren’t afraid to share it with us dimmer bulbs on the Christmas Tree!)

One sunny day earlier this month – not many of them this time of year – both baket ko (asawa ko) [my wife], Emy, and I hit upon the same idea at practically the same moment.

Emy had been a little restless and bored, having to stay home and/or indoors mostly because of wet and windy weather putting the kibosh on doing much else.  I, on the other hand, had started to “come up blank” while sitting at my laptop, trying to start the “next article” for this e-zine.  Here we were – two “boomers” on the verge of early burnout, needing someone or something to come to our rescue.

Simultaneously, this “couple” of frustrated minds illuminated with the same brilliant thought:  Road Trip! Now comes the “freaky, old wives’ part” – where?  Both of us immediately felt the same vibes:  Vigan! (Ilocos Sur)

There was something in this trip for everyone – history, culture, charm, views, not to mention Vigan burnay and clay pottery, Ilocano loom-woven cloth and other goods, and kalesa rides.  Yes, a trip to Vigan would certainly straighten us out and give us something to get our lives going again.

A Little of Vigan’s History

Originally called Ciudad Fernandina de Vigan ([Prince] Ferdinand’s City of Vigan, honoring the firstborn son of King Felipe II) the City of Vigan is the site of the third oldest permanent Spanish settlement in The Philippines (preceded by Cebu and Manila).  Prior to the Spanish arrival, Vigan was a settlement for Chinese traders and settlers located on an “inland island” formed by the meeting of three rivers near the South China Sea.   Today, a fifth class city, Vigan serves as the provincial capital of Ilocos Sur.

Within its boundaries is the Historic Town of Vigan – a UNESCO World Heritage Site – that is the best-preserved example of a planned Spanish colonial town (that includes a historical checkerboard street plan and cobblestone streets) in Asia.  Strongly influenced by Chinese, Ilocano and Filipino cultures, Vigan is significantly different from other Spanish colonial towns elsewhere in the world.

To a fellow like me, this is history.  I must confess, however, that there’s a little more of a connection between Vigan and myself.

I am originally from Fremont, Ohio, USA as was Col. James Webb C. Hayes, US Army, and his father, President Rutherford B. Hayes.  Fremont, and surrounding Sandusky County, provided many volunteers who served in the Spanish-American War and in the “Philippine Expedition” at the turn of the Twentieth Century, fighting the “Insurrectos.”

It was in Vigan, Ilocos Sur that Col. Hayes won notoriety beyond that provided by family lines.  There, he earned the Medal of Honor for his part in the rescue of American war prisoners held at a Vigan fort.

Back on Memorial Drive in Fremont, the names of all the local volunteers who served in the Vigan area and the Ilocos Region during this period (including that of Col. Hayes) appear on bronze plaques lining the drive.

Heading ”Sur”

We planned to start our trip “Sur” or South early in the morning, to avoid the local variations of “rush hour” that might be encountered in the more urbanized areas along the National Highway (a.k.a. Maharlika Highway, Asian Highway 39, Pan-Pacific Highway, etc.).  This same highway runs past the front of our house, so I guess we could say that Vigan is “just down the road”!  Having walked and fed the dogs just as the sun began rising around 5:30 a.m., we could, indeed, make that early start.

Our first order of business was to make the PTA – Philippine Time Adjustment.  The amount of adjustment required varies, based on a number of factors.  It is, however, directly proportional to the number of people involved in an event or activity.  We arranged for a close family friend (and distant relative) to be our driver for this foray, allowing us opportunities to enjoy the scenery, take pictures, and do those quirky, little, touristy things.

The addition of one person equals additional PTA.  Our new departure time = 9:00 a.m.  No reason to get excited; we’d still miss “rush hour,” though on the “post-” vice “pre-“ side of the rush.  Another cup of coffee, another gaze at the sunrise, another pan de sol – one has to make the best of these adjustments.  If not, one might as well pack the bags and leave for lands more in tune with one’s anal retentiveness.  After all, it isn’t as if we’re making a fourteen-hour, do-or-die trip to Manila.

Finally, the time had arrived to back down the driveway and start on our way.  It’s about nine-ish, give-or-take a minor PTA.  More importantly, it’s a good feeling to be going.  Both Emy and I will be able to ease ourselves back into our normal routines via this road trip and have a little fun while doing so.  No sooner are the happy thoughts really dancing away in my mind when we come to a stop.

We’ve stopped at the tienda (palengke) [market].  To my surprise, we are picking up the mystery guest passenger for the road trip (and her associated PTA).  I didn’t see that coming.   Well, ten-ish isn’t that bad of a time to start for Vigan.

The drive “Sur” is quite uneventful for a Friday morning.  Guess folks are saving their fuel for weekend road trips of their own.  We pass through the wide-open agricultural lands of Ilocos Norte, north of its capital of Laoag City.  Rice, sugar cane, corn and occasional tobacco grows on the level lowlands in the fields that spread from the nearby seashore to the mountains.

South of this capital and on into the province of Ilocos Sur, we pass through “pocket patches” of agriculture.  The topography is quite a bit more mixed – more hills and dales, more creeks and rivers, more disruptions to the easy flow of traffic – in this area than that of where we live.  As a result, agriculture doesn’t fill one’s view as far as the eye can see.  It’s in well-defined patches, comingled with natural impediments to farming.  It’s spotty in appearance, but every bit as successful farming as its “wide open spaces” counterpart.

We do pass through the urbanized areas of the municipalities along the way.  We even stopped for a traffic signal light, something quite rare up here in these provinces – the signal lights, not the stopping.  (By my guess, there are probably more traffic signal lights in one square kilometer of Metro Manila than there are in all of Ilocos Norte and, perhaps, Ilocos Sur.  At least, I didn’t see more than a couple all day long!)  These small patches of urban life do well to break the monotony of horizon-to-horizon agricultural land.

After some time (don’t know how long and don’t care to know – trying to calculate such things will cause you to receive a PTA penalty) we noticed a difference.  The urban areas were starting to be much larger and agricultural areas much smaller.  Then one final, hard right turn and here we were:  Vigan.

Day Tripping – Seeing & Doing

“So much to see, so much to do, so little time for either” - that’s the feeling first shared among the travelers upon arrival.  Of course, with each wanting to do something different, the experience at hand collectively seemed overwhelming.  We parked our vehicle among the open parking spaces at St. Paul’s Metropolitan Cathedral and took stock of our situation.  We needed to take care of the first of the three most important life-sustaining concerns currently facing us:  food, food, and food.

Ignoring McDo, the ‘Bee and other commercial eateries, we sought sustenance at the small “food court” of the “Centro de Regalos” [Gift Center].  I selected the vendor and we had a wonderfully delicious meal of pancit (bihon & palabok), beef apritata, kalderetta, kilaguen, bbq pork, and Pepsi for about P100 @ head (darned overpriced Pepsi!).

When asked how I knew which vendor to pick, I told my “fellow diners” that the selection was quite simple – I chose the busiest vendor who was feeding the largest number of high schoolers.  One can’t go wrong with the opinion of qwarta- (pera-) [money-] strapped students.

Kalesas and Culture

Following a desert of hot fudge sundaes and comfort call at McDo (a clean CR is one of life’s pleasures that Emy refuses to do without; the sundaes are mine), we decided to rent kalesas for the afternoon at Plaza Salcedo to take us to the various spots we planned to visit.  After price negotiations, we hired two rigs and were off on our adventure.

First on the list was a cultural stop.  We left Vigan for Barangay One of the town of Bantay (just to the south) to see the St. Augustine Parish Church and Bell Tower.  These are a couple of the oldest religious structures in Ilocos Sur, constructed in 1590, that are still in use today.  Additionally, this site was the scene of fighting during the uprising led by Diego Silang in 1763.

Our second stop was for a visit with a National Folk Artist – Fidel Antiporda Go, whose talents and ingenuity with crafting burnay pottery are formally recognized components of the heritage of Vigan.  We were in search of that “perfect burnay jar” and, as one would imagine, found it among the burnay works present.  We spoke with the artist himself, and learned of the burnay industry’s history, methods of production, and, in particular, the maestro’s personal hand in his works.

I surprised myself in being able to barter the price of that “perfect jar” down to P1,100 – something that very seldom happens I’m told.  I guess the artist took pity on the “puti”!  He did mention, however (when we said we were from Pasuquin, Ilocos Norte), that he was most particularly fond of the soft Biscocho of which our town is famous.  He was ever so charming the whole time we talked.  Did I detect a “tit-for-tat” wink when bartering prices and talking Biscocho?  I’ll see if I can send him a couple of bags.

Nature and Beauty

Burnay jar in hand (actually, in kalesa), it was off to the next point of interest on our list.  It’s a very large garden, full of all varieties of plant life and such.  It’s also pretty much hidden off the beaten path, so deep in the barangays that you will need a guide to get you there.  It’s called the “Hidden Garden” and it’s yet another of Vigan’s “hidden treasures.”

Yes, it’s a beautiful garden that’s pretty well hidden, but is far from being unknown in the Ilocos Region.  Many professional landscapers purchase plants, shrubberies, and other horticultural delights here, as do your common, every day Pinoy and Pinay.  (How they get here, I don’t know.)  It seems that there is something here for everyone.   Even those who don’t like or are allergic to plant life can find something in the gift center.

Almost everything you see, save the components of a special or extremely involved display, is for sale, too.  Some items are too unique to sell, as well as some being extemely troublesome to remove and replace to facilitate a sale.  Everyone, for instance, would like to own the Vigan Clay Jar Christmas Tree that is displayed in the “ber months.”  It looks like hundreds of small clay jars with red and green ribbons that are stacked up atop each other to form what appears to be a Christmas Tree – but it is a single piece of pottery that was ordered, fired and purchased by the Hidden Garden.  I’m sure they would provide the business information of the potter/manufacturer for the tree to anyone who asks so that one could have his/her own reproduced.  You just can’t buy the one displayed there in the garden.

Beauty abounds in this garden.  The physical brand of beauty – that described in colors, hues, shapes, aromas, and what have you - is breathtaking.  It’s truly a treat for the senses.

Another type of beauty that abounds here is “fiscal” beauty.  Prices tags on plants or prices on signs near plants are extremely low to begin with, in my humble opinion.  Toss in the “haggle-feature” of discussing product prices, and even larger bargains magically appear.  Be cautioned, however:  these bargains hide, too, and you have to seek them out!

Along with the garden-oriented sections, the Hidden Garden does have a small coffee shop as well as an “after hours retreat” complete with karaoke.  (What customer-oriented business in the Philippines doesn’t have karaoke these days?)  After we had finished browsing and purchasing, it was time for an afternoon snack.  The words “Tropical Halo-Halo” were bantered all throughout the group of my fellow travellers.    This wasn’t going to be your standard, everyday Chow-King halo-halo, This was going to be “Tropical Halo-Halo” served to us in a tropical décor.

Emy and I also found a little “Hide Away,” hidden in the Hidden Gardens (“triple displacement” from the klieg lights of publicity or notoriety).  It’s only now that I sit back and wonder if it really is all that much of a hideaway.  After all, the photographer seemed to have found it and snapped our picture without too much problem!  Still, it was a little, quiet cove where two could find a little bit of “alone time.”

When leaving the Hidden Gardens, we stopped at the cashier’s desk/sevice desk at the entrance/exit to see about our purchases and to pay our bills.  After just a little haggling, I saw a smile on Emy’s face that I haven’t seen in quite a while.  She apparently scored a “BIG BARGAIN” and was quite well-pleased.  I didn’t want to spoil her moment of glory, so I just quietly stepped back and enjoyed seeing that smile.  I also stepped back to make sure that the “banzai elephant” wasn’t going to follow us home.  It didn’t.

A Side Trip in Time

With our tummies full of “tropical” delights, and our kalesas laden with burnay and tropical flora and fauna, we decided it was time to “head for the barn.”  There were other places to see and other things to do, but there will be other trips on other days to accomplish them.

Right now, it was time for a leisurely trot through history (more correctly, through the Heritage City of Vigan’s historical district).  Traffic wasn’t bad at all as we left the “hidden” barangays, and travelled through some better seen, unhidden barangays on our way to the historic Heritage Town.

It was still the latter part of siesta time, and the Heritage Town of Vigan lived up to its name quite well.  The town’s shops and buildings of importance were either closed for siesta, or didn’t have much activity.  Tourists, on the other hand, never seem to sleep or take in that valued element of culture called siesta.  I have to plead guilty in this regard as well – our kalesa was out on the narrow cobblestone streets, fighting for right-of-way with those of the tourists.

Overall, the Heritage Town was pretty quiet this time of day.  I’m sure that things would be “hopping” more if it was still in the morning hours or the very late afternoon hours.  Siesta time, however, made some of the main cobblestone thoroughfares quite devoid of signs of life.

Occasionally on this calle or that boulevard a shopkeeper would keep some wares outside, as if to advertise his merchandise, and then call out from within his shop to the prospective customer who stops for a look.  I don’t know if very many sales as made this way, but hey – it’s siesta time.  No one’s supposed to make anything other than Zzzz’s.  If one earns an extra peso during siesta, all that much better.  If one doesn’t – no sleep lost.

We alighted back where we started at Plaza Salcedo, in front of St. Paul’s Metropolitan Cathedral, and shifted all of our purchases from the kalesas to our vehicle.  I can’t say whether our ponies were pooped.  They seemed to pull a steady gate all through the trip.  Of course, there were some long intervals while we were playing tourist during which they could have easily closed their blinders and caught 40-winks themselves.  If not, too bad – they had the opportunity!

All in all, our travels about the city in our kalesas were most enjoyable.  Even bumps in the road were easier to take – one only feels the bump once with a kalesa, but twice with a two-axle vehicle.  (It took me a while to stop anticipating the second jar after going over a bump.)  It’s a relaxing method of travel, and it keeps you from being in an irrational hurry.  You’ll always get to your destination, but you’ll never get there before your pony.

A Successful End

With our day trip to Vigan being a success, there was but one last thing to do before heading back Norte (North).  No self-respecting Ilocano travels to Vigan and ends his/her visit without stopping to buy some “Royal Bibingka.”  We stopped for ours at Marsha’s Delicacies in Bantay, Ilocos Sur (immediately south of Vigan on the Highway to Manila).

This is “world-class pasalubong”!  One just does not come away from Vigan without royal bibingka for family and friends.  Making sure that we would never step on cultural toes, we bought our fair share of these treats for the multitudes whom I was certain eagerly awaited them.

Now our trip was complete.  We headed back home and arrived just in time for a thrilling sunset – the perfect ending.  There will definitely be future trips to Vigan.  We had only scratched the surface of things to do.  We’ll take time in later trips to visit more cultural sites, including museums, period homes open for tourists, and the homes and hobbies of the local powerhouse heritage and political families – including the wild animal zoo of former provincial governor Luis “Chavit” Singson.

Today, however, is over.  It’s time to relax with a cup of tea and bibingka.

Up North: UPDATE

So very much can and does happen in three months time.  Has it been three months already?  Let’s check the calendar and see.  We arrived home in mid-July and November is replacing October on the calendars.

Yes, I guess we have been here for about three and a half months – time for an update on what could and did happen.   There have been dry, sunny days as well as typhoon-induced windy and rainy days.  There have been good days, great days, and days better left to history alone.  

I’ll highlight the better-known (and reported) incidents.  They are, however, just the tip of this tropical iceberg called Live in the Philippines, Up North.

-:-

HEADLINE:  Katulong – Lost and Found!

As you may know, the katulong who had taken care of our house in our absence, greeted us when we arrived, and helped us unpack is no longer in our employ.  She left us for that “higher calling” of love and marriage, and appears to be getting along well in that endeavor.  After what felt like an eternity of searching, we employed a new, part-time katulong.

An Ilocano proverb fits our situation pretty well:  “Ti napíli makapíli ti kuggangí.”  [He who is choosy often picks the worst.]

So far, so good:  our new katulong is learning the ins and outs of the job and of our expectations.  Sure, as with all new employees, there have been a few hiccups.  We solved those with improved communications, explaining the job’s requirements and limits.  You can’t do well if you don’t know what it is you are to do! 

Progress was positive, then what I believe was the inevitable happened.  You see, our katulong is a fisherman’s wife and has lived in poor fishing sitios and puroks all her life.  Not only was she learning how to keep house for us, she was learning how to keep house, period.  (It’s the often-observed result of a culturally pleasing affirmative answer whenever most pinoys/pinays are asked if they can do something.  “Can you do the work of a katulong?”  “Oh, yes!”)  She now says that we “may not be seeing her for a little while.”  (Translation:  “I give up; I’m quitting!”)

So, it will be back to “search mode” for baket ko (asawa ko) [my wife].  She still has some prospects lined up, and I’m still partial to fried Spam & rice, so things will work out.  (A little cuter this time, honey!)

-:-

HEADLINE:  “The ‘BRO” & Internet Connectivity

Another search, this one a little more adventurous, resulted in putting us “on-line” and connecting us with the world via the Internet.  We sought out, found and obtained “broadband” service through SMART Bro.  Though fate stymied my further search for the “Share It” router and its 2Mbyte service, I remain happy with what service I have.  After all, I have “The ‘BRO’s” word that this higher speed service, which has yet to make its way to the smaller municipalities of outlying provinces, will be available next year.  In addition, I’m sure I could say that my current service is faster than “dial-up” if I had landline telephone service for comparison.

Sure, as with all new systems, there have been a few hiccups.  (I’m getting a sense of déjà vu – seems I’ve seen that somewhere before.)  Ever since the seven-day brown-out that accompanied and followed the show-stopping, three-time appearance of Typhoon Peping in early October, my connectivity has been spotty at best.  (Okay, Paul, enough with all of those hyphenated-words . . . now stop that!)  Service finally came to a halt some nights ago.  A call on the SMART Bro Hot Line resulted in the scheduling of a visit by a crack SMART Bro Tech Team on Saturday, same week.  (The little truck appeared at noon.  Manolito, Mo-Mo and Jackie-Boy had returned and they repaired a bad connection to the feed-cable inside the antenna unit.  THANK YOU, SMART Bro.) Coincidently, the LBC courier showed up the day before the “halt” with the SMART Bro bill that is due in two days’ time.  Do I detect an adventure (“turn over the money and will give you back your service”) story here somewhere?

-:-

HEADLINE:  Rainy Season Nixes Movement

Wet weather continues to keep us close to home though, as reported here, we managed to venture out a couple of times.  This past week has been a little drier than most.  What that really means is that the rains start a little later in the day.  Planning trips or outings that will take longer than half a day is not yet possible, as, by the time you know the weather will hold for the day, there isn’t much time left in the day for the outing.

Sure, as with all . . . (insert your favorite “hiccup” déjà vu line here).  A few outings started out dry but ended up with our damp turn around for home.  There are plenty of dry days ahead of us, so those trips and outings (and their resulting articles and reports) will be on the back burner for the not so dry now.

-:-

HEADLINE:  Wee Hour Wee Visitors

It appears that we had another visit from the “small people,” as our nephew refers to them.  I’ll refrain from saying the name “Aeta,” as I’ve since learned that they don’t really enjoy that label (ditto for “Negritos” or “Pugot”).  For lack of their proper tribal name, then, I’ll borrow on our nephew’s diplomacy and refer to them as “small people,” too.  The chronicler for this visit was our Auntie, the mother of the nephew who related the first visit.  Auntie was more forthcoming and timely in her report.

This episode involved only two small individuals for whom all of the neighborhood dogs barked as before (déjà vu for two?).  One of the two peered in through the gate while the other sat and enjoyed a smoke (Auntie believes it was a hand-rolled cigarette, or something of that nature, as this person’s hands were a bit busy prior to the smoke).  They stayed around for the duration of the latter’s moment of pleasure, only to hasten off again when they detected Auntie watchfully eying them.  She described them as short, stout, very dark almost black, very curly short hair, wearing shirts, shorts and slippers, and being very fleet of foot.  Having a longer look at the “small people” than her son had previously, Auntie was able to provide more detail in her descriptions of everything she witnessed.

Where was your humble columnist during this episode, you ask?  As before, here was a chance for a nocturnal, cultural adventure, AND I SLEPT RIGHT THROUGH IT!  Baket ko (Asawa ko) [My wife] now makes sure that any dog barking at night is answered by my sleepy-eyed gaze and investigation.

-:-

HEADLINE:  Three Strikes & You’re Out!

I guess this is the major story of our first three months.  Typhoon Peping took three good strikes at us, and then was out to sea for good.  It was very similar to my going through the same typhoon three times in five day’s time while stationed in Okinawa during the early seventies.  (What is it with all of this déjà vu stuff, anyway?  Am I repeating unlearnt history?)

My “Fascination with Rice” took a new turn.  The beautiful rice crop that was in the paddies took it kind of tough during those three passes.  Early estimated reports of damage were high, but farmers are replacing those estimates with lower ones.  There were three or four different plantings of the rice crop, with the most damage suffered by the youngest crop (last planted).  Its “flowering” is doubtful and it will most likely end up as just straw.

The first planted crop was close to harvest time, so it suffered “field loss” damage – some of the grains were blown off the plant, leaving others still attached a little weaker and prone to drop off “in the field.”  The result will be fewer grains harvested and marketed.

Damage to crops planted between the first and last is extremely hard to compute.  All crops planted were a hybrid version formulated to withstand excess water and storms.  Though some of these crops were “laid down” by the high winds, signs of resurrection are hopeful.  The worries here are just how long will standing water remain in the fields, will the rice grains fill out properly, will disease or pests infect the crop, etc.

No one will really know the total damage until after the final harvest.  Prices at the market for harvested, un-milled rice may go up a little and help offset the losses a little, but profit may still be a big squeeze for the farmers, not to mention the effects of rice availability, etc.

Personally, my “banana crop” loss is approximately 75%.  I lost one entire fruiting tree and half of the fruit of another.  The remaining fruit on the latter is yet to approach harvest time, so who knows what could happen.  The three typhoon passes also eliminated 100% of the eggplant that was almost ready for harvest.  Three of four malunggay trees snapped in half with most of the remaining leaves being lost to the wind as well (good thing we harvested leaves before the storm).  I still have five calamansi fruits on one bush, and a second bush is trying to recover from storm damage.

(Note:  At the time I am drafting this acticle, Typhoon Lupit [Ramil] is threatening to finish up the damage started by Peping, and throw in some of its own for good measure.  We can only hope it decides to wend its way north an miss The Philippines all together.   We’ll find out later this week just what are Lupit’s (Ramil’s) intentions.  You have to love living here and put up with its storms, or else leave.

Further update:  After snaking around the Philippine Sea for a week, it appears that Lupit had made an abrupt turn to the ENE, lost some of its power – being downgraded to Tropical Storm – and is headed for Okinawa and the Ryukyu Islands.  For this storm, waiting seems to be its worst aspect.  While six international weather services have amended their projections for Lupit to coincide with its current movements, they still warn that “the snake” could turn for us again as well as intensify prior to visiting.  That won’t happen as Lupit was last seen skirting up the coast of Japan, having lost a lot of its intensity and dispersing in cooler, northern sea waters as a low pressure area. 

Harvesting rice has become very hard work.  The fields are still flooded from all the rains, the rice plants are all soaked and heavily laden with moisture; and the cutting, carrying, threshing, etc. is more back-breaking than ever.  Reminds me of shovelling “wet” snow is winters past.

Oh yes:  Lupit hasn’t affected the remaining banana crop.  For the “Bananaphiles” out there, eight hands remain, each averaging between 14-16 fingers.)

-:-

That’s the UPDATE from Up North.  All in all, I make a poor farmer and a merely average resident.  I just hope my article writing is a little better.

Off The Beaten Path

Just to the northeast of Saud Beach in the Ilocos Norte town of Pagudpud (often voted among Asia’s Best Beaches) is Sito Bimmanaaw, Caunayan Bay.  This bay was a very important site during the Second World War, though unknown to almost all.  A dwindling number of veterans and their families know and remember all too well, however.

It was here at Caunayan Bay that the U.S. Navy forged a bond of friendship with guerrilla fighters and “Bolomen.” The latter were ordinary citizen who resisted occupation forces through their assistance to the guerrillas. Bolomen were so named because their only weapons were bolos (a type of machete) and pointed bamboo lances. It is here that in 2007, a group comprised of the STINGRAY  Friendship Foundation, the National Historical Institute, and the Departments of Tourism and Education placed a memorial to that bond. Known as the “STINGRAY Memorial,” it commemorates the 20-some U.S. submarines that supplied the resistance fighters of Northern Luzon and performed other “classified” missions.

The memorial itself (named after USS STINGRAY) is constructed of marble, stone and pebble. A 500-kilo anchor sits atop it, signifying the anchor “cut loose” by the crew of USS STINGRAY (and eight other anchors similarly cut loose by their submarines) on one of their last missions.  This emergency action allowed USS STINGRAY (and the other eight submarines) to avoid detection and evade approaching Japanese vessels via a “quick get away.”

The memorial pays tribute to the guerrillas and Bolomen, and crews of the U.S. submarines who delivered arms, ammunition, medicine and supplies. An example is the above-mentioned mission of USS STINGRAY. It offloaded six tons of arms and supplies and a 15-man Fil-Am commando team just six weeks prior to the “return” invasion at Leyte. A Filipino veteran recalls that without those arms and supplies, they would not have been able to liberate Northern Luzon.

Getting to the memorial (a site that also is good for diving and surfing, conditions permitting) is a scenic trip in itself. The memorial sits in a 10-hectare coconut grove, along the white sand beach. Reaching the coconut grove requires a drive (or serious hike) from the National Highway on a semi-paved provincial road. The drive goes through a valley and over a “short” mountain heading toward the beach. There was no signage when we visited – just the road and the adventure of following it to its end at the coconut grove. The beach and the coconut grove are similarly scenic. Pristine waters lap the white-sanded shores.  Ten hectares of coconut trees provide wonderful shade from the heat of the sun as well as fresh coconuts.

Along the drive are beautiful vistas, and agricultural villages and fields. Carabao serve as tractor, truck and sports car here – they easily glide around some of the tighter curves in the road.

Additional pictures finish this article but not the story. More can be learned from the Bolomen website.

Jose Rizal – MY Hero

“The dawn is not far. Spain opens the east for her beloved Philippines, and times are changing and I am positive that more are being done than we can imagine!”
Dr. JOSE RIZAL, Philippine National Hero

I started liking and loving Jose Rizal from that moment I read his book NOLI ME TANGERE. Of course, Rizal was quite subjective in writing it, since his motive was to gain feedback from his people by exposing in beautiful words the evils besetting his own country during that time, thus rallying the people for a peaceful revolution. NOLI ME TANGERE had also drawn ire from indignant censors because of its fearless expose on the colonial evils under the cloak of a literary masterpiece.

Fact is, Rizal has been the initiator of Philippine-German Cultural relations, a topic, which guides me also through the life as a German expat living in the Philippines. One can find a lot of literature regarding this topic.

Why do I mention this? A friend of mine in Manila sent me an email and invited me to fly to Manila. There might be something very interesting for me:

Up to June 28, 2009 is it possible to experience the musical satire “Rizal is My President” (Pilipinas… Marangal at Banal). It is directed by Raffy Tejada, the original songs aare by Noel Cabangon, and the script is by Joshua So, a Palanca Awardee. The musical satire based on the book “Rizal is My President – 40 leadership tips of Jose Rizal”.

Venues will be in Manila and Quezon City. For inquiries or reservations you might call Manila 02 – 631-5923 or 632-7553 or 687-1309.

I am sure, I try my very best to arrange my schedule and fly to Manila and watch the play “and believe in the dream again” – as a saying goes.

Philippine History

One of my favourite subjects already in elementary (and later in high school and college) has always been HISTORY (besides GEOGRAPHY and – later Mass Comm). Before my several journeys to many different countries I always tried to learn more about the nation, its people – and its history.

Being back from South Africa in 1980 I really got surprised to find more then 50 letters of different Filipinas, who answered one of my advertisements in a national Philippine daily looking for a penpal. This was the time I started also being interested in Philippine history. And, of course, it’s more then interesting:

Named after Philip II of Spain, the Philippines is a beautiful country  and has been called “Pearl of Orient”. No wonder, if more and more people plan to come here – as tourist, as business people, or – permanently for good. With a fertile soil, healthy climate, and rich natural resources and fishing grounds, it is poised on the brink of of an agra-business and aquaculture revolution. It has the world’s longest discontinuous coastline of about 34,000 km. Can you imagine this?

The Filipinos are a racial mixture due to their reception of different cultures in their history. Intermarriages have been – and, are still common. the majority of the people have mixed blood. Aboriginal tribes populate the mountain interiors. Most Filipinos belong to the Malay race, with a twany complexion, black hair and black eyes.

The Philippines is indeed a unique nation with four cultural heritages – Asian, European, Mexican, and American. No other nation in the world can claim to have such a varied experience with all four cultures. Thus, it is not unusual for Filipinos to look Oriental, have a Spanish sounded name, speak English with an American accent, and have a Latin temperament.

Philippine history is more then interesting: the Early history (back to the 13th century), the Spanish colonization, the three centuries of Spanish rule (1565-1898), the Filipino nationalism, Philippine revolution and War of Independence (1896-1901) up to the “Third Republic” (1946-1972). Knowledge of  Philippine History, to my opinion, is a must, for every one, who plan to stay here. Such knowledge eases the first problems of adjustments while staying here for good.

Or, what do you think?

Postscriptum: No wonder, that “I didn’t leave my heart in San Francisco” (even having in-laws there!) – but IN DAVAO CITY/PHILIPPINES.

A Common Language?

This quote is attributed to Winston Churchill in comments he made regarding Great Britain and the United States.  While I’ve often found that Winston is a bit like Yogi Berra who is noted for his assertion that “I didn’t really say everything I said”, I believe that Winston would own up to this quotation.

One of the great things about living in the Philippines is that English is one of the official languages and it’s rare indeed that you can’t find someone who can help you out in English if you’re like me, a typically “monolingual” American.

But do be careful before you rush into things … just because the words are in English doesn’t mean you and the person speaking them have actually engaged in true conversation.  One of the more subtle forms of “culture shock” involved with becoming comfortable living here in the Philippines is not only learning a new, native language, but relearning a bit of the English you thought you knew.  A few examples to illustrate my point:

Overpricing: In the past few months there has been a lot in the news here about several large government contracts where the term “overpricing” has been bandied about.  Now to me, “overpricing” means a supplier tries to charge a purchaser more than the market value for an item.  As a guy who worked in government procurement for many years I’m no stranger to the concept.  I always thought I got the best deal for the government I could … but I’m sure there were instances I could have done better … the term “Beltway Bandit” didn’t just arise out of thin air.  But here in the Philippines,”overpricing” is a “code word” for bribery … when a contract is alleged to be “overpriced” it is an accusation that the government was charged too much and in return government officials accepted money from the person who did the “overcharging”.  The real definition of that is “bribery”.  One act is, at worst, negligent, the other is criminal.  They are not synonyms at all.  Perhaps the practice has developed in response to the extremely restrictive libel and slander laws here.  Do not make the mistake of saying derogatory things like, “he’s a crook”, even in jest.  That might be an ‘actionable’ offense … an libel cases can drag on for years and years.

Brownout: This is a pet peeve of mine.  “Brownout” is a term that came from the US many years ago.  Electric utilities developed a technique for coping with excessive power demands by lowering the voltage being supplied to the user.  Since power changes by the square of the voltage in a circuit, small changes in voltage have a huge change in the power consumed.  But brownouts are disastrous for many motor powered devices (such as air conditioners) and have even caused fires by overheating line (mains) powered devices so the practice was (at least officially) done away with.  Today utilities cope with overwhelming demand by means of “rolling blackouts” … cutting all power to one area at a time while maintaining specified voltage in other service areas.  More inconvenient, but a heck of a lot safer.  In the Philippines, a power failure … the absence of power coming into your home … is called “Brownout” when in reality, it is a “blackout” or “power cut”.  Why do the terms mean such different things?  As my 2 yo nephew is fond of saying, “I dunno”.  Confusing one with the other could be a shocking experience.

Comprehensive: Lest one think this is about picking on the Filipinos for incorrectly using English, let’s look at this word which is simple English with a simple meaning … encompassing everything.  If you have car insurance in the US you very likely have a portion of your premium going to “Comprehensive coverage”.  But it is not “comprehensive at all … it is coverage for physical damage that is not caused by a collision with another vehicle or fixed object or “upset”.  Fell asleep and ran your car into a tree?  That’s a collision coverage issue.  Missed the tree and instead rolled the car in the grass beside the road?  Ah, don’t be upset, that should be covered by the “upset” portion of your collision coverage.  A vandal smashed your windshield … now that is likely covered by you “comprehensive”, which is, in actuality, anything but “comprehensive”.  Here in the Philippines, a “Comprehensive Policy” essentially means what the word actually does mean in the dictionary … coverage against perils such as collision, upset, fire, theft, vandalism and so on.  When I first saw my insurance policy quote before buying my car I almost jumped out of my skin … that mush for “Comprehensive”?    Then when I saw how the word is used in the Philippines I found my “full coverage” insurance was actually a pretty good bargain.

Tomboy sometimes TB: Even though purists may correctly point out that American use of “tomboy” to describe a girl more interested in sports than make-up is a bit insensitive and sexist, but it’s still a part of most people’s language … and usually that’s all it means.  A girl or woman who is interested in what are traditionally “male” things.  It certainly has seldom, if ever, is making a statement about the woman’s sexual orientation.  Here in the Philippines, you better be real careful about describing you niece or your wife’s cousin who happens to excel at sports or knows how to tune up an engine.  When you say  a girl is a “tomboy” it almost invariably means she is a lesbian and is sexually oriented toward other women.  Why would this rather innocuous expression be reshaped into something that is absolutely no one else’s business and could be very hurtful to the woman and her family?  Perhaps it’s a reflection of the goal of “delicadeza” at all costs, or perhaps it started long ago from some other meaning … but it is what it is and you’d be well advised to think twice, or even three or four times before ever uttering the phrase.

Okay, enough for now … what’s your favorite “separation by common language” issue?