Why Retire in the Philippines/Marinduque Vacations: Is Snowbirding Really Great?

Planning to Retire Soon!

If you are planning to retire in the Philippines soon, I suggest you visit several excellent websites on pro's and cons of retiring in the Philippines. However if you want to retire in the provinces, where life is simple, standard of living cheaper, less traffic congestion and pollution, availability of fresh seafood and vegetables compared to the big cities, my island province is the place for you! If this is your first time in my site, welcome. Some of the photos and videos on this site, I do not own. However, I have no intention on the infringement of your copyrights. The photo above is the front yard of Chateau Du Mer- Our Retirement Home in Boac, Marinduque, Philippines

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Is Snowbirding Really Great?

Photo taken at the Balanacan Cove Convention Center with David III and Frank Irlandez, March, 2011
You bet it is! This lifestyle is fantastic if you hate the cold temperatures in the US on winter time. But why are there not too many Filipino-American retirees snowbirding?

My guess is that it just too expensive, maintaining two households. In addition, one must have personal resources to take care of your house in US (abroad) while you are in the Philippines and vice versa. In our case, we are lucky to have a son who is single and has the time to take care of our residence in US while we are in the Philippines. On the other hand, we are spending a lot of money hiring a caretaker/gardener/housekeeper/cook to take care of our second home here in MDQ when we are in US in the spring and summer months.

Just recently, we almost lost our Caretaker/Housekeeper. But after 1 month of vacation and sick leave, they decided to return. It would have been ideal, if we have another relative here in MDQ to take care of our second home when we are in US, but I guess that is asking too much.

I hope that our current arrangement will continue as long as we have the energy( that is healthy enough to travel back and forth) to maintain this snowbird lifestyle.

Here are the highlights of our 2011 Snowbirding Year

1. Catholic Wedding of Elaine Lazarte and Alex Chaplain
2. One week of MI, Inc Medical Mission in Marinduque
3. Valentine Dinner and Dance and an overnight stay at the Bellarocca Resort & Spa
4. Attended several parties including Macrine's 75th birthday, Blessing of Bob and Elisa Howard Cottage in Laylay, Dinner with Rene and Genny Nieva at the Amanah Forest Preserve
5. Dinner with Steve Sosa in his beach house in Quatiz, Gasan and
6. Holy Week and Moriones Festival Celebration

Is snowbirding in your future plans after retirement? If so, please feel free to ask me if you have questions anytime. After all we have been snow birding since 2002 and we have a lot of experience and knowledge on this subject. Cheers!

Note: I believe the word "snowbirding" is not yet listed in the Webster dictionary.

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Fruit Trees in the Gardens of Chateau Du Mer

The Mango Tree-I have three varieties in my Garden-The Indian, Guimaras and Carabao Mangoes My caretaker/gardener informed me last month that due to the El Nino drought in Marinduque, two of my Durian trees died in spite of his vigilant watering. One of the tree was attacked by insects that looks like a big fly but yellowish in color that sucks the sap of the seedling. The roots of the other tree was attacked by ants residing in the soil. However, my other fruit trees, the rambutans( 2), the lanzones(2) and the jack fruits ( 2) trees are doing well. The above eight fruit trees were given to me by Retired General Recaredo Sarmiento of Boac and Lucena., about three years ago. General Sarmiento is the “atid” of my wife. “Atid” is the colloquial term for brother. Evidently, Macrine's father, the late Bernardo Jambalos was the Godfather of General Sarmiento during his baptism and comfirmation. Gen Sarmiento's hobby is orchard planting, reforestation and farming. The other fruit trees in my garden are guayabanos, cashew, avocados, starapples, duhats, ates, guavas, mangoes( 3 varieties) and papayas as well as several varieties of bananas . Of the above fruit trees, my favorite is the guayabanos, also known as soursop tree known for its anti-tumor and anti-cancer properties . The following are photos of the fruit trees. The Durian photo is from the web. Note that it almost look like a jack fruit tree, except that the leaves are bigger and shiny. My desire is to have a passion fruit tree in the near future. You are welcome to visit my orchard and flower gardens any time, if perchance you are in the vicinity of The Chateau Du Mer Beach Resort and Conference Center.

The Rambutan Tree and Fruits

The Lanzone Tree and Fruits

The Jack Fruit Tree

The Durian Fruit Tree