Why Retire in the Philippines/Marinduque Vacations: 1. Places Outside the US that Macrine and I had Visited- British Columbia, Canada

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, August 27, 2015

1. Places Outside the US that Macrine and I had Visited- British Columbia, Canada

Place #1: Vancouver, Victoria and Whistler, British Columbia, Canada

This is Part 2 of a series of articles on places that Macrine and I had visited outside the US since 1960. Part 1 (No 1 to 30) were places that we either had resided or visited in the US including the Hawaiian Islands. This article is number 1.

The series will include our trips to Spain, Morocco, Rock of Gibraltar, London, Rome, The Vatican Cancun, Puerto Rico, Aruba, Toronto, Niagara Falls, Cuernavaca, Mexico and the Bahamas.

One of the fifteen places that my wife and I have visited outside the US was our trip in August, 2005 to Vancouver, Victoria and Whistler, B.C., Canada. . This was in connection with another Grand Reunion of Marinduque International, Inc- a non-profit organization organized to give free medical missions to Marinduque, Philippines. It was one week of Fun and Relaxation that we will always remember.

British Columbia is on the western coast of Canada. The climate of Vancouver is Mediterranean similar to San Francisco, California. Vancouver is about 2 hours drive north of Seattle, Washington and has also a large Filipino-American community. We enjoyed Stanley Park, Queen Elizabeth(Sunken Garden) Park and Exotic China Town. Historic Gas Town and the drive along English Bay Drive was great. We took a sunset dinner cruise along Vancouver Harbor passing through English Bay, False Creek, Burrard Inlet and under the Lions Gate bridge(photos above).

We took a tour of Victoria, the capital city of British Columbia. The tour started from Vancouver via a 90-minute ferry ride across Georgia Strait and the beautiful Gulf Islands. Included in the tour is an admission to the world famous Butchart Garden (photo above). Here's a short video of the Butchart Gardens, one of the most beautiful gardens in the world.

The tour included a 30 minute drive along Beach Drive with views of Juan De Fuca strait and the Olympic Mountains. We also passed by the Upland and Oak Bay Streets residential areas, the Royal Victoria Yatch Club and the University of Victoria ending at the Victoria Harbor. Photo of Victoria Inner Harbor at Night-from thelifeofluxury.com

The next day, we took a one-day tour to Whistler, site of the 2010 Winter Olympics. The scenic tour started with a relaxing drive up the Sea to Sky Highway which overlooks majestic Howe Sound with its panorama of mountain lakes and glaciers. Along the way we stopped at Shannon Falls, one of North America's waterfalls at the Squamish Forest Reserve.

Oo our way to Whistler, Canada-Photo from www. people.uleth.ca

We highly recommend the above three places in Western Canada for a relaxing and enjoyable vacation.

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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