Why Retire in the Philippines/Marinduque Vacations: A Surprise Visit from Macrine's Youngest Sister

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

Saturday, September 17, 2016

A Surprise Visit from Macrine's Youngest Sister

The Five Hermanas, 2016-Charro is 1st photo from the Right.

The other day at about 5:30 PM while Macrine and I were having dinner, we heard our door bell. I thought the bell was coming from the television. I decided to take a peek at our main door and to my surprise Charro and husband Michael Levine were at our door step. What a pleasant surprise, indeed! Macrine was so happy she was speechless and immediately asked me to give them something to eat and joined us for dinner.

Michael and Charro ( Rosario Jambalos) said they just finished eating and were not hungry or thirsty. They were on their way home to Palo Alto from their whole summer vacation in the East Coast ( New York and Washington, DC). They decided to stop by since we were only a few minutes from Highway 80. They gave Macrine a loaf of banana nut bread.

Charro is Macrine youngest sister. She just recently retired. Her last position was as an oncologist clinical nurse specialist from a prestigious hospital here in Palo Alto, California. This summer they have their residence rented. They stayed at her son( during his absence doing a South Korean concert tour) apartment in New York and in her niece (for 8 days when she was in the Philippines) condo in Washington DC. Charro's son( Carlos) is a classical professional pianist and teaches piano at the Julliard School of Music in New York.

Macrine and her 4 sisters are quite close. In spite of their busy lives, the 5 sisters try to get in touch with each other via telephone (FaceTime) or through e-mails and FB messages as often as possible.

I sort of envy them because my own sisters and brothers and I seldom talk to each other. Once or maybe twice a year my sister from Canada calls me just to say hello and Chitchat. My sister from Iloilo and brother from Australia and I keep in touch with each other via FB messaging. However, I know they read my blogs so they know exactly what my status and what I have been doing. So my dear two brothers (from Australia and Bacolod) if you are reading this-sent me a message in FB inbox. To my other three sisters ( from Iloilo, Canada and Maryland) do the same. I love you All!

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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