Why Retire in the Philippines/Marinduque Vacations: Have You Been to Malacanang Palace?

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, November 10, 2018

Have You Been to Malacanang Palace?

If not the following photos taken by Dr Joel Cuello, President of PAASE, October 24, this year is a must see.

Entrance to The Palace( Night Time)

The Court Yard

Dr. Cuello wrote of his recent visit to Malacanang: "Arguably the most storied and iconic residence in all of the Philippines, Malacanan Palace has endured and has -- since 1863 -- served as the principal workplace and official residence for 18 Spanish Governors-General, 14 American Military and Civil Governors, and the subsequent Presidents of the Philippines. It is without doubt a national historical treasure and has in recent decades become a powerful locus of contention for the soul of the Philippines' modern-day vibrant, though at times still seemingly tenuous, democracy".

The Reception Hall

I have been to Malacanang Palace a few decades ago when I attended a Paranggal Ceremonies honoring a friend from Maryland. Dr Cuello's photos also showed The Drawings of Juan Luna -a coffee book from the collections of my former classmate in Chemistry in UP, Dr Eleuterio Pascual.

My association with Dr. Pascual and his coffee book about the paintings and drawings of Juan Luna is discussed in my blog as follows:

https://davidbkatague.blogspot.com/2012/11/my-contemporaries-are-dying-dr-teyet.html

Note: The photos of Dr Cuello has a SAMPLE mark because I converted it from PDF to JPG format. I have not purchased the converter program, thus the SAMPLE mark. I have the permission of Dr. Cuello to post some of his pictures in this blog.

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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