Why Retire in the Philippines/Marinduque Vacations: Selected Photos from Our Two Abodes

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

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Selected Photos from Our Two Abodes

If you have been following my blogs, you probably know we called ourselves snowbirds. We have a retirement home in the Philippines, but our primary residence is in Northern California. The following are some photos showing the differences between our two lifestyles. Since pictures are worth more than a thousand words, all you will read are labels of the photos; Enjoy my photos:

The first photo is our ranch style home in the Philippines and the second is our home in Northern California

Our backyard in Marinduque versus our backyard in Northern California

The first photo is our side yard in the Philippines versus our side yard in Northern California

The first photo is the twin orchids in my front yard in the Philippines versus the yellow orchid in my yard in Northern California

My jack fruit tree in the Philippines versus my lemon tree in Northern California

My PC in the Philippines versus my PC in Northern California
Last but not least is Party time:

The first photo is in northern California with salad and Dungeness crab, versus filipino cuisine of Marinduque.

Our friends often asked us which abode do we prefer. Our answer is always, both places. Marinduque is excellent place during winter time and Northern California is an excellent abode during Spring, Summer and Fall.

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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