Fiesta and Bees

It’s not every day that you’re invited to a free banquet hosted at an upscale resort (of which you are not a registered guest).  The nearby town of Poblacion and its environs was having their annual Fiesta in honor of St. Augustine.  This overflowed to the resort area of Panglao Island by means of a lavish feast including many traditional Philippino dishes.  The most impressive of the offerings had to be “Lechon”, which is roasted whole suckling pig.

Lechon

We were told that acquiring an entire pig is quite expensive for average Philippino.  And that preparing lechon is time-consuming as it is basted over the fire all day.  Having to devote so much money, time & effort makes this a special-occasion treat.  So we considered ourselves lucky to be in the right place at the right time (thank-you St. Augustine).   As one might guess, the result of such an involved cooking process is crispy, flavorful skin and tender fall-off-the-bones meat.  All the food that was offered was meat-based or fish-based.  In fact, we've been hard-pressed to find much in the way of salads, or fresh veggies.  Dessert was a range of fresh fruit, coconut cakes, and ube (purple yam) "jam" but I would describe it more like a very thick custard.

The next day, we hopped on a tricycle to Poblacion to see San Agustin church, where the festivities were still in full swing.  In front of the church was a large float; a portable altar of sorts, bearing a statue of Saint Augustine.   There was a small group off to the side, playing various simple instruments like drums and bells.  Others venerated the saint by bowing & praying, lighting candles, offering flowers, or even dancing to the rhythmic drumming.

Several meters away was a crumbling look-out tower, and beyond that, the ocean.

We continued on to the Bohol Bee Farm, at the suggestion of our trike driver, who had taken us to Poblacion.  Richard was a very Catholic man.  Every time he commenced a journey, or passed a church, he would make the sign of the cross. The inside of his trike was decorated with various religious mementos and pictures of Jesus & Mary.  He had his 4 year old son with him, on the motorbike (we were in the passenger side-car).  There were times, if we were climbing a hill, that I thought I could run faster than he could drive!  But it got us out of the scorching mid-day sun.

The Bohol Bee Farm was unique.  It reminded me of the Saskatoon Farm south of Calgary on highway 2.  Aside from the organic farm & apiary, there was a little restaurant, a store, a craft-making area and even a couple cottages for rent.  We were taken on a tour & taught all about bees: their lifecycle, the role of the drones, the queen, and so on.  At one point, each person got the chance to hold part of the bee hive.  The bees were docile; completely indifferent to all of us.  

After the tour, we sampled the various types of honey.  Coconut honey was my favorite!