Oslob trip

Again, sorry about the delay.  We have been busy and are still fighting internet connection.  I know we have said it before, but I think we finally have the internet connection figured out.  (Where to put the wifi device and when to do it.)

On January 24, 2016, our oldest son was here from the US for a visit. We drove 2 ½ hours to Hilongos to get on the RORO (roll on roll off) ferry to Cebu. We arrived with enough time to eat supper and then waited on the pier for the ferry. The ferry was suppose to leave at 10:00 pm and you load 2 hours prior to departure. However, they had a mechanical failure and departure was pushed back to midnight. It is a 4 ½ hour ferry ride to Cebu. We were on the ferry 8 ½ hours and arrived in Cebu about 4:30 – 5:00 am. Prior information from Joshua was that his ferry would arrive about 8:00 am. While we waited we ate breakfast at Jolie Bee. About 8:00 am Josh called and said they would be arriving about 11:00 am. More time to kill. We finally met up with Josh about 11:00 at the Supercat ferry terminal.

Since it was lunch time when Joshua arrive, we went to SM Mall and had lunch at Sbarro for pizza. After lunch we got on the road to Oslob. On the map it was about 80 kilometers (about 50 miles) from Cebu to Oslob, should take about 2 hours. It took about 3 ½ hours. I did not count on the traffic. It was very dense and typical Filipino traffic (see previous post about driving in the Philippines). We finally arrived at the Lagunde Resort about 4:30 pm. Very nice place, follow the link if you want more information. Flor and Abet cook super and Judson and I went swimming in the pool.

https://www.facebook.com/lagundebeachresort/

The following morning I was up to watch the sunrise from the patio of our room.

We went to Oslob proper and visited the Heritage park.

We headed to Tumalog falls. Nice drive up the side of a mountain. It was 2^nd gear in the Revo most of the way. Not sure of the height, but it is at least 200 feet up. The water in the pool was cold. Be sure to bring a pair of water (wading) shoes as the bottom is rock and sand. JJ had a great time.

The next day we intended to swim with the whale sharks. By the time we got their the coast guard stopped the activities due to wave and wind. We ended up at Cangua-ay beach, a private beach. It was a stair climb down from the road, but worth the climb. We grilled our lunch of pork and chicken at the beach.

Wednesday morning, Flor, Joshua and I returned to the whale shark area. Bryan thought he might get motion sickness, JJ was to young and the others did not want to go. Foreigners are charged 1000 pesos (about $20), Filipinos are charged 500 pesos (about $10) and people who live in Oslob are charged 50 pesos (about $1). Since I am an immigrant with an immigrant card, I was charged the 500 peso price. The waves were 3 – 5 feet and the water was a little murky, but we were able to see and swim with the wale sharks. We rented a waterproof camera and the pictures were copied to a CD. However, we cannot open the pictures on the CD. Here are some pictures from the internet.

Until next time (hopefully quicker).  Thank you for following us.

Pigs

We had butchered one of our first pigs for the Christmas Party we gave for the guys who work the fish pen. Everyone enjoyed the different dishes that was prepared. We ate our meal under the net canopy by the beach.

For our second pig, we looked for someone to buy him live. We were unable to find a buyer for a live pig so we decided to butcher the pig and sell it ourselves. On 01/15/16 Flor and Abet went around barangays Pondol and Canipaan to pre-sell the pork. On 01/16/16 the pig was butchered in the backyard and packaged in 1 kilo (about 2 pounds) bag with the feet, head and internal organs separated. The guys who butchered the pig get the head and what was cooked at the time of butchering.

Flor was doing book keeping duty. Keeping track of who bought, who has received and who has paid for their pork. One person paid for his pork with rice. This is okay with us since we eat a lot of rice. From buying of the piglets, feed and medicine to the the butchering and selling of the pig we profitted about 4000 pesos (about 100 dollars). Does not sound like a lot, but here that is a lot of money.

As with the fish pen during harvest, butchering a pig in the backyard is a social event. Kids playing, people conversing and coming and going and of course the pork and rice being eaten with beer and cola afterwards.

Of course there is cleanup after all these activities.

My job in this ordeal was the daily care, cleaning and feeding of the pigs, learned a few things so we can make the next set of pigs more profitable. I am in the process of building a pig pen on the farm. We have a female and male pig left. We plan on selling or butchering the male. When the female is ready we will have her inseminated. When ready, we will sell the piglets for 2000 pesos (about 40 dollars) each. Whatever is left, we will raise them and once they get above 20 kilos (about 10 pounds) we will sell them for weight. There are a couple of hog buyers that go around town, load the pigs and take them to larger cities. We plan to keep one pig to butcher and sell ourselves when it hits about 80 kilos (about 160 pounds). We should have moved to our new place by then so I think this will be a good excuse for our neighbors to get together every four months.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year

November and December where busy months for us with the construction of a shed and the house.

The shed is basically complete. Hopefully by 01/15/16 we will have a kitchen counter/sink and loft completed so we can move in. We are grateful for the loaner home, but we want out of it so the owners can get back into their home whenever they want.

The house on the other hand is just a shell without a roof. We were getting worn out of the daily construction of the house. When it was to a stopping point we stopped. We can now be in better control of what is being done. In the next week or so, we will contact the construction foreman and get them back for a couple of days to get the trusses up. After that we will see if we can do the roof metal ourselves or if we need to have the contruction crew back. (A side note on the roof metal. At Midway Wholesale when we sold a roof metal package, screws were the fastening device that went with the package. We even sold the screws in 100 ct packages. Here they use “umbrella nails”. A nail with an oversized cap, no rubber on it. You have to put caulking under the cap. Screws are not found here.)

We will be working on other projects that do not require a crew. Putting up pig pen, tiling floor, installing fixtures, plumbing, painting, etc.

We do have internet at the farm. We use a pocket wifi device and chase the signal around. We cannot get a signal in the shed. We have found a couple of spots outside of the shed that we have a good signal. We place the wifi device in an empty peanut butter jar to keep it dry in case it rains. Hopefully we can better update the blog now.  (Sorry about the time between this post and the last.  We are still working out all the problems of connecting to the internet.  We will try better in the future.

There are two access roads to the farm. One from the north from the barangay road. One from the east from the national highway. It is second gear all the way on either road. Both need rock dumped on them to take care of ruts and holes.

We butchered one of the pigs for a Christmas party for the people who worked the fish pen. A lot of food and karaoke well into the night.

It feels good to have a break from all the daily grind of building a house. Right now there is only the two of us quietly finishing up the shed so we can temporarily move in. No more 11-member construction crew around everyday. No more wondering what to get them for snacks twice a day. Not that I mind doing that. It is a breath of fresh air to have the place to ourselves.

We bought a two-door refrigerator that had been delivered right after the New Year. We also bought a 32'' flat screen and a dvd player to keep JJ entertained. I'm finally able to play my favorite Christian songs on CD while working alongside Michael. I feel like I'm finally home hearing the old familiar hyms. I thank the Lord for this wonderful change of pace – for now, that is.

Until our next blog, have a blessed 2016 everyone.