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| Rice paddy |
Our trip began and ended in Manila but the real adventure and the best memories are of the countryside beyond the city. Leaving the noise and crowds of the city we spent several hours driving through villages, lush forests, and rice paddies. We actually ate rice at every meal and the country consumes tons of rice, but they don't grow enough for their own demand. The Philippines is the 8th largest producer of rice but also the world's largest importer of rice!
We traveled to a bustling town called Liliw. Isabelle's family owns a shoe factory there! Can you imagine how much fun that was?
It was very busy with shop keepers from the surrounding area coming to purchase shoes that they would, in turn, sell to the people of their own community. We found several styles that would work well in Doha!
The roads outside the city were well maintained and by times crowded with the local transportation called the "jeepney". These were originally the jeep vehicles used by the American military during its colonization of the Philippines from 1898-1946. When the Americans left in 1946 (Philippines independence) they left these vehicles behind. The locals modified them with an extended back end to carry more people.
Motorcycles with a sidecar are also very popular to transport people, whole families, goods, and farm animals!
We continued to the province of Batangas and the area called Anilau. We were never very far from water and it was spectacular.
We arrived at Isabelle's family Dive Resort just in time for sunset. We spent the next 4 days snorkeling, diving, boating, sitting by the water, eating
buko (coconut milk with fruit and ice), and exploring the local sights.
It was relaxing and beautiful!
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