Tuesday, January 12th
Our first night in our little cottage was very comfortable. We sat and read or wrote in our little living room then turned in early in our own bedroom with our clothes all neatly hung in our own closet. We have a little kitchen but Anna uses it for her duties during the day so we do not interrupt.
Anna is a lovely lady from the village who keeps house for Leroy and Reza. When we arrived she was busy sweeping and cleaning the main house in preparation for their return. The floors are swept daily or more since we track in sand and leaves from the gardens. But after a few days away there is evidence of geckos taking over while the house was empty and Anna makes it all go away. She also does the laundry, not down at the river as the other ladies do, stopping to have their bath at the same time. Anna has a wash house with running water and a sideboard for her scrub board. It is a bit of a culture shock for me to have her do my laundry and not to have the facilities to do my own. She does not use the sink, why stand all day? She sits down on a little stool in the midst of her water tubs and scrubs by hand, moving from soap tub to rinse tub as she progresses. She has a radio going to keep her company. When we arrive home from a days adventure it is all fresh and dry on long lines in the garden. She then folds it up for ironing the following day. She ignores the modern steam iron provided and uses the charcoal iron she has always used. She is well experienced as she has been in service since she was 9 years old.
This is a good posting for her as she is not required to live in and work from the time she gets up to the time she goes to bed. It is only steps from her own home in the village. She knows what is required and sets her own schedule. She may come in the cool of the early morning and then go home to feed her family breakfast and prepare them for school. This morning she tapped quietly on our door just after 6:00 AM, expecting to steal into the kitchen to retrieve a basket and sneak out without us noticing. She was startled to have me answer “Come in.” and to find me sitting typing this note. Dan was already out prowling the property. Later she joined us for breakfast at the main house. At the moment she has finished cleaning our home and I can hear her busy on the verandah.
The grounds are kept by Caesar, also from the village. Leroy jokes he gives Caesar instructions and then Caesar goes and does it right - his own way. He also sets his own schedule. He was disturbed to find the outside lights off on our cottage when he did his 5:00 AM tour to check all was well. We won’t turn them off again. He also makes a final tour late in the evening. Any changes are reported to Leroy - There is a snake in the lower level. A certain tree needs to be trimmed. We should move a plant from this garden to that where it would be happier. He is constantly raking so the grounds remain free of leaves and debris where snakes might catch us unawares. There is usually a fire pit burning to take the resulting piles of debris.
Leroy and Reza do not just sit back and watch their work being done, but are actively involved in the creation of this lovely place. Leroy has taken a real interest in palms of different types and he is adding them to the property in appropriate spots. He has plans to replace a lane of unproductive mango trees with a variety of fruit trees that can be used. How many mangos can two people eat? Young papaya are already growing and the others will come. Reza plans the flower beds and vegetable gardens are under her control. Mornings she will water each area and check to see everything is happy in its place.
There was a mystery of holes appearing around the roots of the plants in her front flower bed. Was it the “girls”, Hunter and Cuddles, two cats that have adopted them? They were taking the blame until Reza spotted a small frog sleeping in one of the small depressions. Of course, the flower bed is near the front door where the light attracts bugs all night long. The perfect froggy hollow.
The life is simple but very pleasant. We went to Bacolod today to get groceries and met another couple at a very nice hotel for lunch. It was decorated in modern clean lines and as well kept as any in North America. The menu featured both familiar and unfamiliar dishes. What we chose was good. We lingered over our lunch visiting and making plans for a picnic on the mountain tomorrow.
Then we went to shop for food and necessities. The grocery store carried everything as we see in Super Store. Of course the basics were different and the brands were largely unfamiliar. There was less variety in vegetables and limited dairy. That said, if you are cooking Filipino style, there was a lot to choose from. What we got was very reasonable.
We also stopped to order Dan custom made sandals. Leroy fitted a pair he had ordered earlier. He will pick them up after some adjustment is made. We get Dan’s next week.
Driving here is an adventure. There is no speed limit and you share the road with bicycles, trishaws, motor bikes, jitneys, large buses and sugar cane trucks. All have their own speed capability and require less or more of the road. Everyone is hurrying to overtake the other. Leroy handles it like a native speeding and slowing, zooming around others with inches to spare.
The road from Bacolod is largely highway and smooth enough to negotiate. Once we leave Mercia, the road is a rough track. Coming home we watched the jitney ahead of us unload the passengers at the base of a hill. Everyone walked up and got back on at the top. We saw water buffalo soaking in a deep patch of the river. Reza says it is the girls enjoying their daily spa. Eventually we reach Callibago and find Caesar standing with the gate open to welcome us home. How did he know when we would arrive? Reza texts his cell phone of course! What a mix of old and new!
We cooked a nice dinner and visited for a while under the trellis but it was a hot steamy evening and we all retired early to get a good start for the mountain tomorrow.
Goodnight!
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