Switching Gears

I'm currently in my mom's hometown.  San Carlos city is in the province of Negros Occidental which is part of the Visayas region of the Philippines.  This is going to be a bit of a different experience than I had in Palawan.  Palawan was mostly about being in and around the water, out in nature and admiring the scenery.  There is water, nature and scenery here, but based on how things are going, I think this portion will be more about meeting/reconnecting with family and taking in the festival.  It is an experience that most tourists don't get to experience - the real authentic life of the Philippines.  There are not very many "whiteys" here and, in fact, the only one I've seen besides my dad is another British guy that is married to my mom's cousin.

My last night in Manila ended up being a party night as my cousin's family were invited to a birthday party . . . . naturally that meant that I was invited as well!!  We went over to the house of the birthday boy.  It was a triple celebration as his wife had just recently had their third child and his dad was also in town and it was his birthday the next day.  Let's just say . . . . it was a celebration and it ended up being a late night (or early morning depending on how you want to look at it).  The next morning I said goodbye to George and Beauty (Vivien had partied too hard and was still in bed).  They really did so much for us and helped to make B-Rod's first experience in Asia (and an Asian super city) a really positive one.  We're already looking forward to seeing them again in the future and hope that someday we get a chance to take them around our part of Canada!

Caught my flight out of Manila to Bacolod the next day where I was picked up and greeted by my folks, and Beauty's sister Pet Pet and her 2 boys.  Pet Pet has a car, so acted as our driver on the 2.5-3 hour drive to San Carlos.  A bit different scenery than in Palawan.  It starts off going through mostly sugarcane fieds, up to rice fields and terraces, over the mountains and back to the ocean.  It was really beautiful (and B-Rod would have loved the road as it was super windy), but I was too busy taking it all in to get many pics.  Maybe on the way back.




A resort area being built up in the mountains.

Thanks for driving Petx2 : )

Got into town, checked into our hotel (which is owned by one of my mom's cousins . . . . my mom has a big family and it seems like a lot of places in town are owned by one of her family members).  It's clean, comfortable and in the center of town, so it's convenient.
I have my own spot to sit at in the evening or a place to have some tea in the morning, but . . . . . 

. . . . the view from my balcony is a bit disappointing!  

Next up, we were off to supper at another one of my mom's cousin's houses.
When Filipinos have a feast, there is no messing around or any hope of running out of food!!  (that's my dad and the other white guy in town)



Ha!!  Zack, I got you!! (Zack - the little boy - and his brother are refusing to be in pictures!)

I was up early this morning, so I set off to explore, and ended up at the market.


The point-point places (turo-turo) actually have a few vegetable dishes - this is a bit different than in Palawan!

At times the market was a bit of an uncomfortable feeling.  As I mentioned, there's not a lot of "whitey's" here, and though I don't consider myself a whitey, I'm distinct enough from Filipinos, that I can't really blend in either.  So, I did get quite a few stares and curious gazes.  I think Palawan and Manila are so used to getting the tourists, that B-Rod and I rarely got a second glance.  But, despite sometimes feeling uncomfortable and facing a language barrier a bit more, I did some shopping and came home with breakfast.


I even came back with a new fruit to try
Mangosteen

I may have actually tried this before.


My parents got up a bit later, and after breakfast, we left the hotel to "hunt" for more family.  By chance, we came across a parade happening in town.  Mom got flagged down by people she knew (family? friends? maybe both?), so we watched the parade with them.  It was actually kind of funny during the parade because people kept leaving the procession to come over to say hi to my mom (did I mention that she has a big family with a lot of relatives here and San Carlos is considered a small town)



Floats went from somewhat elaborate to . . . . 

. . . . guys in a van wearing masks


One of the people who left the parade to welcome my mom home.

Hey!  It's my uncle : )

Back to the parade.  I've been told that Filipinos are obsessed with taking selfies.  This isn't the first person with their camera on a stick that I've seen taking self photos.

Think this is one of those painted cow statues in Calgary?  Nope, it's a real, live painted carabao

Here's the vehicle that was at the end of the parade.  My favorite part about it is . . . 

. . . . the women in the back who are given shade so they can text along the way.

At the end of the parade, we walked over to visit my mom's uncle.  The rest of the day was pretty much spent walking from house to house, having drinks and snacks, or a lunch feast depending on the time.  I wonder where or which relatives house we will be having our supper feast tonight?

Before I go, here's some of the sights from San Carlos
Part of the reason why I'm here . . . . for the festival.  

There's a mix of trikes (the motorcycle cabs we were taking in Palawan) and bike taxis here (Pedicabs)




It might be considered small, but the main square is a bit crazy

Yep . . .  .it is 30+ degrees and my dad is wearing socks!!



By the ocean, but I haven't found a beach to swim at yet. . . I haven't really looked that hard though.

relatives, relatives and more relatives



Yes!!  Don't worry B-Rod I'm bringing some home.  You don't have to worry either Nes your order is coming back with either me or mom.  Your watch though . . . . . that's another story!!