Romblon- Marble Capital of the Philippines

Now I will admit that Romblon probably isn't at the top of your bucket list for travel....

But that's a shame, because Romblon was quite a charming place, full of smiling folks who were thrilled to greet us.

Because I have tried my hand at stone carving, I opted to take a "Marble Traditions" shore excursion. 

Travel around the Philippines is usually by tuktuk or jeepney.  Here's our transport for the day...

GREAT decorations.....

Aren't we a merry little band...

First stop, a few of the landmarks of this island city of nearly 39,000.

We visited St. Joseph's Cathedral, , which was begun in the late 15th century.  It's odd to think that the Philippines were invaded settled by Europeans before the first colonies appeared in what would be the US.  (If you are interested it all goes back to some folderol and fiddledee by the Pope...)

Then it was off to Fort San Andres...THAT was only built in 1644....

And then off to tour what puts Romblon on the map... MARBLE.

Any sort of driving in the Philippines is chaotic, at best...tiny roads and jeepneys make it interesting.

The quarry (one of them) was NOT what I expected.  Actually, I don't know WHAT I expected- something more industrial?  But this is the "carving" quarry, so it's more boulders than slabs...

The grey marble was simply lovely.

As you know, sometimes life just tickles me.  When you think about it, this is the PERFECT way to keep a hen with her chicks safe and sound...

Check out this stonecarver. At least he has eye protection.  Look at the strength of his arm.

It was Sunday, so most of the carvers were resting.  We were able to ramble around their works in progress.

Precious, beautiful little ladies posed for us.

Studio, shop and home all in one.

Most of the studios consist of woven palm fronds formed into lean-tos.

We were provided duskmasks- and we were thankful for them.

All I could think of was Arnold Ziffle from Green Acres.

I bought a marble tray, and asked for a photo of my salesfolk.  They willingly obliged.

Then it was back up and over the mountains....

To the commercial marble production...

OSHA would not be happy with this scenario.  At least he has hearing protection.

Isn't the coloration exquisite?  How gorgeous would THIS be in a kitchen or bathroom?

Tile polisher hard at work...

Balustrades or table legs???

Even some artwork in progress...

If I could only have figured out how to get these home, I would save them until I have a remodel...I loved the colors THAT MUCH...

Hard to see how BIG this slab is that he is picking up from the saw....but it's about 3 inches thick.

And then, because we are on an island...there was the inevitable beach visit....

With the inevitable coconut...

With the inevitable Toes-in-the-Sand photo...

This time, chickens were involved.

Sweet little guest house...

And, "All too soon" as Crystal describes it in the tour booklets, we headed back into town.  A ramble through the "shopping center" led us to a fellow carving a tombstone.

Yes, this is the shopping mall.

 And this was our tour guide Dax, with our tour  escort and ace knitting teacher, Susan.

And one look back at the fort and harbor.  Now I just have to figure out how to get those marble slabs back to Hooterville-on-Red........

Boracay Island, Philippines

 This is my present view...

It's 6:15am as we sail into Hong Kong.  Three days of shopping with the girls lay ahead, so I thought I'd try to get at least one catch-up on the Philippines before we "shop-til-we-drop".

I first named this post "Boracay- Calling all Chiropractors" because after two days of riding in the standard mode of Filipino transport- tuktuk and jeepney- I need one. But it was soooo worth it to visit this truly lovely patch of Paradise.

So, Ada, Elisabeth and I hopped on an excursion to the Motag Living Museum, which is dedicated to preserving the Filipino way of life from the early twentieth century. 

Getting situated for our 15 minute boat trip ...

And, just like that, we are in minivans passing rice fields.

Our guide demonstrated the traditional way to carry water from the river- bamboo!

Freshly grated coconut, squeezed around, makes a wonderful soap--gentle and thorough.  

Traditional multi-level house.

Our rice planting and harvesting guide. (remember, they are showing a way of life from the 1930's.  Now, slightly more efficient methods are used.)

Intrepid Crystal photographer Ana was brave enough to ride a waterbuffalo...

Fresh coconuts provide food, water, soap and make the basis of bowls and eating utensils.

Coconut fronds can be woven into everything from roofing, to bedmats, to baskets, to toys.

Ada and Elisabeth enjoyed it all.

Pounding rice to remove the husk.

And I was entranced by this precious young lady rolling cigars.

Bamboo cut in the right place makes excellent cups...and storage units...

Some sand, pounded down, makes the perfect base for the raised kitchen hearth.

Now THIS dear lady should be recognized by the coconut industry as a living example of the power of coconut. With her dark hair (undyed), lightly-lined skin, and agility you would never guess her age as....

93.  Yes, Ninety-three. 

She has never used anything on her face and hair except coconut oil or grated coconut.

The guides sang us a lovely farewell song, and we headed back to town with a much deeper understanding of a way  life that should be preserved for future generations.

Next stop- we wanted to have a bit of a relax in a resort.  So we hopped onto an electric tuktuk

A WILD 40 minute ride ensued.

Around the equator, there are not four seasons, but two???

Here's our driver...and our bright pink tuk tuk.

The Movenpick Resort was north of the famous- and very very crowded- White Beach...

Definitely not crowded.

You guessed it... obligatory toes-in-the-sand photo....

(No, I refuse to call it a "T-i-t-S" photo...)

Ada, Jeff, Karen and Stacy in this photo- just out of the pool.

A little wine in the afternoon makes everything better. Just ask Elisabeth-with-an-S.

Heaven.  just heaven.

5 pm...time to head home.  And just in time, too.  We had boarded the tender back to the ship when the heavens opened..... what a gullywasher!

The perfect day! 

And in mere minutes (68 to be precise...it's now 7:23)...I look up and we are HERE!!
Hello Hong Kong!!