how i spent the last few days of my summer in manila

so. what to do with four free days in manila? take the road less traveled, that's what.

on june 24, this road was embodied by the dirt road to the gawad kalinga enchanted farm in angat, bulacan. it was a very eventful trip that started at 5:45am and included getting lost in pasay (where the H is the OLDE international airport???) to fetch my sister blanca who just flew in.

we spent the good part of the day getting lost in the farm. it was hot, literally and figuratively. 

so here is me and blanca, looking very jologs. i was here only seven months ago and so much has changed. they do not seem to stop constructing here.

these are gk kids working on the new herb garden. our tour guide, scientist/agriculturist jong noriel, called it the sorriest herb garden ever. but i doubt it will stay that way long. 

if this pool had water, i would have dived in. or at least dipped my feet in.  that while drinking their yummy enchantea would have been heaven.

and near the heart shaped pool is this bahay kubu cum nail spa. isn't the idea simply great? to have your nails done here. the view must be great. but i would probably be lulled to sleep by the peacefulness of it all...

but for many reasons, the highlight of the day was lunch. first because i was hungry and lunch was delicious (grilled meats and some kind of vegetable and fresh pineapple). second because we had it picnic style in the shade of a duhat tree. and third because of the great company. we had the great fortune to have gawad kalinga founder tony meloto join us for lunch. (but who really joined whom? we were at the table first, he arrived with other staff members when we were halfway through our meal already. but i have a feeling the staff set that table up for him hehe). but conversation was really great. in the photo below is tony - what a patriot! - and senior staff members of gk enchanted farm as well as interns from abroad, mostly france.

the interns and staff reminded me of my jvp years. so refreshing to be amongst them, if only for a little while. then we had to leave. blanca had other appointments. we left with a lot of kesong puti, a product of one of several social enterprises operating from within the farm and benefiting residents there.