Only in Marinduque, Philippines-An Update

Chateau Du Mer Main House, Amoingon, Boac, Marindque,Philippines-Our Winter Retreat

Just recently, I posted in my blogs an article written by a friend discussing his recent trip to the Philippines as a Senior Citizen. The article reminded me of my own experiences as a snowbird resident in our second home in the Island of Marinduque. The following is the article I wrote more than two years ago March 3, 2014 to be exact just in case you have not read it.

"This morning a door to door service woke me up at 4:30AM. I was in deep sleep when I heard the newly installed buzzer in our front gate. I thought the kids in the neighborhood were playing with the buzzer as in previous years. The bell rang two more times and I realized is time to wake up and see who is ringing the door bell . I walked barely awake to the front gate about 20 meters and asked what time is it and who is ringing the buzzer in this early morning hours.

I heard an apologetic response, door to door service Sir. What time is it? 4:30AM Sir. Why so early? Please be patient with us Sir. We are still delivering to Buenavista. Our load of fresh vegetables are rotting, that is the reason for this very early delivery.

I opened the gates, 4 small boxes and a long side table with glass top was delivered in my back porch. After checking that the glass top was not broken, the door to door service with another apology went on their way to Buenavista about 45 minutes away. The delivery was part of the mop and pail package that my sister in-law purchased for me in Manila. It cost 600 pesos. It is needed to clean our marble floors in the main house and the tile floors of the conference Hall. The glass top side table and other boxes were for my sister-in-law beach house and cottage.

Thank you dear sister-in-law for ordering the mop as well as my new PC and monitor, but hopefully the next delivery will not be early in the morning as this one.

Another item I want to mention is the dental service in this poor island with no air service from Manila. In general the dental services here are comparable to US standards and are much, much cheaper than the dental cost in California. I had ordered two new dental partials last year. The other day, one of the teeth in my lower partial broke after I eat a small piece of lechon skin ( roasted baby pig).

I tried to call my dentist in his land line several times. His telephone kept on ringing but no one is responding. I got tried ringing his phone, so I decided that my driver and I just drive to his office. Luckily, he was in his office and was able to fix my partial after leaving it overnight. I realize he does not answer his land line. He only respond to his cell phone that I did not have at that time.

Update: Just recently, Macrine had her teeth fixed ( a crown) and it cost us a fortune. As they say when you open your mouth to see a dentist here in US you also open your wallet. Like most Americans, we do not have dental insurance.

The third item I observed that is only in the Philippines is the special check out line for senior citizens in the grocery stores. During our 4 day stay in Manila prior to our land and sea trip to Marinduque, we purchased about a 2 weeks supply of grocery staples, fruits and vegetables. I was accompanied by my sister-in-law who has a senior citizen card and booklet. I was surprised to see a special check out line with seats for waiting only for senior citizens. I believe we got a 5% discount for certain basic food items, but not for alcohol and tobacco. Not much discount, but every penny here in the Philippines counts. There is no such line in the US.

Finally, I want to emphasize that I am really enjoying our 90 days snow birding time here in Marinduque so far. The mornings are cool but in mid day it is getting hot and humid- a sign that the hot summer season in the island Paradise is getting near ".

Update: The weather here in Northern California had been beautiful this past week. Cool in the morning ( in the 60'S and not too hot in the afternoon), sunny and not a single drop of rain!