Sunshiny Day

We spent the night in a small resort beside the beach in La Playa, Badian and were waiting for the bus to Cebu City when a young mom and her four kids with their bright smiles passed us by.

A lovely way to start a day. 

gate-crashing a wedding in Cebu

the gate-crashers watching the reception from above

On holiday in Cebu, we were on our way to dinner when we stopped by historic Fort San Pedro to get a sense of our past. 

We got more than that.

Aside from absorbing the beauty of the stone bastion and it's many stories, we also got to witness a couple celebrate their love. 

The guard let us into the fort and we proceeded up to the tower to look at the scenery -- beautiful Cebu and  the equally enthralling reception unfolding below us.

fish avenue

dilis! 

baskets full of dried delights

stalls devoted to danggit and company and the people who line up to buy them

oh what a beautiful sight 

Cebu longganisa for meat-lovers

I think I know what I want for breakfast..

...or do I?

sweet tooths will go crazy over the mango chips and juices, if they can find them in the melange of dried fish

taking a break from the danggit to peel a suha

If you ever get lost on your way to Danggitville or Dried Fish Heaven (Taboan Market), just follow your nose and you'll surely find your way. The smell of dried fish, squid and other sea creatures is hard to miss. Yes, it's that powerful.

Located right beside the biggest market in Cebu (Carbon), you'll find it quite a challenge to choose between salty, not too salty, no salt, crispy danggit in Taboan.( I wonder if there's a low fat version?)  And that's just for starters. What if you don't like danggit? Well, there's swordfish and numerous other dried fish that I don't even recognize in all shapes and sizes. Crazy for squid? There's small, medium, large, caramelized, colored, etc., etc. If you like them small, there's dilis in its original shape or maybe split open.  

However you want your dried fish, there's surely something here for you and at the right price. (Don't be afraid to haggle or combine choices for a better price)

Going back to the distinct smell of Taboan. If you're headed to the airport right after buying danggit, you better think twice. The odor sticks to your skin and clothes and it's pretty much like dousing yourself with perfume --

for  the cats. 

ang prutas natin

a whole lot of papayas, honey dew, mangoes and chicos make up the contents of this fruit cart in Liliw, Laguna. ice-cream lovers will surely appreciate the dirty ice-cream cart beside it.

mais, mani and friendly smiles from the tinderas of a small pwesto by the highway between Teresa and Morong, Rizal

supots of camachile hang on a tree in a San Fernando, Pampanga highway

camachile, up close

apples, chicos and cheerful sellers in down town Cebu

at P35 a kilo, humakot ng chico si Ned

washed, plump and ready to eat
(parang line from Eat Bulaga, "it's clean, I washed it!) 

irresistible duhat in (street corner in Liliw, Laguna)

bubot pa, binenta na
such is the rarity of duhat that I bought some even though I knew it wasn't quite ready for eating yet
 

nothing beats the heat better than buko fresh from the shell

lovely mangoes ...
if only we'd tasted them before the passersby got to them

the heart and fruits of a banana tree in a seaside town in Cebu

senorita from Tagaytay --
green when we bought them there, yellow when we arived home in QC

picking caimito in Bocaue, Bulacan

langka, nangka or jackfruit -- whatever name you call it would still taste  as sweet

the yellow, clingy fruit (above) and the seeds ready to be boiled (below)

more corn by the highways of Lumban, Laguna

uncooked  (above) and cooking (below)

watermelon, papaya, mangoes, pineapple and balimbing in Moalboal, Cebu 

one balimbing, please!
bought one to remind me what it tasted like (maasim!) 

do you know what a mabolo looks and smells like? 

how about a camachile?

 or duhat?

spend the summer wisely by eating our very own fruits. 

while they may cost a lot in the groceries, you can do better by going to a neighborhood stores, looking out for roving fruit carts or vendors, going to  the public  market or inviting yourself to lunch at a friend's house so you can pick caimito and indian mangoes from their trees and bring home some for baon. while that may seem makapal, it's way much better than stealing them from someone else's trees.

 Hoy, isoli nyo na ang mangga namin! 

washing in the streets

Sahod muna ng tubig..

...para makapag-laba ng maayos (Tondo, Manila)

Majayjay lass 

Labandera na, tindera pa

Kids gather around to help their mom (sa kwentuhan?)

Luisiana labanderas amidst the green grass and bamboo-pipe-carrying water

Ayaw nila umitim? The ladies on the road leading to Pagsanjan share a huge umbrella as they wash their clothes and troubles away.

Using her palo-palo, the lady in red drives the dirt away, while her friend in a native hat hangs her clothes to dry in a bamboo sampayan

Cavinti's old highway beside a creek and waterfall is the site of women and men washing clothes together

busy, busy, busy in Albay  --
 while three women wash clothes, another  gathers water,
 while another whiles her time away by texting

In the middle of  a city street, in front of a house and sari-sari store, by the wayside,  on the side of the mountain, creek or river, we chanced upon them. 

From different parts of Laguna (Cavinti, Majayjay, Luisiana), Bicol and Tondo, Manila we saw women feverishly working hard -- banlaw, kusot, sabon, banlaw, kula, sampay -- to get their labada sparkling white and clean.

A washing machine and dryer may get the work done faster but nothing beats the fulfillment you get out of working as a team and learning the latest news about family and friends, chismis about your favorite stars and politicians from a labada partner.