Lush

Notes on Bukidnon:
1. Everything is Lush. Throw seeds on the ground and Bukidnon grows you a forest. Or in our case, pineapples, bromeliads, hyrdrangeas, and pine trees. The last coming as part of Americanization (think the pine trees in Baguio, and that pines are not endemic to the tropics regardless of altitude level).

2. The metric system (kilometers, milliliters) as reference is also quite popular among the locals:
Me: Jun, how far is Quezon from here?
Jun: 155 kilometers

R: Miss, how much is the bottled water?
Sari Sari store Miss #1: The 250 ml is P8 and the 500 ml is P12

Me: Miss, how far is the monastery from here?
Sari Sari Store Miss #2: 6 kilometers

3. Highlights were
a) visiting the Monastery of the Transfiguration run by the Benedictine Monks. We buy their Monks Blend coffee in the supermarket here, so R got really excited that we were going to the source. So we drove 98 kilometers to the barangay of San Jose, Malaybalay Bukidnon only to miss the sign on the side of the road because, due to lushness, a tree had covered it perfectly...


But we got there just the same and it was a good walk around


b) heading out to the border between Misamis and Bukidnon for our version of the Grand Canyon (see photo from a few posts back). Place is called Lunocan Canyon. It is breathtaking, even on a foggy day.


4. A good place to learn how to ride a motorcycle. hahahaa, hooch on the side of the fields doing just that.

Hole Number 14

I played golf for the first time in a year. I lasted nine holes. Was so stiff I knew that I was going to ache the next day. Hit some good shots, no shot was really really bad. But the cracks in my game (dipping shoulder, looking up, fast swing) were all there, lurking beneath the surface. After six holes on the glorious course, I had scored 5 bogeys and 1 triple bogey, the 5 bogeys could have been easy pars (but met with my bad putts). But hey, Not bad, decided that if I got back into the game, my goal would be to get a solid handicap in a year's time. I figured if I get the MGolf Club share and I play once a week, I can hit a strong bogey round (handicap 18) in no time.

Then something wonderful happened, I stopped trying to prove to my caddy (who really couldn't care less) that I could hit really far. Course management took over--accuracy over distance, focus over ego-- and I hit 2 pars and a birdie. And the birdie was on a rather long par 4. What a thrill.

I was so thrilled I didn't play the rest of the time I was there. Besides, I was aching.

Always good to stop on a high note.

Picture: by R as she watched me head to tee off, Del Monte Golf Club, Bukidnon