Beach Wedding and Chateau Du Mer Slide Show

Beach Wedding Slideshow: David’s trip from Citrus Heights, California, United States to Marinduque, Philippines was created by TripAdvisor. See another Marinduque slideshow. Create your own stunning slideshow with our free photo slideshow maker.

North America National Parks

Yosemite National Park-photo by Frank Cabunoc
Today is Memorial Day -unofficial day of the start of the summer season, although the weather has not been cooperative here in Northern California( sunny but cold)! Summer time is the time to visit our National Parks and enjoy the outdoors and the beauties of nature. The following is a beautiful video by David Fortney-an award winning cinematographer(Source: www.jansen.com.). I love this video and I have just to share it with you.

How many national parks have you visited in your life time? My wife and I had visited only six national parks but several ( seven) national and historical landmarks/monuments since we immigrated to the US in 1960. Our visits to these parks will never be erased in our memories. I hope you enjoy the video below:

Why We Love Marinduque

The White Beach of Poctoy, Torrijos with Mt Malinding in the background

The following are some of quotes and comments from the web from visitors to our island of "Why They Love Marinduque".

Photo from marinduquegov.com
Traveling to the island during the Easter peak season can drive one nuts, but Marinduque greatly rewards your "penitencia" with one-of-a-kind religious revelry, beautiful landscape and gracious people. From: eazytraveler.blogspot.com

A small island province in central Philippines, Marinduque speaks of such profound natural beauty that will not escape the notice of a well seasoned traveller. From: instaurareperomniachristo.blogspot.com


I stayed in Marinduque for almost three weeks. It's a heart-shaped island surrounded by pristine blue waters, beautiful white sand beaches ( in most areas) and marine sanctuaries. I have been told it has one of the most beautiful virgin coral reefs. It is truly such an awesome place. While I was there I've seen so much picturesque views that more than once took my breath away. They were like pictures from National Geographic. From: www.myscrapworks.com/mswdigi/


It is with a heavy heart that I left Marinduque the next morning to go home. I wish to thank all Marinduquenos for their hospitality. Marinduque is for sure one of those places you should see before you die. http://my_sarisari_store.typepad.com/moriones Festival, May 26, 2006

My whole Holy Week experience was utterly engaging and can hardly be forgotten. Leaving the island of Marinduque after a week-long joyful festivities is quite saddening. On the Monday after the Festival, tourists begin to leave and the island become once more a place of simplicity, complacency and beauty. I am thankful to the Marinduquenos for giving me a temporary home away from my true home. Dennisvillegas.blogspot.com/april/2008.


Memories of a nocturnal walk in Boac, June 29, 2008

It was the last night of my week long sojourn to Marinduque. Eight in the evening, I went out of my hotel room to stroll once more the lovely streets of Boac. The evening was peaceful and cool with a lovely soft breeze of wind in the air. This reminded me that I was in one of the most rural places in the Philippines.etc...etc..

The sky was well illuminated with the romantic glow of the moon, creating lovely silhouttes of ancient houses from beyond, dwarfed only by the lowly clouds from above
etc... etc.... It was past midnight when I started back to my hotel room, still photographing street sceneries. Boac indeed is a lovely little town from the olden days, but its evening is even lovelier... Dennisvillegas blogspot.com/, june, 2008.


If it's your first time in Marinduque, do not worry. Almost everyone seems to be a friendly guide. Genuine hospitality is what I like most in this island.
From dongism.blogspot.com

Buenavista and Mt Malindig
Characterized by pristine natural beauty, Marinduque boasts of a wide spectrum of unspoiled beaches, mountain peaks, fabled sulfur springs, limestone caves, cascading waterfalls, fringing reefs, virgin islets and old Churches. From: www.marinduque.gov.ph


Last but not least from www.chateaudumer.com
Are you looking for a perfect and affordable vacation in the sun? Marinduque Island is the place for you! Stay at Chateau Du Mer Beach Resort. All you will hear are the sound of the waves and your heart beat. This will be an experience to remember!!.

Videos on Marinduque-My Island Paradise?

Amoingon Sunset taken from the Balcony of Chateau Du Mer Beach House
Recently, I was surfing on the Web and You Tube. I found about sixty short videos on Marinduque. The following five videos are my favorites. The first one was made by Eli Obligacion to honor former Governor Carrion and his administration. The second was a vacation video by a typical tourist. I do not even know the video maker and the people in the vidoes, but the video was well made and shows several beauty spots of Marinduque. The third and fourth videos are from NBN,Channel 4, with Mayo Suzuki featuring the town of Gasan and Torrijos. The video contains a tour inside the beautiful mansion of Mayor Vicky Lim in Bacong Bacong, Gasan, a butterfly farm, a facility for making virgin coconut oil and a fishing village in Torrijos.
The fifth video is by Mykvan, taken in 2007, Views of Marinduque.

Video by Eli Obligacion. This video made me homesick. It is an excellent video of the sites, scenery, a little bit of history, culture and traditions of our island paradise with the background music by Yanni(one of my favorite musician.

Vacation Video from a typical tourist to Marinduque. One of the best vacation videos, featuring the beauty of our islands. There are more than sixty videos made by tourists about Marinduque in the Web, but the quality of most of the videos is not worth your time. But the above short video, I hope you will enjoy.

Part 1 of Mayo's Video of Channel 4- Lakbayin ang Magandang Pilipinas

Part 2 of Mayo's Video of Channel 4- Lakbayin ang Magandang Pilipinas
Video by mykvan, 2007, Views of Marinduque
I hope you have enjoyed the above five videos. Comments will be appreciated!

Yamashita Treasures in the Philippines( Marcos Golden Buddha)

Marcos Stolen Golden Buddha

Have you heard about the Marcos stolen Buddha? The Buddha is part of the Yamashita treasures supposed to be buried in the Philippines. Below are three videos as well as a write up of the Yamachita treasures from Wikipedia that I found very intriguing and interesting.



Prince Yasuhito Chichibu Yamashita's gold, also referred to as the Yamashita treasure, is the name given to the alleged war loot stolen in Southeast Asia by Japanese forces during World War II and hidden in caves, tunnels and underground complexes in the Philippines. It is named for the Japanese general Tomoyuki Yamashita, nicknamed "The Tiger of Malaya". Though accounts that the treasure remains hidden in Philippines have lured treasure hunters from around the world for over fifty years, its existence is discounted by most experts. The rumored treasure has been the subject of a complex lawsuit that was filed in a Hawaiian state court in 1988 involving the Philippine treasure hunter, Rogelio Roxas, and former the Philippines president, Ferdinand Marcos.

Prominent among those arguing for the existence of Yamashita's gold are Sterling Seagrave and Peggy Seagrave, who have written two books relating to the subject: The Yamato Dynasty: the Secret History of Japan's Imperial Family (2000) and Gold Warriors: America's Secret Recovery of Yamashita's Gold (2003). The Seagraves contend that looting was organized on a massive scale, by both yakuza gangsters such as Yoshio Kodama, and the highest levels of Japanese society, including Emperor Hirohito. The Japanese government intended that loot from Southeast Asia would finance Japan's war effort. The Seagraves allege that Hirohito appointed his brother, Prince Yasuhito Chichibu, to head a secret organization called Kin no yuri ("Golden Lily"), for this purpose. It is purported that many of those who knew the locations of the loot were killed during the war, or later tried by the Allies for war crimes and executed or incarcerated. Yamashita himself was executed by the U.S. Army for his war crimes on February 23, 1946.

The stolen property reportedly included many different kinds of valuables looted from banks, depositories, temples, churches, other commercial premises, mosques, museums and private homes. It takes its name from General Tomoyuki Yamashita, who assumed command of Japanese forces in the Philippines in 1944.

According to various accounts, the loot was initially concentrated in Singapore, and later transported to the Philippines. The Japanese hoped to ship the treasure from the Philippines to the Japanese Home Islands after the war ended. As the War in the Pacific progressed, U.S. Navy submarines and Allied warplanes inflicted increasingly heavy sinking of Japanese merchant shipping. Some of the ships carrying the war booty back to Japan were sunk in combat.

The Seagraves and a few others have claimed that American military intelligence operatives located much of the loot; they colluded with Hirohito and other senior Japanese figures to conceal its existence, and; they used it to finance American covert intelligence operations around the world during the Cold War. These rumors have inspired many hopeful treasure hunters, but most experts and Filipino historians say there is no credible evidence behind these claims.

In 1992, Imelda Marcos claimed that Yamashita's gold accounted for the bulk of the wealth of her husband, Ferdinand Marcos.

Many individuals and consortia, both Philippine and foreign, continue to search for treasure sites. A number of accidental deaths, injuries and financial losses incurred by treasure hunters have been reported.

At present, the Mines & Geosciences Bureau of the Department of Natural Resources of the Philippines is the Filipino government agency that grants treasure permits.

Rogelio Roxas lawsuit: In March 1988, a Filipino treasure hunter named Rogelio Roxas filed a lawsuit in the state of Hawaii against the former president of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos and his wife Imelda Marcos for theft and human rights abuses. Roxas claimed that in Baguio City in 1961 he met the son of a former member of the Japanese army who mapped for him the location of the legendary Yamashita Treasure. Roxas claimed a second man, who served as Yamashita's interpreter during the Second World War, told him of visiting an underground chamber there where stores of gold and silver were kept, and who told of a golden Buddha kept at a convent located near the underground chambers. Roxas claimed that within the next few years he formed a group to search for the treasure, and obtained a permit for the purpose from a relative of Ferdinand, Judge Pio Marcos. In 1971, Roxas claimed, he and his group uncovered an enclosed chamber on state lands near Baguio City where he found bayonets, samurai swords, radios, and skeletal remains dressed in a Japanese military uniform. Also found in the chamber, Roxas claimed, were a 3-foot-high (0.91 m) golden-colored Buddha and numerous stacked crates which filled an area approximately 6 feet x 6 feet x 35 feet. He claimed he opened just one of the boxes, and found it packed with gold bullion. He said he took from the chamber the golden Buddha, which he estimated to weigh 1,000 kilograms, and one box with twenty-four gold bars, and hid them in his home. He claimed he resealed the chamber for safekeeping until he could arrange the removal of the remaining boxes, which he suspected were also filled with gold bars. Roxas said he sold seven of the gold bars from the opened box, and sought potential buyers for the golden Buddha. Two individuals representing prospective buyers examined and tested the metal in the Buddha, Roxas said, and reported it was made of solid, 20-carat gold. It was soon after this, Roxas claimed, that President Ferdinand Marcos learned of Roxas' discovery and ordered him arrested, beaten, and the Buddha and remaining gold seized. Roxas alleged that in retaliation to his vocal campaign to reclaim the Buddha and the remainder of the treasure taken from him, Ferdinand continued to have Roxas threatened, beaten and eventually incarcerated for over a year.

Following his release, Roxas put his claims against Marcos on hold until Ferdinand lost the presidency in 1986. But in 1988, Roxas and the Golden Budha Corporation, which now held the ownership rights to the treasure Roxas claims was stolen from him, filed suit against Ferdinand and wife Imelda in a Hawaiian state court seeking damages for the theft and the surrounding human rights abuses committed against Roxas. Roxas died on the eve of trial, but prior to his death he gave the deposition testimony that would be later used in evidence. In 1996, the Roxas estate and the Golden Buddha Corporation received what was then largest judgment ever awarded in history, $22 billion which with interest increased to $40.5 billion. In 1998, The Hawaii Supreme Court held that there was sufficient evidence to support the jury's finding that Roxas found the treasure and that Marcos converted it. However, the court reversed the damage award, holding that the $22 billion award of damages for the chamber full of gold was too speculative, as there was no evidence of quantity or quality, and ordered a new hearing on the value of the golden Buddha and 17 bars of gold only. After several more years of legal proceedings, the Golden Buddha Corporation obtained a final judgment against Imelda Marcos to the extent of her interest in the Marcos estate in the principal amount of $13,275,848.37 and Roxas’ estate obtained a $6 million judgment on the claim for human right abuse.

This lawsuit ultimately concluded that Roxas found a treasure, and although the Hawaiian state court was not required to determine whether this particular treasure was the legendary Yamashita’s gold, the testimony relied upon by the court in reaching its conclusion pointed in that direction. Roxas was allegedly following a map from the son of a Japanese soldier; Roxas allegedly relied on tips provided from Yamashita’s interpreter; and Roxas allegedly found samurai swords and the skeletons of dead Japanese soldiers in the treasure chamber. All this led the United States Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal to summarize the allegations leading to Roxas’ final judgment as follows: "The Yamashita Treasure was found by Roxas and stolen from Roxas by Marcos' men."

I left My Heart in Marinduque(Not in San Francisco)

I have always wanted to write a song about Leaving my heart in Marinduque. This song will be sang to the tune of the famous song in honor of the city by the bay ( I left My Heart in San Francisco). Here's it is: I hope you like it: Note the original lyrics as sang by Frank Sinatra is in the video at bottom of the page.

The loveliness of Fair Oaks
seems somehow sadly gay
The glory that was Boac
is another day!

Ive been terribly alone
and forgotten in Sacramento
I'm going home to my town by the sea.

I left my heart in Marinduque
Near by the beach it beckons me
To be where the Moriones are
Come, visit whereever you are

The morning sun rise by the sea
I don't care!
My love waits at Chateau Du Mer
Near the blue and calmy sea
When I come home to you, Marinduque
Chateau Du Mer will welcome me!

Family Pictures and Pleasant Memories Slide Show

Family Pictures And Pleasant Memories Slideshow: David’s trip from Citrus Heights, California, United States to 17 cities Houston, Washington DC, Vancouver, Maui, Sacramento, Manila, Silver Spring, Modesto, Walnut Creek, Makati, Los Gatos, Richmond, Baguio, Placerville, Paradise, Iloilo City and Marinduque was created by TripAdvisor. See another United States slideshow. Create your own stunning free slideshow from your travel photos.

MI, Inc Medical Mission 2011 and Bellarocca R & R Slide Show

Mi, Inc Medical Mission And Bellarocca Resort, 2011 Slideshow: David’s trip from Citrus Heights, California, United States to Marinduque, Philippines was created by TripAdvisor. See another Marinduque slideshow. Create your own stunning slideshow with our free photo slideshow maker.

Slide Show of the Gardens of Chateau Du Mer

The Gardens of Chateau du Mer Slideshow: David’s trip from Citrus Heights, California, United States to Marinduque, Philippines was created by TripAdvisor. See another Marinduque slideshow. Take your travel photos and make a slideshow for free.

Photos from Good Friday Procession, Boac, Marinduque, 2011

The above are some photos, I took during the Good Friday Procession in Boac this year. The photos were taken from the second floor of the residence of Mrs. Siony Jambalos across the Boac Hotel in downtown Boac. Mrs Siony Jambalos is Macrine's sister-in-law. She is in-charge of the financial activities (reservation and payments, payroll etc..) of the Chateau Du Mer Beach Resort and Conference Center in our absence, that is when we are here in US.

Below is a short video from NPJNP Production about Good Friday Religious Procession this year.

Recent Photos of Blazing Sunsets from the Balcony of the Chateau Du Mer Beach House

Do you love sunsets? I do! Above are some of the photos I took from the balcony of the beach house as well as from the other areas of the resort from January to April, 2011. Enjoy!

Gasan-Gasan Festival on Easter Sunday, Marinduque

This is an Easter Sunday Festival held in Gasan town where the only commercial airport in Marinduque is located. The town's lady mayor in 2002 with the help of her advisers conceptualize a new daytime Easter festival for Gasan than can compete with the other towns in terms of attracting visitors during the Holy Week celebration. The Marinduque towns of Mogpog, Boac and Gasan draw the most tourists because of the unique Lenten rituals and practices observed in these three towns.

Gasan prides itself as the cultural nerve-center of Marinduque with good reason. It was in Gasan where the moriones tradition was discovered by local journalists in the 1960s. Prior to this there was no other account of any Philipine festival that is charaterized by the use of masks. Menfolk of the towns of Mogpog (where the tradition originated), Boac and Gasan don wooden masks during the Holy Week with attires similar to those worn by Roman soldiers.

Barangays compete for cash prizes during this event. Below are two videos for your viewing pleasure.


Gasan Gasan Festival, 2008


Gasan Gasan Festival 2011

Moriones Festival 2011 in Marinduque

Macrine and I decided that for our snowbirding year 2011, we will still be in Marinduque even though it is past April 15. I did file for a tax extension, so I have 90 days after April 15 to file both my state and federal taxes in US. Thus, we got a chance to enjoy this year Moriones Festival. We attended almost all the Holy Week activities except for the Battle of the Morions on Holy Thursday afternoon.

There were two Battle of the Morions scheduled. One was held in Boac and the other in Santa Cruz. Both were held on Holy Thursday at 3:00PM. The one in Boac was sponsored by the provincial government headed by Governor Carmencita Reyes.

The one in Santa Cruz was sponsored by Congressman Allan Velasco, Percival Morales, the Mayor of the town and the Club Marinduqueno, headed by the mother of the congressman.

So there is even a political division in this Holy Week presentation. I agree with the Philippine Inquirer comments, that politics should be put aside during the Moriones Festival.

The following are the three videos for your viewing pleasure.
Morionan Promo Trailer in Santa Cruz

Moriones Parade in Boac

Portion of the Morionan Presentation in Boac

The following are some photos that I took during the opening parade in Boac on Holy Monday.

Marinduque: A Big Classroom For Nature Study

Photo of Balanacan Cove from the Palm by the Beach Resort

The following article was published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer dated 5/12/2011 and written by Gerald Gene R. Querubin.

"MARINDUQUE has everything that nature can provide, according to the founder of a seven-year-old volunteer youth organization which is encouraging travelers to make the heart-shaped island part of their summer agenda.

The attributes are many: Mossy forests with endemic butterflies and insects, a majestic peak, waist-deep subterranean river within a cave guarded by pythons and 20-foot drop falls inside the cave.

“The province is a big classroom for environmental science teachers, students and enthusiasts,” says Dr. Carlos Andam, cofounder of Marinduque Youth Volunteers Corps (MYVC).

Travelers can also get acquainted with Mount Malindig, and the Bathala and the San Isidro caves, while diving enthusiasts can get to see the sunken World War II ships at the Balanacan cove.

Youth volunteers

Andam, formerly the vice president for research and extension of Marinduque State College (MSC), and Cyren Rico, a former MSC instructor, founded the MYVC on Jan. 24, 2004. Both used to be members of the University of the Philippines’ Pahinungod, a volunteer arm of the premier state university.

Andam says visitors to Marinduque can learn hands-on about environmental protection from the negative effects of mining that the province had experienced. He was referring to Marcopper Mining Corp., which accidentally spilled mine tailings into the Boac River in the worst environmental disaster that hit the Philippines in 1996.

The spillage flooded the river at the rate of 5-10 cubic meters (one truckload) per second. Total volume of discharge was pegged at 1.5 million to 3 million cu. m.

Green tourism

Aside from conducting coastal cleanups and campaigns promoting environment literacy, the MYVC has been holding computer and reading literacy programs, and value formation seminars.

Its long-term goal is to encourage the youth to make a difference in their communities. It has around 400 members in three school-based chapters: MSC-Boac, MSC-Santa Cruz and Santa Cruz Institute.

Francis Magahis, chapter president of MYVC-MSC, says the volunteers are advocating “green tourism,” which also promotes immersion into local culture and lifestyle.

“It is not only about the tourists but also about all-out community participation, use of biodegradable materials, solid waste-compliant local government units, and private and public establishments with trained and environmentally aware personnel,” provincial tourism officer Jerry Jamilla says."

Recent Photos of Orchids in the Gardens of Chateau Du Mer

A dark Yellow Vanda
A dark pink Vanda
A Small light yellow Phaelonopsis
A reddish Vanda
A pinkish-white Vanda
Another favorite Vanda
My twin blue Princess Mikasa
One of My Favorite Vanda

The above photos are some of the orchids blooming in the gardens of Chateau Du Mer from January to April, 2011. I hope you like them as much as I do! I have a dozen more plants that are blooming, but it will just be too boring to publish them all in this blog. Your comments will be appreciated.

Joys and Pains of Running a Beach Resort in Marinduque

Center Stage of the Conference Hall-Ready for a Wedding Reception

A closer view of the Conference Hall

Entrance to the Conference Hall

The Conference Hall

The third Bedroom with Three Double Deck Beds-The Room is Air Conditioned

The Second Bedroom with Two Single Beds

The Master Bedroom with the Queen Size Bed

The Beach House after Completion of the Bottom Floor as the 3rd Bedroom

Early Evening in the Main House-so Quiet and Calm

The front yard of the Main House

The landscaping in the front yard of the Main House

The driveway from the main house to the national road

In 2005, three years after my retirement from FDA, Macrine and I started constructing a beach house with no intention of opening it to the public. Two years later we decided building a multi-function Hall by the side of the beach house.
(Note: The main house-our retirement home was built in 1999-three years before our retirement).

However, in 2008 after numerous inquiries and urgings from friends and relatives, we decided to open both the Beach House and Function Hall to the public. I then created a website( www.chateaudumer.com) and a blogsite ( http://chateaudumer.blogspot.com).
Just this year, I posted a video on YouTube titled Chateau Du Mer-Marinduque. Since then, the hall had hosted more than 40 wedding receptions, seminars, parties, and community prayer meetings and picnics. The beach house on the other hand had less than fifteen guests, mostly from abroad ( US and Europe).

So, what are the joys of running a beach resort and conference center. First of all, Macrine and I enjoyed meeting strangers which afterwards become our friends. Second, I love hearing positive comments about the resort, such as: your garden is so beautiful, the landscaping is perfect and I feel like I am in the Garden of Eden in this place.
It was indeed a joyous moment, when one day, one of our young guests during a wedding reception informed me, that our retirement house ( which was built earlier) is her dream house and that someday, if God permits she will have a similar one constructed.

This Holy week, a van load of tourists from Manila stopped by and requested to take pictures of the beach house and conference center area. One of the tourists had seen my website and wanted to see the place in person. She commented the place is as beautiful as the pictures in the Internet. Last, but not least, the conference center is the only Hall in the whole province of Marinduque that can accommodate more than 300 attendees in doors and up to 500 attendees outdoors. This resort is also providing permanent employment for two local residents and temporary employment to four local residents, which help the economy of this 3rd class province.

So what are the pains of running Chateau Du Mer Beach Resort and Conference Center?
First, there are unique physical maintenance problems, since the compound is exposed to salty air and breezes almost all year round. Most of the fixtures even stainless steel had to be cleaned and rusted almost every year. Repainting and repairing equipments are common. Just recently, the water pump did not work. I had to replace it immediately at the costs of $400. Wood borers and mites attacked most of the wooden and bamboo structures as well as furnitures. If you know of a chemical that will kill the wood borers and mites( not termites), please let me know.

Second we have problems with the recruitment of reliable and honest personnel. Since 2008, we had already two managers. One we caught stealing. The current one is honest but super sensitive.

Lastly, the resort income is only enough to pay for the taxes. Hopefully as the economy improved more tourists will visit Marinduque and more young people will hold big wedding receptions; the resort will then earn enough to pay for both maintenance expenses and taxes and might even earn a little profit. But I am not depending my livelihood on this project. We build the place for our personal enjoyment. Our relatives called the place "Macrine's and David's Follies" in their old age.

Above are some recent pictures that I took of the main house, the conference Hall and the Beach House. Hopefully you visit one of my sites, in case this is the first time you have heard of Chateau Du Mer. Comments are appreciated.
Here's a short video of Chateau Du Mer Beach Resort and Conference Center