Where the Heck is Marinduque?: A Surprise Visit from My Nephew from Australia

Planning to Visit the Philippines Soon?

There are hundreds of tourists attractions in the Philippines. But as a lover of the Island of Marinduque (Home of the Morions and Heart of the Philippines), I am indeed partial to its beauty, charm and its friendly and hospitable residents. Therefore, help me achieve my dream of seeing this island becomes a world tourist destination, by telling all your friends and relatives about this site. Welcome, to you all, new readers and faithful followers of this site! The photo above is Poctoy White Beach in Torrijos, Marinduque with beautiful and majestic Mt Malindig in the background. Some of the photos and videos on this site, I do not own. However, I have no intention on infringing your copyrights.

Wednesday, March 16, 2016

A Surprise Visit from My Nephew from Australia

The 3 David Katagues, David Efren, David Balleza and David E III.

One of the most pleasant surprise in my life happened the other day. My nephew from Australia( my name sake) is on business ( his own company) here in the US. He had been to New York for several days and had travel plans for Los Angeles and Las Vegas. The last couple of days he has been communicating via FB that he will be in LA from March 14 to 22 and will spend a couple of days with us. When I opened my FB messages early in the morning at about 6:30AM, here's what I found- a really big surprise. Here's our conversation verbatim:

Dave Katague (Nephew from Australia): Good morning 🏼

ME: Good morning You must be in LA now, Do you still have plans to visit us? David E your first cousin said he could give you a ride from the airport to our house if you arrive late in the Evening from around 10 to 11PM, since he works in the airport. Anyway, give us the date as soon as you have arranged it. David E plans to take off from work, so he could take you around Sacramento. Have you gone to a Casino? Near us is Thunder Valley, similar to the Casinos in Las Vegas in size, decor and number of slots and gambling facilities. We go there twice a month to eat in the several restaurants and played the slots. We plan on taking you there, if you wish.

Dave Katague: Where are you now!

Me: I am at home reading my FB messages.

Dave Katague: Are you free today?

Me:Yes, today is Tuesday. This is our usual day to the Casinos.

Dave Katague: I'm out in front. SURPRISE!

Me: You must be kidding? Come in and have a freshly brewed coffee.

Note: Dave( the only son of my brother, Efren from Australia) is involved with Film, Stills, Design and Animation.
He is driven by the challenge of storytelling through capturing real-time events with photographic and cinematic composition. He also loves creating Movie Titles, VFX, Outro Sequences, Kinetic Typography and Motion Information Graphics. He has his own company doing the above activities.

For more information visit his web site, www.davekatague.com/ or https://vimeo.com/davekatague

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ABOUT ME

I am a retired (Chemistry Team Leader from USFDA) Filipino-American who loves writing, gardening and photography. My wife (of 58 years) and I enjoy the snowbird lifestyle between the US and the Philippines. We have a small but very private beach resort( see above video) in the beautiful island of Marinduque, Philippines. I have several blog sites(ten), a personal blog, blogs about retiring in Marinduque and our beach resort and conference center-CHATEAU DU MER. I also write for www.squidoo.com now owned by HubPages.com

Marinduque: A Photogenic Province and Tourists Destination

Marinduque is a photoblogger dream. The province is endowed with unspoiled white sand beaches, pristine blue waters, fringing reefs, virgin coral reefs, coves, limestone caves, meandering rivers, mountain peaks, cascading waterfalls and streams, fabled sulfur and hot mineral springs,old churches and of course beautiful sunsets. The Internet is filled with photographs of the scenic beauty of this island not only from the local professional photographers but also from amateur photographers all over the world. The province has more than six big islands popular to beach lovers, scuba divers and snorkeling enthusiasts. It has Mt Malindig known to mountain climbers and hikers. It has Bathala and Tarug Caves popular to spelunkers and just curious seekers. In one of the eight caves of Bathala, there is a resident python, believed to be enchanted. If he shows himself when you visit the caves, it is suppose to bring you good luck.

Sunset over Tres Reyes Islands- Photo from panoramnio.com The nearest and most accessible islands from the capital town of Boac are the Tres Reyes Islands ( Islands of the Three Kings), Gaspar, Melchor and Baltazar in the town of Gasan. The local names are Laki, Pangkog and Man-nga ( see map above). These islands are located southwest of the mainland. The other three group of islands bigger in area and more populated are Polo, Maniwaya and Mongpong Islands. These are located in the Northeast part of the mainland in the town of Santa Cruz. Maniwaya's Polo Maria White Beach is being develop as an alternative to Boracay. There is a bigger island, Salamongue Island which is not as well known to the tourists and residents.. I really do not know the reason, but I believe it is not as accessible from the mainland . Moreover, it is not as developed( no electricity or running water) compared to the other islands.

One of the most popular white beach located in the mainland in the town of Torrijos is Poctoy White Beach. It is about a 70 minutes drive from downtown Boac. Poctoy White beach with Mt, Malindig as the background is the most photogenic and the most photographed scenery in the island.

Just late last year, the former Elephant Island in Lipata, Buenavista, owned privately, was renamed Bellarocca Resort Island and Spa. It has been converted to look like Santorini Island, Greece with buildings all painted in white sticking in the cliffs. From what I heard, this resort is one of the most expensive and luxurious resort in Southeast Asia. The cheapest room charges $300 per night excluding meals and other amenities. When I was in Marinduque last year, I met a few rich and famous Filipinos( businessmen, actors and actresses, TV personalities)) from Manila as well as Korean and Japanese tourists at Masiga Airport in Gasan on their way to the resort. From the resort advertisement, I know that the most expensive accommodation is a 3-bedroom villa with its own pool and jacussi charging about $ 800 per night without meals. Dong Ho, Oggie Ramos, Ferdz Decena, Allan Barredo, Sydney Snoeck and Dennis Villegas are some of the photographers that I know who have photo blogs about Marinduque. Their pictures are beautiful, unique and mesmerizing. It is worth your time to visit their photo blogs sites. Looking at their photographs of Marinduque, its Tradition and Culture will surely make you proud of the beauty of our island paradise.

Planning to Visit the Philippines Soon?

Wednesday, March 16, 2016

A Surprise Visit from My Nephew from Australia

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