Monday Adventures, January 29, 2018

Augh!  I just deleted a whole long post!  and our Mondays are so full that I'm getting behinder and behinder!  But our days are really memorable, so here we go again.

We started the day by going to the Costco-type store for groceries, then to the Bread Depot, where we bought 25 kg. of white wheat flour.  Elder and Sister Hobbs bake delicious bread, and they have tried to find non-weevily whole wheat flour, but no luck.  So we will bake with white flour!  More to come later about our baking... 😀 But they did have the boxed milk that Dad likes at the Bread Depot, of all places.  Full fat, of course!  Here are the kinds we have tried so far.  None as good as real fresh milk, but the Anchor brand is okay. 

Monday afternoon, we went "up the mountain".  First stop was the Marco Polo, a 5-star hotel not far from the temple grounds.  One of the managers there is LDS, and she gave us a tour, taking us up in the glass elevator to the rooftop which has two restaurants, both closed right then, so we could enjoy the view.  The owner of this hotel had been so impressed by his tour at the temple open house that LDS members get a greatly-reduced rate to stay at that hotel.  If you want to come visit, you can stay in a 5-star hotel for $80 US a night.

Pan of the Marco Polo lobby

McMullins, Ganirs, and Infantes (from Calgary) at the top

View from the top.  Rent for a nice apartment in the new towers is about $500 USD/month. 

A nicer neighborhood in Cebu.  There are some really luxurious homes amid the smaller ones.

Same area, but showing the mountain behind the city.

View to the east

Flowers in the lobby...

...and missionaries on the stairs.  McMullins, Infantes, and Ganirs

We then went on a combined trip to see a "flower garden" and to buy vegetables in a rural area. The garden was built into a steep hill.  Every possible piece of land is used here.  It had lots of flowers that are exotic here-- but we can grow them at home.  The owner told us she got her sunflower seed from Canada!

Before we left, I had wondered if we would enjoy spending so much time together, but we LOVE it! 💕

WARNING-- Flower picture overload-- but aren't they beautiful?

They even had the kind of flowers that Nancy Rivers likes to grow!

Canadian missionary with Canadian sunflowers

The view down the mountain from the garden.  We would have loved to go exploring and visit some of the farms.



We stopped for a photo at Canada Drive, beside the Police Stop building. It's hard to tell if it is still used.    

Notice the nipa palm frond ribs in the roof constuction.

We continued up the small, paved 2-lane highway to some roadside stands that sell corn.  We were able to buy ripe tomatoes there as well, but neither the corn or the tomatoes (or watermelon) are as flavorful as Alberta produce, but we enjoyed them. 

The cat was very involved in the sales!

The workers

The watchers

The backyard

The poverty is heart-wrenching, but the hard work and ingenuity of the people are admirable, and there is beauty everywhere.