A Roesner Family Photo Album

Photo and Travel Notes

Negros Occidental

Back to First Page
July, 2000

What do you do when your children leave home? While there are probably a number of reasonable answers to that question, our answer was simply:

Go see them....

So our plans to travel to Bacolod City, on the Island of Negros in the Philippines, began. We had never heard of the Philippine island of Negros before our children went there, let alone Bacolod City. The most we knew before was:

From the time we began planning this trip in March, 1999, the month our children left the states to begin their mission in Bacolod, we learned many more things, including:

Back to First Page Family Pictures
Arrival in Bacolod

How nice to be greeted at the Bacolod Airport by the lovely faces of our children waving across the heads of the crowd outside the gates. We were so looking forward to visiting with them, to learn how their lives were going, to know about their daily routines, to capture images so we could "see them" when we returned home.

Over the little more than two weeks we visited, we: It was an excellent trip! Just what a couple of parents needed.

Back to First Page Neighborhood Pictures
Around the Neighborhood

Our family lives in a gated subdivision in Bacolod. Many of the neighborhoods are gated and protected by guards.

Most, if not all, subdivisions are built around Catholic chapels, and many, if not all, of the chapels are only partly enclosed. The predominant religion of the Philippines is Catholic, a heritage of the Spanish occupation beginning in the early 1500s. We were very impressed with this chapel and its surrounding park area -- a wonderful place to sit quietly and meditate.

The neighborhood is large. We had a wonderful early morning walk several days, starting about 5:30 or 5:45 a.m. The temperatures heat up very quickly in this humid tropical city.

All of the homes are surrounded by walls. Although the walls may be for privacy and for protection, they also serve to become objects of beauty when the owners incorporate them into the landscape scheme. On the top of some walls, where the owner had not covered them with vines, we saw broken shards of glass embedded into the top surface, sometimes accompanied by circles of barbed wire. This must be for protection.

Some residents operate small stores, called sari-sari stores. Some residents have fighting cocks. We passed one home one morning where the cocks were on display, on their perches, at the outside perimeter of the wall.

Most residents have helpers who take care of their lawns and their homes. Some of the helpers live with the residents; others commute to their jobs daily.

Back to First Page Public Market Pictures
Libertad Public Market in Bacolod

Libertad Public Market reminded me of markets in Tijuana. Not only are their the little shops on the outside perimeter of the building, but the interior is crammed full of sales booths and areas, too. It was a busy place and had the mixed aromas typical of an open market selling produce, meat, vegetables, fish, grains, and died textiles.

Back to First Page Pictures at Docks
The Old Docks in Bacolod

Bacolod has built new docks for the high-speed ferries that take people from island to island, but the old docks seem to be in use for fishing and perhaps for shipping goods. Many areas of the seashore are homes for fishing villages. We saw them nearly every where we went. The homes are small and don't look stable, yet families still bond as families and children grow up.

Back to First Page Pictures at Silay
Silay

Silay, just north of Bacolod, is a beautiful little town. It's home to the Victor F. Gaston House, now a museum dedicated to the sugarcane industry.

Across from the Gaston House, we saw an artfully painted wall depicting the famous fifth of November coup (1898) against the Spanish by the Negros sugar workers. The people had no weapons and were heavily monitored by the Spanish. The leaders would have secret meetings about how to obtain their freedom from Spain, and went to the extent to make the meetings look like they were conducting business, complete with false records of the meetings. On the 5th of November, the revolutionary warriors had shaped and painted sugar cane to look like weapons and scared the Spanish off. Although most history centralizes on the larger Spanish-American war picture, this is probably one of the more interesting events of that period. Such a determined and ingenious people!

Silay is a charming town. It's clean and quiet and has a wonderfully friendly feeling about it.

Back to First Page Pictures at Killer Bee 106
Killer Bee

Sitting in on a session at Killer Bee 106 was a fun experience. Sinbad and Sunshine are the two regulars, and on this day, Sinbad's daughter, Skittles, and a friend of hers from the US were also in attendance. Notice that the names all start with "S" -- and if you figure these aren't their real names, you figured correctly.

Being the grandmother of Sunshine, I was keenly interested in watching how she and Sinbad conducted patter and chatter over the airwaves -- like two people born to the medium. I understood from both of them that they make a good connection together -- better than either of them do solo. It was also interesting that the two came with CD portfolios in hand, and some CDs already there, but no play list for the day.

The rules for their show on this secular radio station are that they play two secular songs for after each two Christian songs. All the songs they play are contemporary, and between the two of them, they must keep up to date on what's happening in the contemporary music market. Patter and chatter include commentary about the artists, what the artists have performed in the past, what news they've recently made, and messages about getting your life on straight.

Back to First Page Pictures of On the Way to Buenos Aires
On the Way to Buenos Aires

Our July trip didn't take into account that it was typhoon season in Southeast Asia -- corresponding with hurricane season in the eastern US. Many of our days were overcast and not the best for photos.

However, typhoon weather, cloudy skies, and non-Kodak lighting don't stop people from having a life. We stopped here briefly beside a fishing village. The old ship in the first picture seemed to be unoccupied. We don't know what it was or had been. In the picture in the lower right, a group assembled to perhaps fish or play in the sand.

Back to First Page Pictures at Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires

I wish I could find more information about this place on the web -- it would be worth some official words, not simply my inadequate observations.

Buenos Aires is a resort, complete with hotel, grounds to walk and hike, streams, gardens, and awesome landscaping. It is in the mountains, and you're surrounded by nature.

I don't know if any Philippino island is a recognized tourist area, so literature about where you are, or where you could go, is hard to come by. We couldn't even find any good maps of Negros -- just a few scanty ones with the names of the various towns. We suspect it's the same except maybe in Manilla and perhaps Cebu.

Back to First Page More Pictures at Buenos Aires
Views at Buenos Aires

The mountain in the pictures may be Mt. Kanaalon. At the time we took these pictures, you could see the peak. We stayed a while at Buenos Aires and then traveled on to nearby Kipot falls and the Raphael Silas Nature Reserve, and before we left the mountainous area, the fog was descending quickly.

Back to First Page Family Pictures at Buenos Aires
Family at Buenos Aires

Before we left Buenos Aires, we took some family pictures. Nathan was being a "model child" -- by his definition, of course.

Back to First Page Pictures leaving Buenos Aires
Picot Falls and Raphael Silas Nature Reserve -- near Buenos Aires

We passed sugar cane and rice fields going to and from the mountains. These two fellows were more than gracious to allow us to take a picture of them and their carabao. The carabao is the main "animal of burden" in the Philippines. Children ride them; farmers plow with them; they pull farm carts.

We didn't hike at the Raphael Silas Nature Reserve, but had a chance to snap a picture of a little part of a fighting-cock ranch. There are many of these ranches and cock fighting is a large gaming activity in the Philippines.

The hut in the lower right picture is typical of the materials used to build native homes. You can rent some of these dwellings for your vacation. It is warm enough here that insulation isn't an issue.

Back to First Page Pictures Going to Dumaguete
Hinigaran

How does one drive from Bacolod to Dumaguete? I'm not sure. I think you just have to know to turn here and not turn there. I never saw a map. Thank goodness Todd knew the secrets.

One thing I'm sure of -- we passed through Hinigaran on our way. At the place we stopped, we found that the old bridge had been made into a garden walkway. It was very, very attractive. We never did find the floating restaurant advertised on the sign, but we were just passing through.

The last two pictures were where we stopped to have lunch.

Back to First Page Pictures at Dumaguete
South Seas Resort -- Dumaguete

We stayed at the South Seas Resort in Dumaguete, a block behind where the our family stayed when they first came to the Philippines. Like Bacolod, the aroma from burning leaves and rubbish, mixed with the fumes from diesel fuel, was thick; the air was filled with the sounds of roosters and gekos; the air was tropical humid. And Dumaguete was beautiful. Some call it the Paris of the Philippines. We met a fellow in Manila going home to the states. He is a high-tech emploee with one of the larger international chip makers, complete with stock options, and his dream about to come true is a piece of land along the shore in Dumaguete. There, he will build a home where he plans to move in the next couple of years. He will be able to afford to pay people to help him maintain his home and he can go hopping from one disco to another every evening. Paris, but much more affordable.

We were amazed at the star flower. Nathan gathered a bunch to make an arrangement. I can't be sure, but it seems that the flower makes a "pop" sound when it bursts out of its pod and falls to the ground. A young man passing by told me it was considered to be medicinal and was good for goiters.

The training center for Calvary Chapel is located in Dumaguete. Todd sometimes substitutes there when another of the pastor-teachers travels.

Back to First Page Pictures of Dumaguete to Bacolod
On the Way Back to Bacolod

On the way back to Bacolod, we had an opportunity to capture a few pictures along the road as we were traveling.

Driving in any of the populated areas is difficult. Trucks stop right on the road to do maintenance, pick up cargo, or to do whatever they need to do. There's not a lot in the way of shoulders where a vehicle can pull over.

Traffic everywhere consists of large sugar-cane trucks, smaller trucks to haul other produce, jeepneys, taxis, tricycles (small motorcycles with a side car, also called tricycabs), pedicabs, and pedestrians. The jeepneys, taxis, tricycabs and pedicabs are the major form of public transportation. Jeepneys are highly decorated -- the more decorations, the more attention, the more attraction to passengers. Taxis are common only in the more populated areas. Tricycles are numerous. A tricycle that's built to hold three or four (including the sidecar) may sometimes have as many as nine or ten people on it, hanging on every which way.

Back to First Page More Pictures of Dumaguete to Bacolod
More On the Way Back to Bacolod

The mountain scenery is truly magnificant. Life is different there. We saw many villages where the homes were of native materials. If you lived in such a village, you would have little need of private transportation. Local tricycles would take you from place to place. If you needed to go to one of the larger cities, you can catch a high-speed bus. Some jeepneys travel to some of the outlying areas, too.

In nearly every village we passed, we saw schools and school children dressed in their uniforms. Education is very important. According to something I read, children are required to attend school for at least the first four years, but we saw a good number of older children in their school uniforms, too.

Back to First Page Pictures of Tae Kwon Do
The New Activity

Tae Kwon Do is Mandi's new interest. She has achieved her yellow belt, so far. The levels are:
We attended a regional competition one Sunday, and Mandi competed. It was her first one, and she was matched against a Blue. Mandi put up a good defense, but she lost. It was an exciting event and I was proud of myself when I didn't cry when Mandi got kicked around.

Teacher James decided, after Mandi's event, that his team was too mismatched to continue, so he gave each girl the opportunity to forfeit, which most did.

I think we might see one or two of those girls on TV someday though. There was at least one on another team, an "advanced" white belt, who competed several times against higher levels, and she always won. As opposed to violence as I am, I was impressed.

I did suggest to Mandi that maybe she would be happier with Tai Chi. I know I would!