Mangoes Mangoes Mangoes
i love you mangoes
The first full day in the province calls for a traditional illongo dish. Pancit Molo! I was so excited to have this. I hadn’t had legit pancit molo since Auntie Maryann passed. This bowl of soup was so delicious.
The plans for the day was to explore mango island aka Guimaras. We took a ferry aka a “row row” as what I heard Mike’s family call them. I couldn’t help but think of the many ferry rides my family would go on from Ozamis to Manila or Manila to Ozamis. Ate Carrie messaged me while I was on this trip to say how she went on an overnight ferry with Lola Sabel on a trip to Ozamis from Manila. I was so jealous that she got to do that with Lola.
On Guimaras we spent the day at a beach resort. When folks ask about “public beaches” in the states, I never understood why they were asking. Like yes, it’s a public beach. You just find parking and can go on it. The Philippines as the first time I experienced paying a beach resort to be able to use the beach.
As you can see this is the first time I step into the ocean in the Philippines. I was so happy to be in those waters. While at the beach resort we would have a lovely lunch, be joined by an adorable black and orange pusa, and go island hopping on a catamaran.
This would be one of several shakes on this trip. This was my first shake of the day. Look at the joy on my face. I am so happy drinking that mango shake.
Then it was time to buy mangoes. We stopped by a roadside market and picked up yellow and green mangoes. They were not in season so they were more than what Auntie Haydee would have wanted. But because we were there and because the whole point of us being there was to eat mangoes, she bought them anyway. For context they were 400 pesos ($7 USD) per kilo.
When we got back to the house, it was time to try the mangoes. I cut up a yellow mango. A cousin cut up the green mangoes. My face eating the green mango or the hilaw ones was in pure heaven. I was in mango heaven.
Philippine mangoes have ruined mangoes for me. I try to enjoy them here in the States but it’s not the same. I’ll be dreaming of these mangoes and mango shakes for forever…