I see trees of green, red roses too
I see them bloom for me and you
And I think to myself what a wonderful world
I see skies of blue and clouds of white
The bright blessed day and the dark sacred night
And I think to myself what a wonderful world
It was like hearing Louis Armstrong singing the song as I see it through my eyes.
I literally saw skies of blue and clouds of white and trees and fields of green and occasionally golden yellow and believe me even the roads in Muñoz, Nueva Ecija are golden yellow.
For a moment while my beautiful friends and I were blissfully goofing around at the lush green hilltop over looking a pond under the bright sun, I did think to myself - what a wonderful world!
Villa Isla in Nueva Ecija may not be as scenic as what my friends and I have previously witnessed in Sagada and Ilocos or in Dubai – in Terry’s case but then for me it was simply lovely and refreshing.
It holds a certain charm for us who’ve been in the city most of our lives. It gives us that overwhelming feeling of tranquility.
Not minding the temperature of the morning sun the girls and I took our time as we frolic like children repeatedly jumping until we capture the perfect jump shot and in an attempt to capture something new we took turns in carrying each other behind our backs like wrestlers.
Terry, perhaps inspired by the blue sky and cotton like clouds, went as far as lying flat on her stomach in the green grass, where inches away lies a mound of dried cow dung, just so she can have her own take of our ever favorite jump shot.After having enough of the invigorating greens and an ample supply of vitamin E courtesy of haring araw the Luciano siblings decided to visit one of their relatives nearby where we had our merienda of softdrinks and biscuit under a big old tree as we rested.
It was amusing to sit with them and listen to their stories in a surrounding where my eyes feasted in the simplicity of the country life, where I was stepping on plain earth and not of concrete, where the chicken and goat wander leisurely and where even the dog is friendly.
To hear Marie recall how their childhood was spent in the same place where Pia, Terry and I were gathered together made her story even more interesting and made our bonding moment even more special.
Back on the road we were undeniably having the times of our lives as we drove around town waving and smiling to strangers like the true blue bakasonistas aboard an “astig” looking 4x4 jeep and escorted by a motor bike alternately driven by the equally good looking Mar and Mac, Marie’s eldest and youngest brother respectively - both gentlemen were kind enough to give a free tour of their beautiful town.Before heading back home we visited the resting place of the Luciano patriarch to pay our respect and to introduce Terry since it was her first time to “meet” Marie’s father.
Waiting for us back at what we jokingly refer to as the “hacienda de Luciano” was not only a warm reception but a steaming pinapaitan lovingly prepared by Marie’s mom whom we affectionately called Mader and cooked with pride by the family’s known kusinero, Mac.
Pia’s advertisement of the famed pinapaitan did live to our expectation. I had 3 servings of steamed rice despite my diet. It was just one the many busog moments we had during our stay.
When we arrived the day before , Jayson and Betchay, Marie’s brother-in-law and elder sister, prepared a healthy snack of vegetable salad fresh from Pangasinan for our merienda while we were resting and playing sungka in their bahay kubo with their cute tots JM and Terence.
And for dinner that night we were treated with sinampalukang native chicken and sinampalukang labong with saluyot which we heartily consumed despite nibbling on inihaw na dugo and paa ng manok minutes before hapunan.
That night didn’t just end with that dinner as the ladies with the exception of Mader and the gentlemen stayed up for a separate drinking session.
In less than an hour Pia finished one red horse mucho all by herself while Terry and Marie each had a bottle of Tanduay Ice and Betchay and I nibbled on the pulutan in the vast veranda.
Not to be outdone was Terence, Marie’s youngest nephew who also had a taste of Tanduay Ice which made him even more hyper and thus follow our every whim. You ask him to dance and sing and he will and you ask him a naughty question and he’ll readily answer.
Our 2-day stay in Nueva Ecija may not be as grand as our other travels around Luzon but it was definitely one of the most heartwarming vacations my friends and I have had for this year.
To be welcomed and taken cared for by your friend’s family in their own home is such a generous act and I can’t help but feel blessed for the perfect getaway my friends and I had.
I look forward to our next visit with the rest of our gang next year to once again experience the simple life in “hacienda de luciano” and to witness the wonderful world in the town of Munoz, Nueva Ecija.
