May Day in Ilag (Day 1)

In the house, there is no central A/C or hot water. The upstairs common area is open air, not unlike being in a tree house. The 3 upstairs bedrooms had beautiful, wonderful A/C units. I hate that I am so weak, because I do LOVE the heat, but I was not used to breathing in such wet air. Mom and I shared a room while my siblings each had the other 2 rooms with their spouses. The normal occupants of the rooms - my cousin and his son - slept on a mat in the open air part of the upstairs or in an extra bed in my aunt's master bedroom where there was also A/C.

In the morning, my sister and I walked down to the beach to check things out. It was quite a contrast from the pristine beaches at Costabella, but it was beautiful in its own way.

View of the house from the beach

Me and my Aunt Prude

We wanted to run to the store real quick to grab comfort items (hello, chewing gum!) so my cousin, Perla, drove over to get us to go into town.

Perla and Helen helping my mom to the van

Jonna's sari-sari store

My SIL wasn't feeling well, so she and my brother met with a doctor while the rest of us ran errands.

Store I got stuck in looking for gum...super busy

My cousin Helen retrieved me from this store and we ended up at a Solid Gold store again.

And the cough drops were next to the candy... okee...

 It was crowded as well and smelled of fabuloso.

Waiting to get checked out...

After that, we decided to check out a mall type area and grab some chow and meet back up with my brother and SIL. Lunch at May Abohan for 6 was less than $18USD: 4 chop suey, 2 sisig, water bottle and mango shake! 

Caribao (water buffalo)

Lots of election posters everywhere

And many folks were drying out their rice harvests on the side of the road

Back at the house, there were a couple of hired hands to help out during Fiesta, helping to cook and clean for the family.

Perlita cooking up something delicious

Deliciousness!

Loud House Geckos that I LOVED!! They sound like squeaker toys at night.

Original wood floors, mango wood? Not sure

Pahuway na!