Recently, Dad and I (the youngest Feeny :->) ventured off into new territory. Don’t worry, we didn’t trek through the dark jungles with the slithering pythons and creepy mammals, we took a road trip for the day to the southern part of Luzon Island in the area of Laguna.
Actually, our beekeeper friend (Mr. D…..) planned the entire trip, Dad and I just hopped along for the ride =) This is the same beekeeper we met and visited last year. (It sounds so odd saying last year. I cannot believe we have lived here that long!)
Let me clarify that Mr. D is only a hobby beekeeper, who works full time for the Philippine Coconut Authority (a government run company). As an extension worker, he is assigned to an entire province, keeping track and working with the various coconut farmers within that region. PCA is currently rewarding and giving incentives to farmers who plant and raise a nursery full baby coconut trees.
Let me clarify that Mr. D is only a hobby beekeeper, who works full time for the Philippine Coconut Authority (a government run company). As an extension worker, he is assigned to an entire province, keeping track and working with the various coconut farmers within that region. PCA is currently rewarding and giving incentives to farmers who plant and raise a nursery full baby coconut trees.
When each seedling reaches a certain stage of development, the farmer receives so many pesos. It’s like a little kid getting a tootsie sucker when he has learned to read!!☺ Mr. D and his co-workers are the ones who literally travel to these farms to count the cute seedlings setting in the nursery. (There is a picture below) This is where our trip comes in…. traveling to visit a few remote farms.
Ok, that is a long enough intro lets get to the pictures!
As we drove that day we ended up making a complete loop down and around Laguna lake, making several stops along the way…
Here we are at University of the Philippines Los Banos visiting with Dr. Cervancia, who is the coordinator for the UPLB Bee Program. UPLB is the center of agricultural research in all of Asia. We as beekeepers were interested in their research they are currently conducting on honeybee pollination.
That’s right, before we left campus, we bought some yoghurt made from carabao’s milk and some milk candy. ”Mmmmm” It reminded me of creamy goat’s yoghurt!
Since Laguna is famous for their buko pies we couldn’t leave without tasting a piece. This particular brand Letys won the “Best buko pie” award. So how did it taste? Let’s just say there is nothing like the good ‘ole apple pie. ☺ It seems that I caught this lady in motion, she kind of has a funny look on her face….
We stopped at this little apiary along the side of the road. Let me correct myself, it really wasn’t little, when I did the math, it was home to 30-40 colonies! This particular beekeeper kept two kinds of bees, the normal European honeybee (that I am used to working with) and a native sting-less bee! That’s right, a sting-less bee!
I believe there are many kinds of sting less bees, but this particular one in the picture is tiny! When it flies by it literally looks like a small fly. I was told that instead of having a stinger for its defense, this little bee has mandibles! Imagine! A bee that bites! This little insect is used mainly for its great pollinating abilities. It produces honey, but it has an unfavorably bitter taste.
This site was so funny I just had to capture it! Brother Filipinos willing helped each other cross the flooded driveway. Complete strangers giving each other a piggy back ride!
This man works for PCA and is working hard to accurately count the coconut seedlings that are resting in the nursery.
Here he is removing the hard, thick, outer skin, making a hole so we could drink the refreshing buko juice or coconut water.
After we drank all the juice our friend chopped the buko fruit in half and we scooped the buko meat. The taste is sweet and creamy, with a soft jello texture.
This is Mr. D checking on the two nucs (young honeybee colonies) that he was going to leave at this particular farm. (and yes, the bees were very docile, that is the reason for his lack of veil and suit.) An interesting side note… Mr.D. has done some tests and studies proving that honeybees increase the yield of a coconut tree by 35-70% using their great pollination abilities. Mr. D. has the desire to integrate the practice of beekeeping into his government occupation, by teaching coconut farmers how to become successful beekeepers.
We were given a very large pasalubong (souvenir)… A heavy, gigantic bunch of about 70 bananas!!
The majority of the day was spent in the car, but it was not without its own excitement…passing and observing unusual sites and soaking up the information learned by visiting with Mr. D along the way. I was informed that the next time I visit Laguna I should try the rare and unique delicacy called Kinamatisan…fresh honeycomb that is overflowing with honey, sprinkled with pollen, and oozing with larva, all of this sautéed alongside tomatoes and topped with coconut milk. Sounds interesting…
Our trip to the country was indeed a memorable experience. We are grateful that Mr. D. invited us to come along for the adventure.
Ok, that is a long enough intro lets get to the pictures!
As we drove that day we ended up making a complete loop down and around Laguna lake, making several stops along the way…
Here we are at University of the Philippines Los Banos visiting with Dr. Cervancia, who is the coordinator for the UPLB Bee Program. UPLB is the center of agricultural research in all of Asia. We as beekeepers were interested in their research they are currently conducting on honeybee pollination.
That’s right, before we left campus, we bought some yoghurt made from carabao’s milk and some milk candy. ”Mmmmm” It reminded me of creamy goat’s yoghurt!
A picture I took while on campus…
Since Laguna is famous for their buko pies we couldn’t leave without tasting a piece. This particular brand Letys won the “Best buko pie” award. So how did it taste? Let’s just say there is nothing like the good ‘ole apple pie. ☺ It seems that I caught this lady in motion, she kind of has a funny look on her face….
We stopped at this little apiary along the side of the road. Let me correct myself, it really wasn’t little, when I did the math, it was home to 30-40 colonies! This particular beekeeper kept two kinds of bees, the normal European honeybee (that I am used to working with) and a native sting-less bee! That’s right, a sting-less bee!
I believe there are many kinds of sting less bees, but this particular one in the picture is tiny! When it flies by it literally looks like a small fly. I was told that instead of having a stinger for its defense, this little bee has mandibles! Imagine! A bee that bites! This little insect is used mainly for its great pollinating abilities. It produces honey, but it has an unfavorably bitter taste. 
This site was so funny I just had to capture it! Brother Filipinos willing helped each other cross the flooded driveway. Complete strangers giving each other a piggy back ride!
Beautiful pink flowers =)
A little hut, where the caretakers of this particular farm stay.
This man works for PCA and is working hard to accurately count the coconut seedlings that are resting in the nursery.
Look at that man climbing straight up that tree!
He kindly dropped a few bukos (young coconuts) for our afternoon merienda (snack).
Here he is removing the hard, thick, outer skin, making a hole so we could drink the refreshing buko juice or coconut water.
Dad is trying to slurp the juice with out spilling it all over himself☺
After we drank all the juice our friend chopped the buko fruit in half and we scooped the buko meat. The taste is sweet and creamy, with a soft jello texture.
Doesn’t this little dog have the cutest ears?
This is Mr. D checking on the two nucs (young honeybee colonies) that he was going to leave at this particular farm. (and yes, the bees were very docile, that is the reason for his lack of veil and suit.) An interesting side note… Mr.D. has done some tests and studies proving that honeybees increase the yield of a coconut tree by 35-70% using their great pollination abilities. Mr. D. has the desire to integrate the practice of beekeeping into his government occupation, by teaching coconut farmers how to become successful beekeepers. 
We were given a very large pasalubong (souvenir)… A heavy, gigantic bunch of about 70 bananas!!
We saw several little country stores along the road home.
Pretty scenery! And cool, refreshing weather!
The majority of the day was spent in the car, but it was not without its own excitement…passing and observing unusual sites and soaking up the information learned by visiting with Mr. D along the way. I was informed that the next time I visit Laguna I should try the rare and unique delicacy called Kinamatisan…fresh honeycomb that is overflowing with honey, sprinkled with pollen, and oozing with larva, all of this sautéed alongside tomatoes and topped with coconut milk. Sounds interesting…
Our trip to the country was indeed a memorable experience. We are grateful that Mr. D. invited us to come along for the adventure.
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