family day at the farm

old church in Alfonso, Cavite

banana plants in a neat row at the farm

local variety of bananas harvested at the farm

buko or young coconut harvest

opening the coconuts with a bolo

fresh young coconut

chilis at the farm

Alfonso, Cavite is a quaint old town with a certain old world feel to it, and although it's located just a few miles from the now busy city of Tagaytay, somehow it still seems set apart from the booming and highly developed city. This is where my great grandparents lived, where my father spent many years as a child and where they also fled during the war. My father bought some farm land here many years ago but his attempts with growing coffee (commonly grown there) were not very successful and had to give it up. This farm has a lot of potential but it's rather sad that someday we may end up selling it to someone who will have better use for it. My aunt's farm is right beside ours. This is a more developed and well taken care of property with a small basic resthouse and picnic table built around a tree. It also has lots of banana plants and coconut trees with occasional pineapple harvests. I welcome every chance to come back to this farm. We have many happy memories of our visits with my father when he was still with us. He showed us hidden waterfalls and jungles only the locals know about and where they used to play when they were kids. After our filling lunch at Leslie's, it was great to relax here. We had fresh buko juice courtesy of the caretaker. Somehow it's good to know that life in Alfonso hasn't changed much.