Lechon! pig roast!

November 26 2011

Lechon Roast!

I wanted to give something back to Lani and her family for letting me stay at their home in Boljoon Philippines. They welcome me into their family and treat me like a cousin, uncle, brother, Father, etc. What better way to have a pig roast. Pig roasts are reserved for weddings, b-days, or festivals, since it can be costly.

I love food and wanted to photograph the whole process from buying the pig, killing and blessing the pig, to cleaning and prepping the pig for the coals. Lechon is a very big part of the food culture here and I wanted to be part of it, to learn more about my culture.

We bought the pig at 5:30 am, the pig farm was only a half of block from where we were going to do the roasting.

The crew that help me throw this party was Lani, Jo-Ji, Jr, Botoy, Fambeo and myself. Each had a part in it. Lani and Jo-Ji help me shop for the right pig, they bought rice and other ingredents, Jr, Botoy and Fambeo took care of killing, cleaning and stuffing the pig for the roast. The whole process took about 3 and half hours before the pig was ready for the coals. The roasting time was 4 hours, which includes smoking cigs, drinking Coconut Wine, and playing a guitar and with singing.

It was so nice to see everyone get involved with the feast, from uncles and aunts getting the rice and dishes set up, to the nieces and nephews telling the other kids about the pinata after the Lechon would be served.

My favorite part besides the food was watching the kids get excited about the Pinata, when it comes to having a Pinata, I turn back into a kid.

I have learned that food brings people together in many different ways, no matter what part of the world you are in!

Enjoy the Feast!

Driftless Angler finds a home on a Tri-bike! Boljoon Philippines

One of my many missions I had to do in the Philippines was to spread the word about Driftless Angler. I love stickers and told Mat and Geri that they would be represented in many different fashions. Here is just one of many of I have though of. Stay tuned Mat and Geri, each time will be better!

Spreading the word of fly fishing one sticker at a time!!

Hiking the mountain stream of Boljoon Philippines.

The streams of Boljoon remind me of the streams of Driftless Area, There is clear water, fresh air, lush green plants, and wide open spaces but that is where it ends. This stream have more elevations drops, rock as big as trucks, bats with three foot wing spans, crabs, spiders as big as baseball, six inch prawns and Monkeys.

 I went hiking with Botoy, a local mountain man who knows the mountain and streams like the back of his hand, our main mission was to hike up the river to see if we could spot the monkeys that live next to the stream up in the treetops. At times the hike was very easy but other times we were wading up to our chest or walking on slippery rocks. A few times Botoy would go a head of me to scout how we would get around a huge rock that was blocking out path or to figure a way we could wade thru the deep water. I was carrying my camera in a case and he was very caring about not getting it wet for me.

We hike three miles up the stream, I could tell towards the end that the stream was getting smaller and the climb was getting stepper. We exit at the top where we there was a small bamboo bridge that lead us up the mountain road, it was a nice long hike down hill to Boljoon. The trek was about a seven mile hike, it was so refreshing to see parts of the Island that most tourist never get to see.

I am home again, next to water and Mother Nature.

Enjoy the hike with me!