Ilog Maria Honeybee Farm

Hey guys! It’s already the middle of July and I am very happy to share to you that I PASSED the written examination given by the Philippine Society of Medical Oncology last July 10. God is so faithful and my heart bursting with profound gratitude. I am actually writing this piece here at St. Luke’s College of Medicine Library. Well, I am preparing for my Oral Examination this time, scheduled on the 24^th of this month. Wish me luck and please, please pray for my guys. By the way, I wanna share our experience inside one of Tagaytay’s best kept secret.

llog Maria Honeybee Farm is a beautiful and quaint bee farm nestled along Kilometer 47 of Aguinaldo Highway in Silang, Cavite. The farm produces natural and organic products ( yes, no SLS, parabens, and chemicals whatsoever ) ranging from, soaps, body wash, facial scrub, feminine wash, lip balms, to even wood polish! Anything that can be made from the by-products of bees, using the most natural method, for they believe that products are more effective when made using natural methods and not processed at all. They believe that the benefits that keeping honey pure, and unprocessed lets it retain is “healing and nutritive properties.

Ilog Maria Virgin Honey is produced by Italian honeybees who collect nectar from avocado, sunflower, mango, coffee, citrus, fruit trees, and wildflowers. A 500 gram bottle of honey is made out of the nectar from over 5 million flowers. Who knew that bees were such hard workers? It takes around eight weeks for honey to ripen in the beehives. Once eight weeks have passed, the bee farmers choose only the ripest honeycombs for the best honey. The honey is then bottled and sealed to preserve its nutrients and healing properties.

A one-story building with huge glass windows with a spacious terrace in the front awaits visitors to Ilog Maria Honeybee Farms. The place is so peaceful, a wilderness of pineapple, coconuts, coffee, papaya, mangoes, langka trees and other plant species. It makes you want to linger.

People come from all over the country and even parts abroad to check out the products of Ilog Maria, a wide selection of soaps, shampoo and conditioners, candles, massage oils, facial scrub, fly repellent, lip balm, coffee, cider vinegar, wine, royal jelly and bee pollen. And they’re all made from honey and beeswax. These products have been considered “marvelous” as each of them has its own phenomenal purpose. The bee propolis for example, is what Ilog Maria calls “nature’s most powerful antibiotic” because it carries natural antibiotic action that strengthens the immune system. The Bee Pollen on the other hand is best for increasing stamina and alertness. So, if you have time, please visit and experience the healing power of nature though Ilog Maria Bee Farm.

Taal, Batangas: A Walk Back In Time

I am sitting inside the empty halls Quezon City Library while writing this blog post, browsing through my De Vita book. The past few months have been so challenging and life changing. I am literally back to my old “medical school days” self. A month prior to our diplomate exam in Medical Oncology, here I am struggling to remember what I’ve learned from the past 3 years of my fellowship training, and trying hard as well to grasps everything that I’ve reviewed during the past 3 months. After writing this post, I will be transferring again to a coffee shop nearby to study all night long. But I am not, complaining. I love my profession and being a cancer physician is the only thing that I would love to do for the rest of my life.

Well, I have to “breath” once in a while and do the things that I love (hmmm, writing a travel story like this) in the midst of this nerve wracking experience.

Traveling sometimes gives me that “sense of home coming” even when I am just about to visit a new place. The Heritage Town of Taal, Batangas gave me that kind of feeling.

Time might have created a long gap between THEN and NOW, but the remnants of our nation’s past are still palpable in this old rustic town. And there I was, a part of a generation that came after an older generation who once upon a time frolicked around this place and fought alongside other Philippine Revolutionaries in search for our independence from the Spanish and American conquistadors.




  

I never knew beforehand that there is a heritage town located about 2 hours from Manila. A BIG "thank you " to my good friend/sister Ma’am Jannel Villanueva for taking me and Ma’am Amy in this spectacular journey.

We were able to spent a great deal of time walking around the heritage village, peak inside numerous Spanish colonial houses and see St. Martin De Tours- the largest catholic church in Asia.



 

I never got tired of pointing my eyes in every corner of the houses we visited. The interiors of these houses were already redecorated and repainted (to preserve it I guess) but its rustic charm remains. These houses were once owned by famous patriot and supporters of the Philippine Revolution.

Walking around Taal gave me a different kind of fervor and delight…and a new sense of nationalism. I laud the effort of heritage conservation advocates to preserve these structures. And I wish that the people of Taal and the government will fight off commercialization of this heritage districts so as not to rob future generations the opportunity to peek into our country’s glorious past.