We arrived at the farm way past noon and the kids wasted no time getting on with their activities – biking, skateboarding, having a go at the swing or simply just running around. The place had a cluster of huts for cooking, dining, and sleeping. Another had toilets and showers which were right beside a huge coop filled with fat pigeons being taken care of by the Egyptian watchman who was nowhere in sight.

We unloaded our stuff and congregated inside the wide diwaniya (salon) which was fully carpeted with rugs and had low sofas running across the four walls which provided a comfortable way to lounge, chat, sleep and eat. A TV in one corner connected to a satellite dish was an added bonus. It was showing, of all programs, Barbara Walters with her bunch of friends in “The View”! This TV, later on, was appropriated by the boys to play their Sony PS2.

My son, James, and his friend, Renz, set up their amps and plugged in their Strats. In no time, they were jamming along with their favorite Pinoy rock songs and power chords-driven alternative rock. There was an extra acoustic guitar which we brought so I got to join in, strumming a bit here and there. When I suggested we play some James Taylor, they looked at me as though I came from another planet. There goes the generation gap, I thought.

The boys jammed while others went to look for eggplants

When the rest of the group arrived later in the afternoon, they made lunch. Our hosts, being from the north, served dinengdeng in a huge pot filled with fresh vegetables (picked from the nearby garden) and fried fish. Boy, it had been a long time since I last ate so much with my bare hands! Later, I explored the farm to take some pictures. There were several areas planted with corn, eggplant, lettuce, okra and squash. Watered by drip-irrigation, they were cultivated in large commercial quantities to be harvested and sold to the market.

Night came and the constellations came out. It was good to see Orion with his hunting dogs, Canis Major and Canis Minor, the Big and Small Dippers, Andromeda, and Cassiopeia. I could not remember the rest. Parts of the Milky Way was visible as well but since the glow of the lights in others farms within the area washed out the lower portion of the sky, there wasn’t much else to see. Some of the guys pitched their tents where they were going to sleep – literally under the stars. James and I, however, ended up inside our SUV for the night since we didn’t have a tent and the diwaniya was for the ladies with the smaller children. Surprisingly, there were no mosquitoes as I had feared.

Tents were pitched before the guys discussed the pros and cons of outdoor camping

For dinner, we had chicken barbecued on an open fire. I found out that honey mixed with ketchup made a great BBQ glaze. It was much more finger-lickin’ good than the Colonel’s KFC recipe. There was much bantering and good-natured storytelling after that. It reminded me of that campfire scene long, long time ago when I was still a Boy Scout although this time, we had no roaring fire – just bright fluorescent lights strung around the huts. Later, somebody brought out the Karaoke which added to the merriment especially after a couple of drinks were passed around! Others played cards until the wee hours of the night. Everybody slept pretty late.

Next morning, breakfast was fried rice, sausages and fried chicken. An armada of uninvited guests joined us: flies! We had to take turns shooing them away from the table with improvised fans. Some of the guys butchered the goat (given to us, compliments of the farm’s owner) and made great caldereta and kilawin which we all feasted on for lunch. It was time to leave after that. But before going and saying our goodbyes, we harvested some of the eggplants and okra that we could find in the garden. Too bad, the corn was still immature.

Kids enyoing the swing; an old schoolbus; sunset over the cornfield

I felt quite drowsy as I drove the 150-odd kilometers home – a sure sign of too much food and drink(!) but, somehow, felt well-rested and rejuvenated. Being lazy and doing nothing for two days sure was a good break. Hope we’ll get invited again next year. If not, well, we could always gatecrash!