A cactus heaven in Marinduque

Cacti and succulents may not be the first things travelers think of when going to the island province of Marinduque, located on the southeastern portion of Luzon. Instead, it’s the Moriones festival that comes to mind.

For the members of the Cactus and Succulent Society, even if the Moriones was a wonderful bonus, the primary goal for this annual outing was the cactus- and succulent-hunting. Last year, the society went to Benguet where we exchanged notes with and got to know the C&S growers of the province. This year, the society decided to go to Marinduque, a seemingly strange idea at first, until one of our members, Bimbo Vergara, answered the question: "Why Marinduque?"

Bimbo promised the group that it would be an experience to see the wild and natural habitat of some species of cactus and succulents in Marinduque. That did it. With barely eight weeks to prepare, Bimbo and Becky Buenaventura were assigned to head the cactus-hunting trip for the 28 members who signed up.

The society is grateful for the warm hospitality and help extended by Marinduque Governor Carmencita Reyes and Congressman Edmund Reyes, both of whom work tirelessly to promote the province and its various industries. They made the trip truly memorable and the province close to the hearts of those who went. Joven Lilles and Jerry Humilla of the Office of the Governor and Task Force on Tourism also pitched in to make the trip as informative and as smooth as could be.

Thanks to the reports of society members Becky Buenaventura and Mely Ileto-Sibayan, cactus and succulent lovers will now have another reason to visit Marinduque.

Succulent Island

For the visiting society, it was the Katala Beach Resort in Gasan, owned by Joseph Schroetter and his Filipino wife Jocelyn, that was their home for three days. The rooms have a beautiful view of the coral beach of Tres Reyes Island and 14 of these are equipped with air-conditioners.

The scorching sun and semi-desert soil of Marinduque is a perfect habitat for cacti and succulents. The first hunt was at the vacation house of Terry and Nanette Griffith, sister of Bimbo. Nestled on a 5,000 sq.m. lot, the Buenavista home is truly a haven for our favorite plants. A beautiful bush of Opuntia neoargentina or "tree opuntia," standing at about nine feet tall and 24 feet in diameter, is planted in front of their house as if standing guard.

Designed to look like a giant garden dish, the circular landscape contains an array of Echinocactus grusonii, Echinocereus cinerascens, echinopsis "forty niner," Echinopsis chamaecereus, Parodia magnifica and succulents, clusters of agaves, aloes and euphorbias. Although a lot of them were damaged by a recent typhoon, the survivors are all very healthy, robust, with shiny leaves and skin. The Griffiths’ caretakers are doing a wonderful job of maintaining the collections, as Bimbo and his sister Nanette spend only about three to six months in a year in Marinduque.

A few meters away from the Griffiths’ vacation house was another surprise that capped our cactus-hunting for the day. Mr. and Mrs. Bernhard Lahm have a nine-hectare property facing the stunning views of the western coast of Marinduque. Bernhard bought the property 17 years ago and he started planting every species of tree he found on the island and nearby provinces. To date, he has planted about 3,500 trees, including the rows of cacti and succulents that serve as a fence around his home.

The clusters of cereus species, growing as high as 18 feet, were amazing. The Lahms’ "mini forest" also contains random clusters of opuntias, agaves and cereus that seemingly thrive in the unrestrained environment. Part of this area is what the couple calls the "Black Forest," flanked by a Y-intersection of Opuntia neoargentina and ereus, with the plants growing about four feet wide on each side. For a cactus lover, this was a heavenly place.

The second day of the group’s Marinduque visit was spent sightseeing and pasalubong-buying sprees, which included items such as rectangular-shaped mini mortars and pestles to be used for their cactus collections.

At the Poktoy White Beach (a misnomer, since the sand is actually almost brown), located on the eastern part of the island Torrijos, the group had a seafood lunch and society member and guru Serapion Metilla demonstrated how to make a bird out of the leaf of a coconut tree.

After hearing Mass in barangay Putok-Putok in Gasan, celebrated by Fr. Allan Malapad, the night was spent at a luau dinner by the sea in Katala Resort, where members dressed in their favorite Hawaiian sarongs and floral shirts. After the dancing and singing, miniature cactus dish gardens were raffled off. Well, you can take a cacti lover out of his garden, but you can never take his garden out of him!

On the last day in Marinduque, the society wanted to give something back to the island. A member had brought cuttings of opuntia cactus to be planted on the island. At the Tres Reyes Island, which has three islets with secluded beaches fringed by white coral reefs, the cactus cuttings were turned over to the barangay chairman with the promise that the society would come back to check on the plants.

Perhaps some years from now, we will go back and hopefully the barangay will be another piece of cacti heaven.

Marinduque In Summer

Marinduque is a very special place: It is beautiful, untouched, quiet, unspoiled, a sanctuary. Some see it as a perfect retirement place, but for Marinduqueños it is simply their home – has been for generations and will be for many more.

The heart-shaped island is an isolated volcanic mass. It is surrounded by coral reefs and its interior is mountainous. The website marinduqueinternational.org says that "Marinduque was at one time or another part of three other provinces. And due to its strategic location, the Spanish authorities, followed by the Americans, could not decide where to attack the island. During the 16th century, the island was under the administration of the province of Batangas. At the beginning of the 17th century, when Mindoro was severed from Batangas, Marinduque was made part of the new province of Mindoro. On June 23, 1902, the Americans abolished Mindoro and made it part of Marinduque. After a period of five months, Mindoro was recreated as a special province, while Marinduque was annexed to Quezon. It took an act of the Philippine Legislature in 1920 to finally create the separate province of Marinduque."

After the hunt on the first day, society members had to rush to Boac for a special welcome program prepared by the Task Force on Tourism under the office of Governor Carmencita Reyes. The governor was on hand to personally welcome the society with the colorful Putong ceremony, Marinduque’s unique way of welcoming all first-timers to the island. Ladies wearing pink baro’t saya danced gracefully and put nito hats on each guest’s head.

To the delight of the visitors, a 30-minute excerpt from the cenaculo dramatizing the passion, death and resurrection of Christ was performed at the plaza’s town hall (the usual performance lasts about an hour and a half). This is the heart of Moriones festival, a week-long traditional folk and religious observance of the Holy Week practiced for over a century now. It was explained that the masks of the centurions are made by the participants themselves as their yearly panata. One becomes a "morion" to fulfill a vow. It is an act of thanksgiving for a favor granted through prayers like recovery from an ailment, or as a result of a good harvest when crops are said to be bad due to drought, pests, or for whatever reason.

Moriones comes from the Spanish word morion, meaning helmet, which was what the Spanish conquistadors wore. There is just a tiny hole where the actors can look through. The mask is made of santol wood and the helmet of soft dapdap wood.

During the festival, the participating centurions may play pranks on the townspeople and keep their identities secret – sometimes even from their families. It’s not unusual then that when addressed, a centurion might disguise his voice and emit bird-like sounds.

The group’s second day in Marinduque included a tour of the island. Not to be missed are the butterfly farms, which are fast becoming a backyard industry. Many residents are into butterfly propagation and they are now the No. 1 suppliers of butterflies in Metro Manila.

On the farm of Emerita Sevilla in barangay Tigioun, Gasan, are thousands of Wood Nymphs (Idea leuconoe). These beautiful species have prominent black veins with patterns that look like stained glass. Some of the society members bought the golden-colored pupa hoping that in three days, they would see them fly in their own homes.

Going further north, the visitor must stop by the 200-year-old Boac Cathedral. The historical church is something Marinduque is very proud of and with good reason, too. The cathedral, surrounded by old walls, has a magnificent belfry and wide buttresses. Beside it is the Shrine of our Lady of Biglang Awa, the patroness of Boac. Many devotees flock to this shrine and believe in power of the Lady’s intercession.

From the church, one will pass by the Boac Museum and get a glimpse of the rich heritage and history of the island through the different artifacts displayed.

Many More Attractions

Foodies will not be disappointed in Marinduque. The island’s famous delicacies, particularly the best-selling "arrowroot," can be found at the Marinduque Deli in Sta. Cruz. Society members agreed that Marinduque’s uraro – crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside – is the best uraro they’ve ever tasted. The store also carries the best banana chips – crispy, not too sweet and thinly sliced.

Sta. Cruz town is also known for its famous church dating back to 1622. Its altar is so beautiful with the antique and baroque white and gold retablos depicting the Passion of Christ in several pediments of the altar. The exterior walls and belfry were reconstructed using red clay tiles. But what makes this church architecturally unique is the use of crazy-cut bricks as its finishing instead of the regular brick-layered construction.

A tour of Marinduque is not complete without a visit to the only sulfur springs found in the Southern Tagalog region, the Malbog Sulfur Springs in Buenavista. Islanders claim that the springs are medicinal as the lukewarm water can cure all types of skin diseases.

Along your tour of Marinduque you will undoubtedly pass by handicrafts stores where their merchandise ranges from colorful stick placemats to nito baskets, trays, wooden birds, butterflies, and miniature Moriones masks.

Due to limited time, the group was not able to visit Marinduque’s other tourist spots, such as:

• The beaches of Boac: Laylay, Ihatub, Balaring, Caganhao, Amoingon and Cawit are known for their tiny resorts and beach houses.

• Duyay and Talamban caves: Also known as houses of spirits with an impressive interior of hanging stalactites and intriguing rock formations.

• Kabugsakan Falls

• Talisay caves

• Malindig Volcano: A 1,157-meter volcano surrounded by rare vegetation and rare species of birds, deer, wild boar and monkeys.

• The islands of Maniwaya, Mongpong and Polo with their amazing white sand and undersea coral gardens

• Hacupan Island, which is an excellent diving spot

• Paadjao Falls, a seven-tiered waterfall

• Natangco Island

• Tarug Caves

How To Get There

If you’re going by car, go to Lucena City, where you have two options. The first is to park your car for P30 a day at the area in front of the Philippine Ports Authority and pay the boat fare at P150 per passenger for a Super Cat or P120 for a senior citizen. The second option is to bring your car with you and pay P1,067 for the vehicle (must bring all the original documents of the vehicle) and P127 per passenger. In this case, there are two RORO trips: one that leaves at 8 a.m. and another at 4 p.m., while the Super Cat leaves at 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Provide at least 30 minutes boarding time.

If you are going by public, all you have to take is a provincial bus bound for Lucena City. Just make sure it goes to Dalanhican.

If you’re the type who’s willing to live without the usual givens of classy hotels and resorts, Marinduque is your kind of place: Quiet, unspoiled, untouched.

To know more about Marinduque, go to www. marinduque.gov.ph or send an e-mail to info@marinduque.gov.ph.

– With reports from Becky Buenaventura and Mely Ileto-Sibayan

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E-mail the author at succulentophile@yahoo.com.