It's time for the second half of September year 2017. Last time, I had shared with you the following places that we checked out each weekend on that month.
What prompt me to reminisce about this is the fact that my husband and I, our lives today are quite different than four years ago and so are everyone else all over the world. Before September ends, I'd like to reminisce about how my husband and I became weekend nomads, traveling without restrictions from Cebu to Bohol and the nearby places around us.
Come with us To....
MILKING BUFFALOS AT UBAY CARABAO FARM
The last weekend was spent in Bohol, there was a new trending spot that our family wanted to visit which I will talk about later but we stopped by Bohol Dairy Cooperative on our way there. This cooperative sells dairy products such as carabao's milk, ice cream, milk cake, soaps, and so on. They also have some pasalubong items.
But we had a treat when I inquired at the cashier, they said their carabao milking was at 2:30 PM and it was still 2:00 PM when we were paying for our goodies so they suggested we visit the farm, it's all free!
I am a sucker for anything free so we went to the facility, we were welcomed by the workers and farmers there who were very accommodating with our questions, we had a very educational tour.
The leader goes first then the rest follow.
These are harmless buffalos.
By 2:30 PM, we saw a Bulgarian Buffalo walking slowly from the hill, then a few more showed up, it seemed like that one was the leader and the rest of them followed! There was also a staff riding a horse at the back of the pack.
This is the pure Bulgarian Buffalo, the father of all buffalos here on the farm!
Unlike the water buffalos in our country, these are tamed and would not attack humans. The main breeder is a pure Bulgarian Buffalo and they use the technology of extracting sperms and injecting them into the females.
We witnessed how these animals get into the fenced area submissively for bathing. They have to be cleaned before milking. Then each of them has to go enter the milking cell. They were very used to it that the workers don't have to do anything, they just open the door and the buffalos submit!
Automatic pumps installed.
**Like a mother pumping milk for her child except that these are for business.
**
They got automatic milking machines attached to the buffalo's nipples, each will produce 5-6 liters daily. It would take 10 minutes to get the milk out.
But hand milking is faster according to the tour guide. Three buffalos were left for traditional hand milking and we got to experience how to squeeze and push the nipples to get the milk out!
Seasoned milker.
Novice milker :D
It was an experience that I would never forget too and I will surely let Matti experience that in the future once he is old enough.
The family with the buffalos, notice the three buffalos on the left?
With the workers and that one in blue was the guide.
JARDIN NECITAS
After a memorable experience milking carabaos at Ubay Dairy Farm, we headed to our main agenda - Jardin Necitas where there are 20,000 Tulips and Roses planted on a hill.
This spot has been making a name on that year and my parents, specifically, my mother wanted to go there personally.
Jardin Necitas is located in Pilar, Bohol. There are five thousand red and white artificial roses and 15,000 different colored faux tulips all with installed LED lights in every single flower. They do not look impressive during the day but when the lights are on at night, the magic begins.
Jardin Necitas entrance tickets.
At an entrance fee of Php 30.00, anyone can enjoy the ambiance of this spot but because there are so many people during our time of visit, we felt like we had to move fast else we will get run over by the people behind, this made the visit uncomfortable.
There's a snack place inside but it wasn't able to accommodate the number of customers so we didn't order anything, instead, we decided to eat somewhere once we were done.
The line extends to the end.
As there were so many visitors, taking photographs without photobombers was hard. I found that photographing the flowers from under it would be the best option instead. The photos turned out nice but I wasn't able to take photos of us anymore, there were too many people around.
White roses
Blue roses
Yellow and pink tulips.
They do look like real flowers! Don't you think so?
The group :)
I must say that I loved taking the photographs but having people around you pushing and rubbing elbows with you, it was time to retreat. All of us were hungry so we called it a night and headed to a nearby eatery. It was already a long day so we decided to go home after having dinner.