Tuba and Balimbing

The long vacation for this year's Semana Santa (Holy Week) gave me the opportunity to visit Davao once again. It felt so good when we landed at Davao International Airport and smelled the scent of durian in the air.

The place that I went to is a remote town somewhere in Davao del Norte. It is remote because it is in the middle of banana plantations. The nearest sub-urban area is a bus ride away. People had to leave the town if they want to go to a mall, college school and banks.

People who grew up in the city will see the town as boring and slow. It is not their fault because they are accustomed to hustle and bustle of the Metro. I, on the other hand, welcomed the laid-back atmosphere of the town as my respite from the stressful life that I had in Manila.

Coconut trees can be found everywhere. The odd thing that I saw is this coconut:
.

Future Father-in-Law told me that the small container hanging from the coconut trunk contains unfermented tuba (palm wine). He gave the small container so I can drink the palm sap that he was collecting. The fresh tuba tastes sweet and I like it. It already had a faint tang of alcohol even though it is yet to be fermented.

Tuba is a local wine made from the sap of the cut flower of coconut. The fresh tuba is to be fermented and mixed with tungog (bark of mangrove tree) before it becomes the tuba that is being sold by the sari-sari stores in Davao.
.

(Source: Proudly Philippine Made)

I first tasted the reddish tuba during my first visit to Davao. A friend, who is an owner of a sari-sari store, always allow me to drink a glass of tuba every day.

Another thing that delighted me is when I saw this fruit:
.

This many-sided fruit is called “balimbing” (starfruit). This fruit is used to perfectly describe Filipino politicians who are known to change their political affiliations at whim. I was delighted to see this fruit because it is rare in Metro Manila. It is sad to know that young people in the Metro knows more about apples, oranges, and pears than the local fruits like balimbing.

The taste of this fruit is not delightful, however. It tasted mapakla (bitter?) and sour. My father told me that balimbing is in the family of the very sour kamias.

I enjoyed my Semana Santa stay in Davao. I met a lot of people and enjoyed a very long rest.

---

Visit Ahab Reviews and Tips and read about Jollibee party brochures.

Follow me in Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest and Flickr.