Good afternoon and welcome back to VibePinas! Today, we are back in our favorite place in the world: our mountain cabin in Ginatilan. After all the chaos of the typhoon and our time spent in the lowlands, coming back up here feels like a massive weight has been lifted. The air is fresh, everything is incredibly green, and the view—well, you can see for yourself, it’s just unbeatable.
However, being back also means facing some "mountain mysteries." We’ve run into a bit of a situation with our water supply. For some reason, we used 90,000 liters of water in just one month. Now, Jessa and I are clean people, but 90,000 liters? That’s enough to fill several swimming pools! I’ve been doing some detective work, and I suspect there might be a leak in the connection pipe or perhaps a faucet was accidentally left running while we were away. Either way, it’s a lot of water to lose when you’re living off the grid.
Despite the water drama, we’ve been settling back into the simple life. Jessa has been busy with her mountain kitchen, and today she’s preparing one of our staples: dried fish. She has this system where she salts them and lays them out on a net in the sun. It sounds simple, but there’s a real art to getting it right so they don't get too dry or attract too many local "inspectors" (the neighborhood cats). We had them for lunch with some fresh rice, and honestly, I don't think a five-star restaurant could top it.
Liam is absolutely loving being back in the wide-open spaces. He’s got so much room to run around and explore, and he’s constantly fascinated by the plants and the sounds of the mountain. I’ve been spending my time catching up on work and enjoying the peace. There’s something about sitting on the balcony with a coffee, looking out over the valley, that makes all the stress of the building projects feel worth it. We’re still waiting for the permanent electricity to be restored, but for now, we’re managing just fine.
The community has been so welcoming as well. We had some neighbors stop by to say hello, and it’s a reminder of why we chose this specific spot. People here are so resilient and kind. We’re planning to do some more work on the house extensions this week—weather permitting—but for today, the goal was just to enjoy being home.
We’re wrapping up the day with a quiet evening. No TV, no city noise, just the sound of the wind in the trees and the "tokay" geckos calling out. It’s the "happy life" we’ve been working so hard to build.
If you want to see the "unfiltered" beauty of our Ginatilan mountain home or watch Jessa’s masterclass in drying fish, come join us.
Thanks for watching, and I’ll see you in the next one!
