Saturday, March 19
After early morning birding around the elegant rest house high above the bay, we had breakfast served in the pavilion. Across a marshy area we observed monkeys feeding in the trees. Later we visited the tree nursery where 10,000,000 seedling trees are being produced. We left with a lot of respect for PICOP and its management for its awareness of the need for conservation.
Cebu Island
In Cebu City again we fought traffic to reach the Art Haus Museum, where we met Professor Julian Jumalong, a small, soft spoken, dignified gentleman. His name was familiar to me because my Lepidoptera friend, Don Eff of Boulder, Colorado had corresponded with him for years and had told me of his work in rearing larva. He is world famous for the butterfly mosaics that hung on the walls of the museum. At first glance they appeared to be paintings of exceptional brilliance of color, but when we examined them closely one could see that there they were made up of parts of butterfly wings. One was a portrait of the First Lady, Mrs. Marcos. Others showed Mayan motifs, underwater treasures, a variety of forest leaves and the beauty of a native girl.
From the museum we drove to his home on Macopa Street in the Basak area. The garden was planted with food plants of species he wished to attract. I wished that my late husband, Ray Romine and Don Eff–both lepidopterists—could have shared this time with me.