I've heard of this place before but never got here or barely knew what was in there except for honeybees until today. I drove home from Tagaytay via the Coastal Road route (Aguinaldo Highway) and saw this road sign marked Ilog Maria somewhere near Km47 (this is about 7km from the Tagaytay Rotonda)... I turned that way and went past a 700m dirt road, several cows, lots of grass, little houses, and surprisingly, not a single bee was in sight.
At the end of the road there is a store resembling a half-completed house where you can park in front, and then a fenced, 2 long lines of about 15 white boxes (beehives) each on one side of it. A sign on the store reads "No Blowing of Horns"... yes, the busy bees are serious about very silent and conducive working environments. The air is fresh outside, not even the cow gases made it here.
I got inside the store and saw all these ladies (about a dozen of them at that time) with nice wooden baskets, picking up stuff and sticking them at their noses then putting them back. The next lady would do exactly the same. I also did the same, getting that nose-to-nose effect (without having to use the basket of course). The soaps smell really good, even those with added scents like carrot, cinnamon, eucalyptus, ginger, lavander, milk, rosemary, and spearmint. They also got a selection of oils, gift packs, coffee, candles, shampoo, bath salts, toothpaste all made with honey!
On another side of the store there were kids playing near the beehive display (live bees!) I got close and took a shot, careful not to knock it off.
... and then at the back side (the structure that looks like a hat on the first picture) there's a small museum (Museo Sa Ilog) which I think is only set up whenever there are organized tours to this location. A quick look at the tour packages makes me want to come back and hear the buzz about the bees.
Now I have stuff to bring home aside from the usual Collette's :) Mum liked the soap, and I tried the honeybee throat spray -- it worked! My weeklong sore throat is gone!
For more information check out http://www.ilogmaria.com/. All product catalogues, maps, contact details, are also on the website.
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