Another tour of Laguna, Easter ‘09

Its Easter morning, and I had already been planning what to do on this day. I surely didn’t want to spend it at home. It’s a day for renewing ties, relationships and connecting with God. For Jesus is reborn. A renewal of faith. A situation I have to face. A day I have to make something of. A moment to cherish.

It was a bright sunny day, a good day for swimming! For the local pool was supposed to be open today so I packed my swim gear and rode Daisy (our Honda Dream) to the pool but it was closed. This didn’t surprise me at all even though the lifeguards had told me they will open today for it was a holiday. I didn’t mind it at all for Mameng needed help with her email so I just went home and helped her out. Also I had plans to go on a road trip with friends, another Laguna tour. Oh yeah!

After meeting up with my friends at around eleven in the morning at Crossing of Los Banos, I was the designated driver for it was I that knew the back roads of Laguna. They had read a previous blog of a Laguna tour and they were excited to have a road trip as well. It was my call on to what route to take, all that mattered was that we get there, no time limit and no pressure. I love it! I decided to go the scenic route going through the back roads of Laguna, via the national highway, we passed by Bay and Calauan towards Santa Cruz, then Victoria, turned right at a junction at Pila so we can reach Nagcarlan, then Liliw, then Majayjay and a bit more Lucban, Quezon. Took us about an hour’s drive with the roads being used as the biggest or longest solar drier of palay and the once golden fields are now harvested clumps of rice stalks. Tricycle is king here at these roads so the trip is not that fast but it was enjoyable with all the beautiful sceneries of green and mountain ranges. Also I missed some turns, we have to turn back but it was not a hassle for it’s a road trip. Anything goes! Reaching our stop at Lucban, Quezon’s Kamay ni Hesus, it is a pilgrimage site oftened by devotees from all around the surrounding provinces. Last Friday we had a talk with some friends who came from there earlier that Friday morning and they said that the place was packed with a kilometre long procession of devotees trying to go up the hill and say prayers upon reaching the Stations of the Cross strategically spread on the hill with steep stone steps. It was a very impressive site to behold, a fifty foot statue of Jesus Christ with open arms welcoming everybody willing and strong enough to walk the steep steps going up the hill. There were stalls and food places beside the road, inside the compound a big church and more food stalls and souvenir shops. It was a hot and humid day and even if the devotees from all ages, the elderly, children with their parents, are not as crowded but is still is full of people, some of them already minger and mardy. Somehow I was wishing that we came on a different day but the solemnest of the place was still kept. I don’t like crowded places but it was still a wonderful experience. It was my first time to go inside the Church and I was told to say my dearest wish for it would be granted by the Lord, I prayed hard thinking of what I wanted most, what I needed help with, after a few minutes of prayer we ascended the steps going up the hill where the towering Jesus stands like a giant among the people trying to reach him up high. It was a good thing that Mameng taught Catechism classes at Saint Therese church at Los Banos when I was a small kid, I remembered the lessons. I must admit that I’m not a practicing Catholic anymore and it was time to renew my faith for I had already forgotten how to be a Catholic. I always admire the architecture and art of the different old and new churches I’ve been to, the structures here are quiet modern but rustic for we are in the province of Quezon, just past the boundary of Majayjay, Laguna.

The steps might be steep but this didn’t stop people to start trudging them. I can hear many complain being mardy as they make their way up the holy hill. There are statues and scenes of the stations and some people have prayer booklets to recite prayers from. Even children were not trying to complain but the day was indeed very hot for it was the noon time already. I didn’t bother counting the steps but they were very tiring, good thing I had the muscle memory from climbing mountains when I was attending college so this hill was a piece of cake. We had our water bottles with us to quench our thirsts, but my thirst to climb to the top was not quenched until I saw the vast scene that beholden me. It was a 180 degree panoramic view of rice paddies and coconut groves and it was breathe taking indeed. All the greenness and the fresh air. Just take it all in... Whew! It was a very lovely site. After saying some prayers and resting for a few minutes we made our way down the hill and out of the compound. Thinking back that my wish be granted soon, I was still praying hard.

It was already two o’clock when we descended the steep steps, we are all hungry and that the original Kamayan sa Palaisdaan was just at the next town of Tayabas, Quezon. A few minutes’ drive and we were there. The restaurant features Filipino cuisine and the dining area was nipa huts on a fish pond with Tilapia and Catfish thus Palaisdaan meaning “fish pond” and Kamayan means “to eat with your hands” as Filipinos love doing this. Many foreigners and local tourists love the ambiance and we love it also. It was refreshing indeed. Picking a table on the water with water lilies around, bonsais of endemic hard wood trees, tropical flowers and plants as landscapes and there were pissing statues into Koi ponds with tossed coins for wishing, made it more rustic. It was maintained well and the surrounding is tidy.
Asking our waiter for the menu I quickly noticed one of my favourite dish, Pako or fiddle fern salad (PhP 100.00). I love this dish so much for the ferns are collected in the forest. Haven’t seen or heard of a farm that cultivates the wild edible Pako. Then we picked grilled squid or Lumot (PhP 200.00) and Sinigang na Sugpo or Prawns in hot Tamarind Broth with local veggies (PhP 200.00) and of course steamed white rice (PhP 20.00/order). I thought that the order will take a short time to cook for most of the people have already finished or gone home by the time we arrived. To my surprise it took them almost forty five minutes to serve and our drinks took a long time as well. Their service needs a bit more quickening. The drinks came then the food, which was enough for a group of four.

The surprise was the Pako salad, it came with sardines and the Pako was wilted, blanched for a few seconds only! Still retaining its tender crunchiness. Yes, it’s the canned sardines in tomato sauce, with slices of white onions, native tomatoes and salted duck eggs dressed in native vinaigrette, sweet and sour as Filipinos prefer their dressing. It was a nice dish the plating ok. I love it! I was thinking it would have been better if they used sardines in oil with a bit of Siling Labuyo for piquantness. I use tinapa (Smoked fish) flakes for my own version of Pako salad. Also the grilled squid was done to perfection even though we didn’t have kalamansi juice, soy sauce and red chillies for dipping sauce it was still good, very tender, seasoned well and not over done at all but the presentation need a bit of upgrading. The sinigang was in an earthen pot and it kept hot during the whole meal. We were waiting for the merienda lady, a specialty there was the Kalabasa Pilipit or Squash and rice flour dough fried with caramelized sugar. The best pilipit ever but I think the vendor ran out already for it was a very fast seller. We were not able to buy some. Oh well better be early next time then. We didn’t get dessert anymore for we were planning to get fresh fruits along the way home.

After so many stories shared and tummy’s already full, we drove back to Los Banos, Laguna but I took a different route this time, going through the towns of Luisiana amongst the giant pandan trees, Cavinti, Pagsanjan, Santa Cruz, and Pila stopping along the fruit stands to buy pasalubong and there was a honey dew melon, yellow in colour and very sweet with a firm texture (PhP 60.00/kg). First time I tasted one and it was delicious even better when chilled the lady vendor told us, they got ripe Carabao mangoes also (PhP 60.00/kg.) More fruits were in season, watermelons both the native and seedless variety, Chico, Mangosteen, etc. A sea of fruits! Yummy! So many to pick and choose from. Then the towns of Victoria, Calauan, Bay, arriving at Los Banos I asked if they wanted to hang out first and have couples of beer for the moon was so bright and full it was a lovely end to an inspiring road trip. I was home again... It really felt good... Waiting for the next road trip... dreamy.