Laguna (Pakil, Paete,Majayjay,Nagcarlan,Liliw)

On May 18, 2009 at 7:30 am, we left Sariaya for Laguna via Lucban. Kuya Gello suggested that we follow the route to Lake Caliraya. Along the way, we bought bibingka as snacks. Lake Caliraya is beautiful even if it is man-made. We came across a woman washing clothes in the lake itself. She says that the villagers wash their clothes there everyday.

What we had in mind is to visit as many churches as possible. Driving there is very relaxing because there is almost no traffic. The only hindrance is that the residents spread rice on the street to dry. It sometimes occupies the other side of the road. They even place big objects to protect their rice.

Pakil is the first town that we visited. It is famous for turumba, dancing in the street organized by the church to fulfill one’s wish.

Afterwards, we passed by Lumban which sells traditional clothes.

Then we went to Paete which is known for selling wood carvings. We dropped by first at Exotica along the highway. This is a restaurant where one can eat wild animals. A wild bird and three pythons are caged separately and is open for public viewing. Upon arrival in Paete, a guy guided us in parking the vehicle. The price is 20 pesos. We ate lunch in a Paete eatery near the parking space and bought a few souvenirs. Our lunch consisted of chopsuey, rice, drinks and fried chicken. We paid around 600 pesos for 6 persons. It is advisable to walk in the direction of the church because there are better eateries there with ambiance.

It is interesting to note that aside from the wood carvings, there is a store in Paete selling paper mache of different forms such as vegetables, fruits, etc. For a handful of tropical things, I paid 380 pesos with discount. Kuya Gelo gave me a wooden holy family which costs 450 pesos. There is also a coffee shop full with creative paintings. In the toilet, there is a hanged painting of Mona Lisa with the face of mr. Bean. These shoppes are locatd near the church.

Other towns we visited are Majayjay, Liliw and Nagcarlan. The road here is very winding and sloping. Of all the churches in the towns we visited, the one in Majayjay seems to stand out because it has antique paintings aside from the holy statues. The only setback is that they painted the poles in front of the churh with blue and white color which did not blend with the rustic color of the church itself.

Liliw is known for making good quality slippers. André and I bought one pair of slippers. FOr a lether slippers, it costs 150 pesos. While we approached the church, we came across a procession offering flowers to Mother Mary. There is mass going on and organisators are even offering anthuriums to church goers as offering in the altar.

In every town, we had a group photo in front of the churches. Our last stop to Nagcarlan had a different turn. While we posed for a photo, children playing nearby suddenly flocked us because they also wanted to join our picture taking. Afterwards, they requested André to see the result in the live view of his camera.

In going home, we stopped by the underground cemetery in Nagcarlan. However, we were not able to see its inside because it is only opened until 4 pm. As the evening approaches, we decided to stop by in San Pablo for pizza and pasta at Shakey’s Pizza. Ate Girlie treated us for a hearty dinner.

Tip: When night falls, avoid following the road leading to Lucban. It is slopy and winding that you might have a bad vision on the road.