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Holy Road Trip 2007 - Day 1

Holy Road Trip 2007

Day 1 (Maundy Thursday, April 5, 2007)

With my housemates Roy, Red, Klark & Argus (our Siberian Husky comrade), we embarked on an unplanned trip to spend our country’s version of US’ Thanksgiving Weekend – the HOLY WEEK. It was supposed to be a Northern and Central Luzon trek with the likes of Baguio, Pagudpud, Pampanga and Hundred Islands as our itinerary, but laziness, unfamiliarity with geography, our desire to see our family, not to mention budgetary considerations, got the better of us and we settled on a more familiar and closer route to Laguna and Quezon. We left the condo around 5pm on board a borrowed gray 4-door Toyota RAV4 which comfortably accommodated the four of us and gave ample space for Argus at the back baggage section of the SUV.

I guess we traveled late and everyone came ahead of us because there are very few vehicles on the road, traceless of the typical rush-hour EDSA scene. So Red swoop the road like bread-knife cutting through fresh tofu, while Klark and I sit quietly at the backseat half-sleepy and oftentimes struggling, arms against fangs, to keep Argus from trying to get to our seat. First stop of the day was South Super Highway’s Petron Station, representative of Philippines newest hit travel culture and an offshoot of Filipino’s malling phenomenon - the Expressway Food Stops. So there we were at Starbuck’s bench for a hefty 45-minute stop, sipping frappucino, people-watching and planning our trip. Then we were back on the road to the next stop.

San Pablo City, Red’s Residence – We were welcomed by Red’s mom, dad and brother, in full smile and a unique Tagalog-accent typical of our kababayan’s in Laguna, Batangas and Quezon. With the barking of a couple of ‘askals’ on the background, the meet and greet session started and lasted a little less than one hour. Argus found some new playmates and being a work-dog that he is, has been running around non-stop chasing a new furry Pomeranian girlfriend named “Bangs”. As we left, we said goodbye to Argus, as he is going to stay put for the rest of the trek (sorry buddy). Then off to the road again.

Next scheduled stop was the beach resorts of Sariaya, Quezon, situated just before the town plaza. But the ‘sleepyhead guide’ (me) missed the sign and we instead ended up in front of St. Francis of Assisi Church of Sariaya, perfect place for the much needed pee-break. Armed with a digital SLR camera and a Nokia N-73 Camera Phone, Roy and I took pictures of the church’s well-lit interiors and the biblical scenes vividly sculpted representing the Stations of the Cross. The church houses the miraculous icon of Sto. Cristo from Burgos, Spain. We spent a few minutes to kneel, pray and relieve our spiritual need, plus a few more minutes to drop our zippers and relieve our biologic need, and we were back on the road tracing the missed turn.

It took us 45 minutes from the church to reach the shores of Sariaya and approached Dalampasigan Beach Resort. By the looks of it, with the parking space almost filled to capacity, we came too late. True enough we were told that they’re already full and cannot accept anymore guests for the night. With that dilemma, we were directed to check out Paraiso Beach Resort just beside Dalampasigan. At around midnight we started pitching our camping tent beside our P800 worth beachside canopied bench and table right at beach-front of the resort. And while the resort’s name promises some pristine time with nature, we were instead left to catch sleep at our tent and endure a collage of annoying sounds coming drunkards singing karaoke at the restaurant and the occasional laughter and screams coming from a bunch of guests sitting along the shore while staring at a campfire. Who said this trip is going to be easy anyways?

Holy Road Trip 2007 - Day 2

Day 2 (Good Friday, April 6, 2007)

We woke up around 6:30am to the sound of kids running and playing around our tent contrasted by the welcoming sound of salt water slapping the white sandy beach of Sariaya, Quezon. We scanned the resort amidst the orangey silhouette of the rising sun and found a bit of a waiting line on the communal toilets as guests are starting to wake up with hang-over, trying to regain the memories of the previous nights passing-out rituals. The restaurant offered some hot instant coffee and bread which would be our first meal of the day. We spent a couple more minutes at the shore catching as much sun rays as we can to energize us for that day’s trip, packed our tent and quietly slipped out of the modest resort and jumped to our SUV.

En-route to Tayabas, Quezon to see the centuries-old Basilica Minore of St. Michael the Archangel, the longest Spanish colonial church in the country. The grandiose church façade indicated a visual feast that waits to amaze our eyes and will send our camera lenses to work. One of the churches in the Philippines declared as National Cultural Treasures, the basilica’s cross-shaped floor area is the biggest I’ve seen so far in my lifetime, and while this is my nth time to visit this particular church, it never fails to speed up my heart rate and inspire the ‘devout catholic’ in me just thinking about the importance of this magnificent piece of architecture, the culture and history it represents and the spirituality that it symbolizes. The church seven altars, ‘retablos’ and dome ceiling regurgitates with glorious neo-classical style and has remained largely intact after numerous renovations and restorations.

Lying on a slope of northeast of Mt. Banahaw, and standing at an elevation of 1,500 feet above sea level is Lucban, Quezon, our next pit-stop. Appropriately tagged as the ‘Summer Capital of Quezon’, and home of one of the Philippines most colorful and ingenious festival, the famed Pahiyas Festival (May 15). As we venture into a steady inclined road, we felt the urge to desperately turn off the air conditioner, open the windows of the SUV and savor the drizzly misty cold air amidst the blue skies and bright sunshine. Feeling the urge to doze off and just relish the brushing of the cold air on my smooth skin (haha) and just about the time I’m starting to snore, we got into a slowly moving traffic towards a crowd infested intersection of sorts. Vendors and stalls started to appear from the sidewalk selling everything from colorful foldable tourist hats to local delicacies and sharp deadly knifes. We just found out we're at the site of “Kamay Ni Hesus Healing Church” - the most recent attraction to hit the local catholic culture, the Stations of the Cross at Tinamnan Hills. This site has been attracting thousands of devotees who considers it as the country’s new mecca for the sick, with the provincial government following suit by adding it in their list of famous landmarks and communal pride since its inauguration on May 2004. Most prominent from miles away is the awe-inspiring sight of a 50-foot statue of the Ascending Christ, considered the third biggest in the world. After a turtle-pace approach to the crowded intersection, we finally passed the traffic and entered the town proper of Lucban.

Earlier during the climb, we were supposed to have an early lunch and pass by Kamayan sa Palaisdaan but we we’re disappointed to find out that they are closed on good Friday. I could almost feel the taste their sumptuous seafood meals on floating bamboo huts but I guess in the spirit penitence and mourning, we were made to endure another 45 minute climb and traffic towards the rustic town and settled to a less fishy but equally popular treat of the famous Pancit Habhab and Longganisang Lucban courtesy of Buddy’s Restaurant. Centrally located at the heart of the town, our seat at the restaurant gave us a good view of their Rizal Park, Patio Rizal Hotel, the Municipal Hall and the famous Dealo’s Bakeshop where you can find all the favorite delicacies of Quezon including broas, putoseko, copra and even the colorful leaf-shaped rice wafers called “kipings”. The town’s lunchtime patio scene reminded me of some romantic films shot in Paris depicting a cozy afternoon siesta landscape, complete with doves, fountains, statues and busy tourists taking pictures and sipping coffee around the park.

Walking around the church gave us a picturesque sampling of some local well preserved old houses, crystal clear waters flowing through road canals, devotees preparing the carozas and wooden saints for the traditional good Friday procession and of course locals making the staple Longganisang Lucban with it’s unique garlicky smell and taste.

The impressive edifice, bell tower and exterior of Lucban’s Church of St. Louis of Toulouse has maintained its quaint look and got its well deserved attention from our camera, its just too bad the church’s ‘well refurbished’ interior now lacks the rustic old look that would have made it a historian’s treasure.

As the time approached noon, we felt the urge to leave Lucban and head to a small quiet town of Sampaloc - en-route to our last stop for the day, my hometown residence in Mauban, Quezon. The irregular and mostly unpaved road to Sampaloc was a bit uneasy for an urban driver like Red. Steadily downward & zig-zagging in slope, ravenous cliffs & dewy rainforest added to a somewhat unwelcome but quite unique attraction of that particular part of the trek, though the route was relatively uneventful, it was nevertheless a bit creepy.

Sampaloc was a total opposite of the lively town of Lucban. In here we found a rather sleepy town devoid of any significant social activities happening at siesta time, the creepiness of the street scene reminded us of lonely cult-like towns usually depicted in the Shake-Rattle and-Roll Movie Sequels. We passed by the town chapel and there we found a couple-of-dozen of people preparing for their traditional Friday procession with their relatively small-sized carozas and wooden saints. We stayed for about 20 minutes scanning the church, the people and a handful of ‘tiangge’ selling cheap stuffs around the chapel. Then off the last portion of our trek.

The dusty road that links Sampaloc to Mauban traverses along the Maapon River and gave us a scenic and more pleasing view of a characteristic provincial countryside. We saw some river-control structures in-place and a rustic hanging bridge to please our lenses and test our thrill-seeking and adventurous nature, so we stopped and had a mini-photo shoot.

It took us a good 45 minutes to reach Mauban from the town of Sampaloc. We were greeted with the charming beauty of small progressive coastal town with a relaxing view and smell of the sea. Lamon Bay is located along the Polilio Strait traversing 16 Municipalities of Quezon, one of which is Mauban. It is considered as one of the top ten fishing grounds in the Philippines. We approached the pier and parked at the tip of Mauban’s break water. To the southwest is a panoramic view of the town of Mauban and to the east is the fascinating view of Lamon Bay and its bordering coastal towns of Alabat, Atimonan, Gumaca, Lopez, Perez and Plaridel. We stayed at the break water for 30 minutes, watched a man fish and await his first catch of the day. Took a picture of the pier and headed back to the center of the town where my modest home was located.

It was breathe of fresh air to see my folks still healthy and agile at their age. They gave us a warm welcome asking how the trip went along while we settled in one of the rooms of the house. It was about 1:00 in the afternoon when we decided to take a quick stroll of the town to buy some junk food. We found a small restaurant where halo-halo is served; we just hopped in the place and ordered, quenching our dried souls and throats. We then headed back home, took a quick shower and slept for about 3 hours before we were roused from sleep to prepare for the Good Friday procession.

My whole family and relatives are devout Catholics, attending holy week church activities is rule that has rarely been broken. We even own a wooden saint (St. Peter) and a caroza which was handed down to our generation from our great forefathers. And so holy week has always meant the family’s commitment to make sure St. Peter participates in the Good Friday procession. At 4:00pm Maubanin’s started trooping at the church and its major street Quezon St., we watched as the crowd steadily grew bigger and bigger until the street became impassable to tricycles and motorcycles. Armed with candles in varying colors and sizes, wearing the latest fads in conservative fashion, the street scene became an instant clutter of meet and greet session between old peers, ex-classmates, childhood friends, peers and relatives.

Personally, I look forward to these yearly gathering. It’s always good to see old faces, hear their voices, hear their stories and renew the long-been outdated memories of them in my mind. It never fails to knock the sense out of me and figure how fast time flies, how much we’ve grown, matured and how others have moved on so smoothly in their lives. I start comparing how my life moved so slowly while others seems so fast. I figured I needed these kind of conversations every once in a while to make me stand, to make me re-assess my goals and focus more on what my direction will be. I have loved the way it pressures me to move on.

It was an hour and a half wait for the start of the procession, fortunately, Roy got a good spot at the veranda of my folk’s ancestral home - right smack the entrance and exit of the church compound so he started clicking away with his Canon EOS 350D. There were literally thousands of people waiting on the streets and as the sun’s shadows started to fade, darkness started to creep in, and the candles started to serve its purpose, like stars illuminating the noisy night. The start of procession moved painstakingly at a snails-pace making its way to the overcrowded street and while it progresses, the people started to slowly move with the flow of the procession. The ranting slowly faded into the solemnity of footsteps, praying of the rosary and the occasional blare of generator set-on-wheels to illuminate the carozas. The 30-plus carozas took 2 hours to navigate the route of the procession which traverses the major thoroughfares of the town and appropriately ended back at the church.

Over the next 1 hour after our Caroza parked back at our garage, our front porch becomes a scene of a relief-goods distribution center, as hundreds of devotees and their families, who joined the procession, were fed with packed juices, pancit bihon and puto. Our sala and dining area however is a welcoming scene of a town fiesta while close relatives and friends partook in a meatless feast.

Halfway through the night, we felt the urge to lie down and rest, as I close my eyes to sleep, I did remember, today represents the day when Christ died on the cross, and I realized, this is also the busiest day of my year, a handful of church visited, dozens of rekindled friendship, a couple of new faces to remember, and as I think further… I passed out to a deep slumber.

Holy Road Trip 2007 - Day 3

Day 3 (Black Saturday, April 7, 2007)

The four of us unwillingly woke up to the rousing efforts of my nieces, as a hefty breakfast of longganisang lucban and pancit awaits us at the dining table. It was around 8:00am and we are waiting for word on the availability of any outrigger boat which will bring us to Mauban’s foremost summer destination and the community’s collective pride, Cagbalete Island.

We were bound to spend the next 30 hours on a private beach house of my first cousin, Fe and Boy Pansacola on the southernmost tip of the Cagbalete Island. Finally at around 10:30am we got confirmation on a private small 30-seater outrigger boat fetching us for the 40 minute trip to the island. Ten minutes through the trip, amidst the mildly bumpy seas, from the boat we got a full view of where we’re heading - a ‘toothbrush-shaped’ luscious green island 30 minutes away. There it nests on white sandy beaches, growing bigger as we approach. The toothbrush head represented the southernmost tip of the island and points the direction where we will spend our day.

Cagbalete is a 1,640 hectare island located east of Quezon Province and part of the Town of Mauban, Quezon, it lies along the waters of Lamon Bay and the Pacific Ocean. While the whole island is privately owned, there are numerous settlements of Visayan fisher folks at the southwestern side of the island.

We arrived at the island a bit past lunchtime to a scene quite unique to the island, because the changing of tides is very evident in Cagbalete, the waters have moved as far back as 1 kilometer from the shore, leaving a magnificent panorama of powdery white sand to envy the shores of Camiguin. Amidst the shades of the trees from the beach, one can see the lengthy white sand bars reflecting the sunrays, revealing pristine clear and calm seas further ahead, bordered by 200 degrees of mountainous coastline of mainland Quezon Province, forming part of the Sierra Madre and topped with a vista of cumulus clouds posted on bright blue skies. Twenty minutes of blank stare into the visual postcard feast and we can’t help but wonder how lucky we are to be there.

Pansacola Beach is unlike any other beach I’ve been to, in here you get the feel of having the island to yourself and having the privacy that you want, away from the staring eyes of the nosy public. Except for the cemented communal toilets, the amenities boasts of all natural materials that gave everyone a real feeling of living in paradise and communing with nature. The tree house, cottages and huts are all made from local bamboo, coconut trunks and mangroves, esthetically designed with shells, plants and rocks common to the island. Perhaps the most satisfying part of our stay in this island was the food and the hospitality that was accorded to us during our brief adventure. We lived and were served like Royalties, parading splendid viands of sumptuous meals and snacks that include, to name a few, pancit, turon, palitaw. crispy pata, spareribs, fish fillet, tuna, squids and crabs - home-cooked to perfection. Each meal and snacks left us wandering and waiting for the next feast of the day, while leaving our taste buds exhausted from not getting enough time to recover. In here you get three full meals a day plus two hearty snacks delivered on schedule right in your dining cottage.

Spending the night in the island is exceptionally mesmerizing to the senses. Pansacola Beach offers some modest comfort courtesy of a generator set to light up the facilities, the fans and the videoke machine located beside the main rest house. After dinner, a staff will light up your own private bonfire fronting your cottage where you can spend a romantic evening with your friends and love ones. Somewhere between the sound of crickets and giant lizards (tuko) and the waves humping the shoreline, between the sight of stars and distinct silhouette of lights hinting coastline settlements and a nearby power plant, between the touch of the salty wind and the scorching heat from the burning wood, between the feel of fullness and wanting for more; we have found restful serenity, sitting along wooden trunks lying dead naked along Cagbalete’s coastline.

And then we’re off to the cottage’s bamboo floor and sleeping tents for a well deserved reprieve. As the patchwork of earthly sounds fades calmly to the background and a symphony of snores takes center stage, ironically implying rest and peace of mind, there you can find me crumpled in my fetal stance like a fresh soul ready to be born.

Holy Road Trip 2007 - Day 4

Day 4 (Easter Sunday, April 8, 2007)

Spending 5:00AMs threading the beach, playing with the slowly receding salt water, while waiting for the sun to rise from the horizon is a treat any beach-bum would envy. Aside from the usual audiovisual and toothsome feast, our last few hours in the island were capped with the ultimate indulgence… a relaxing full-body aromatherapy massage courtesy of their in-house and specially trained band-of-brothers. These siblings were locally trained and had been servicing guests for almost 3 years. At a measly PHP 200.00, you get physically pampered from head to toe for the next hour or so in a relaxed pace uncommon to the kind of commercially-coined attention you get from Boracay or Puerto Galera masseurs. They use soothing and unique aromatic oil under the soap brand name DAILA, which has evolved from Pansacola’s familiar roots and has become an internationally acclaimed brand in herbal products. An hour of calming maneuvers and comforting touch and we were off for a short trip to dreamland.

The trip back to the mainland was amazingly quicker and peaceful. As we bid farewell and inch farther from the captivating island, we can’t seem to stop planning when our next visit will be and the people we know who would appreciate the island and have the same unforgettable experience we had in Lamon Bay’s little paradise and best kept secret, Cagbalete Island.

Back at the town proper of Mauban, we got a glimpse of a lively upbeat town coming to life after solemn week of religious obligations. Bakasyonista’s roaming the streets, looking for pasalubongs, enjoying the views and packing to leave and return to their urban quarters. We took time for another round of local halo-halo, dinuguan and puto at a local joint, went home, took a quick shower, packed, had short beso-beso with my folks and we’re off to the shorter but dusty route leading directly to Tayabas, Quezon.

As we approach Tayabas, we made a quick stop, hopped out of the SUV to take pictures and marvel at Malagunlong Bridge in Tayabas. It is considered to be the oldest one in the town which was built by the Spanish colonizers, at the same time the Basilica Minore of St. Michael the Archangel was constructed, around late 1500s. The bridge embodies the majestic reigns of our Spanish colonizers, standing sturdily parallel beside a newly constructed bridge where we passed and stopped. The view from the new bridge gave a perfect vison of the imposing and distinctive mammoth arches of Malagunlong Bridge. Used a couple of times as scene locations for some local period movies, this magnificent piece of architecture is undoubtedly worth preserving. At its view, one can’t help but wonder how a bridge, made in a technology-less period of our history, survived almost 500 expanded years and still look splendidly grandiose.

Early that night, after a slowly moving convoy of weary Kababayan’s, we reached San Pablo City to reunite with our well-missed chum, Argus. We picked up his stuff, loaded Argus at the SUV, thanked Red’s folks for being gracious hosts and we’re back on the stuffed road. We made a quick stop at South Super Highway’s northbound Total Station and Food Stop and spent an hour to eat dinner and a round of cold coffee at Starbucks. We reached Mandaluyong late Easter night, parked, unloaded the SUV and like exhausted cadet’s coming from a tough drill, we dropped like logs on our beds and started snoring like hell. What a trip! And all for less than P 8,000.00 for all the four of us! Quite a feat isn’t it?

Our stress-filled city life needs break once in a while. I figured road trips like these serves a fitting purpose. It maybe to rekindle long lost friends and relatives. It maybe to feast your eyes with sceneries new to your pupils. Or maybe to relax and feed our souls with fresh air, cool breeze and a worry-free life. But for whatever reason or purpose a vacation may serve, one can surely discover that a life with friends, family, peaceful scenery and a soul fed with nature’s offerings will surely be anybody’s life-long quest.

Until the next trip!

~end~