Respite from the City. Quick Escape

Idyllic Laguna

Friday this Holy Week provided an opportunity for a respite from work, urban traffic and routine chores.

Unsettled feeling of long weekends spent without an out-of-town trip usually shows up the week after. This is made more pronounced when friends are not available for any physical nor none face-to-face communication.

Thus it is good judgment to pull out of the city regardless of cost and distance to recharge and to breathe in a whiff of different air.



Paete Church Tower

In the past decades, extended weekends were spent at Mt. Banahaw via Tayabas in Luzon, Mt. Talinis in Dumaguete in Visayas via Cebu, or Mt. Guiting Guiting in Romblon in Luzon. More recently, it was in San Teodoro, a small quaint fishing village in Mindoro and in Baler, Aurora, all in Luzon. At times, with the luxury of prior planning, we would fly to Ho Chi Min in Vietnam, board a vessel to Borneo to climb Mt. Kinabalu.

There were moments when out-of towns were simply imagined while watching Living Asia and Discovery Channel over cable television just to provide an image of an open field, a mountain or the open sea. Done out of helplessness, it was meant to fill in a void.

Pilapil overlooking Talim Island

Conveniently, there are the nearby provinces of Pampanga, Bataan, Rizal and Laguna which provide a quick escape from the Metropolis. Travel time, as short as an hours' drive is enough to dramatically change the landscape from concrete to wood, cement to soil. Without the hassle of cramped space, mass movement and transport terminal gateways, these destinations accessible by land travel offer an equally attractive respite.



Station of the Cross Scupture

This April, welcome to Laguna described by Sampaquita in the song early 80's  as a place where winds blowing from the nearby bay, nestled against dreamlike mountains and lush forest in a land area with golden rice fields set in a vast expanse of the sea - "Hangin sa tabing baybayin Parang pangarap na tanawin Bundok na kagubatan, gintong palayan Malawak na karagatan."



Candle Offering

It ends with a statement Laguna offering a different perspective which will awaken your emotion with its beauty -"Ibang paningin ang mapapansin Na gigising sa 'yong damdamin Malalagyan ka sa 'yong nakikita'Pagkat walang kasing-ganda."

 

Fresh Fish and Vegeatables for Lunch

The one-day travel was contained to Kalayaan where the man-made Caliraya Lake sits, towns of Paete and Pakil, known for the century old baroque churches, woodcraft and sculpture, Siniloan up to Mabitac, gateway to Laguna from the East side.

Join our travel with fotos provided by Miko Averia. 



Biernes Santos