Laguna: Kusina Salud in San Pablo, Laguna

After our tour of the seven lakes of San Pablo, Laguna last week, we decided to have lunch at Kusina Salud. I've always wanted to visit the place having been invited by Patis Tesoro for the longest time to drop by. I called her in the morning but she was at a planting rice festival in Sta. Rita, Pampanga. But we had lunch there anyway.

It's a bit further down the National Highway, past the city proper of San Pablo, in Barangay Sta. Cruz Putol. Make sure to watch out for the sign on the left which points to the road leading to Kusina Salud. We had a really filling lunch which included lumpiang ubod, calamares, kinulob na itik and binagoongang baboy. The pandan tea was refreshing as well.

We couldn't stay long though since I had to catch a meeting in Manila early that evening. If I wasn't rushing, I would have tried out their spa.

Today, I had merienda in Kusina Salud again with my family. We were planning to have lunch but we arrived after 2:00 p.m. and by that time, the menu changes. But the merienda they serve is filling as well. I had an adobo sandwich. This time, Patis was around and since we were the only other guests (aside from the French ambassador), she was able to join us for a while before her siesta.

We were thinking of dropping by Ugu Bigyan's place before going home but it was getting late and we had to drive back to Manila. I'll check out more of the establishments on the Viaje del Sol scattered around Laguna, Cavite, Batangas and Quezon when I have the time.

How to get to San Pablo, Laguna
There are several buses that can take you from Manila to San Pablo, Laguna. San Pablo City can be reached via JAC, JAM, N. Dela Rosa and Lucena Lines from Cubao or Buendia. The signboard on the bus should say Lucena via San Pablo. Last daily trip is at 9 p.m. It's a two-hour ride depending on traffic.

Laguna: San Pablo, Laguna's seven lakes

San Pablo, Laguna is known as the City of Seven Lakes. So if you're planning to visit, make sure to check out its seven lakes! Here's another fun day trip if you're looking for a change of scenery. We tried our best to make it to San Pablo by 7 a.m. and it's a good thing traffic cooperated since the trip usually takes two hours.

After a quick breakfast, we were off to our first lake, Lake Bunot in Barangay Concepcion. The fishermen were up early maintaining their many fishpens. Looks like they were feeding the tilapia or whatever fish they had there. After a few photos, we made our way to the next lake.

Lake Calibato in Barangay Sto. Angel is down the road near the town of Rizal. Part of the lake actually touches the boundaries of the town. There's a short hike down to the lake. It's one of the lakes I saw during a previous trip and it's one of my favorites. Just be careful since it becomes a bit slippery when it rains. And sad to say, I was a casualty.

Since there are still no directional signs (I hear they're working on it), you could easily miss the jump-off point for this lake. Coming from the city proper, it's after KM 90. Just watch out for a kubo and make sure you ask around for directions.

After this lake, you drive back towards the direction of the city proper to the jump-off point for the next two lakes in Barangay San Lorenzo. Lake Pandin and Lake Yambo also touch the boundaries of Rizal and Nagcarlan. It's a one kilometer trek from the jump-off point to get to Lake Pandin which is one of the lakes popular for swimming.

When we got there, the locals offered to take us to Lake Yambo by balsa for PHP180 each. But since we found it pricey (I'm sure you could negotiate but we wanted to exercise), we decided to walk instead. It's an upward trek, a little over one kilometer if my estimates are right, to get to Yambo. Sad though that the sun was hiding behind clouds by the time we got to the vantage point for the lake because the lake was so picturesque!

We made sure to take a dip back in Lake Pandin before trekking back to our vehicle. The water was cool and relaxing, perfect after stretching those muscles.

From there, we drove to Lake Palakpakin in Barangay San Buenaventura. The best place to view this lake filled with water lilies is from the bridge between Barangay San Lorenzo and San Buenaventura.

Lake number six was Lake Mojicap (or Mohikap) in Barangay Sta. Catalina, another picturesque lake. Again, since there are no directional signs, getting there is tricky and you'll really need to ask directions every now and then. The lake touches the boundary of the town of Calauan. It was very clean and there were some kids swimming so I guess this is another lake where you can opt to take a dip.

For our final lake, we proceeded back to the city proper to visit Lake Sampaloc. At 104 hectares, it's the largest of the lakes. there's a view deck as well as a lakeside walk way making it a favorite hang-out of the city. With that complete, it was time for a really late lunch. And where best to celebrate but in Kusina Salud! I'll tell you about it in another post!

How to get to San Pablo, Laguna
There are several buses that can take you from Manila to San Pablo, Laguna. San Pablo City can be reached via JAC, JAM, N. Dela Rosa and Lucena Lines from Cubao or Buendia. The signboard on the bus should say Lucena via San Pablo. Last daily trip is at 9 p.m. It's a two-hour ride depending on traffic.

SCTEx Clark-Tarlac stretch opens on Friday, July 25

The Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway will be fully operational beginning Friday when the Clark-Tarlac portion of the 94-kilometer opens to the public. I got a sneak preview of the closed portion of the SCTEx today since we were given special permission to drive from Subic to the Luisita Exit in Tarlac.

With the SCTEx complete, travel time from Balintawak to Subic is now just about an hour and forty minutes. While travel from Balintawak to Luisita will be just one hour and twenty minutes. When it opens on Friday, motorists can drive from Subic to La Paz, Tarlac in just a little over an hour. Now that's progress!

Notes: I'll post more photos of my SCTEx Tarlac preview as soon as I get back to Manila. I was quite happy to see that they corrected the "MacArthur Highway" signs which I complained about in a previous post. I found out in San Francisco how the observation made its way to BCDA top brass and got the signs corrected.

Anyway, so much has been happening the past few months, I could barely update everyone about my travels. I'll try to get back in the groove within the next few days so expect a lot of updates from my recent trip to the US and the Mayoyao, Ifugao harvest experience last weekend.

Ifugao: Journey across the Ifugao heartland

The day after the harvest, we began our trip back to Manila. The group passed by a different route in order for us to see more of Ifugao. From Mayoyao, we boarded our rickety bus again for another bumpy ride deeper into the Ifugao heartland. But before we left, we stopped by a view point of the Mayoyao Rice Terraces.

We left Mayoyao shortly before lunch and traveled through remote barangays of the town. We had a late lunch in Barangay Tula-ed before continuing our journey. The views started getting really picturesque when we reached the bridge which connects Mayoyao and Banaue. If only we could stop at every barangay to enjoy the view. But we had a bus to catch. I especially liked Ducligan which they say was the setting for the 1996 film "Mumbaki." Another village with noteworthy terraces was Kinakin.

But I was pleased to know that this Ifugao mountain road passed through the Bangaan Rice Terraces, one of the five clusters declared by UNESCO as World Heritage. It would have been great if we got to hike down the village of Bangaan. But we didn't have time to do that as well save for a few minutes to take photos.

Bangaan is unique for its main village, a cluster of houses at the foot of the terraces. I saw old colored photos of the village when it was still all Ifugao houses. But like in most of Ifugao, new concrete houses have started to sprout all over.

The road also passes through the jump-off point for the Batad Rice Terraces, another UNESCO-inscribed cluster. But you still have to do a lot of walking to see them.

We knew we were nearing Banaue since we saw a large concentration of concrete structures from a distance. We finally arrived in town at 3:45 p.m. and went straight to the bus station to purchase our tickets back to Manila. Since the bus was going to leave at 8 p.m., we had enough time to visit the View Point area to check out the Banaue Rice Terraces. There are actually a lot of vantage points to choose from along the way.

The group had a hearty dinner at the Banaue Hotel before boarding the bus for our trip back to Manila. I've already put the planting rice tour in my January calendar!

Part 1: Trip to Mayoyao, Ifugao
Part 2: Mayoyao Rice Terraces in Ifugao
Part 3: Rice harvest experience in Mayoyao, Ifugao
Part 4: Trekking along the rice terraces of Mayoyao

How to get to Banaue, Ifugao
Florida Bus has a regular trip from Manila direct to Banaue. It leaves Sampaloc, Manila (Lacson St. cor. S. H. Loyola St.) at 10:45 p.m. Or you can take any bus that goes to Cagayan Valley and get off at Solano, Nueva Vizcaya where you can catch regular trips to Banaue and other towns in Ifugao. From Baguio, KMS Bus Lines and Ohayami Trans leave for Banaue at least twice daily.

How to get to Mayoyao, Ifugao
Take a bus from Manila to Santiago, Isabela (any bus to Cagayan or Isabela passes by Santiago). There are mini-buses from Santiago to Mayoyao which leave thrice daily at 6 a.m., 11a.m. and 3 p.m. From Banaue, there is one daily trip to Mayoyao from Solano which passes Banaue between 12 to 1 p.m.

Ifugao: Trekking along the rice terraces of Mayoyao

For four hours, we trekked along the rice terraces of Mayoyao. The good thing about the trek was that it was going down and our bus was going to meet us when we arrived at the bottom of the trail.

It may have been tiring at times no thanks to the hot sun. But the views were the best and things started to get better when it got cooler and cloudy. Along the way, we passed by one of the oldest burial mounds in Mayoyao. These burial mounds are temporary resting places for warriors of a particular clan. I don't think any of them are still in use.

Mayoyao is known for its stone-walled terraces. And you'd also notice that the ground under the houses are also stone-tiled. Which gives a very natural feel. And I hope it stays that way since plain concrete floors will look intrusive and out of place in such a setting.

I enjoyed the trek and the picturesque views of the terraces. The views could have been better if I was there while the rice terraces were being prepared for planting (glass surface thanks to the water) or when the rice was still green. Since most of the rice was harvested already, the rice terraces looked unkept. But the views were still wonderful nonetheless.

Dinner was amusingly high on cholesterol composed of more traditional Mayoyao food. The head of the slaughtered pig was made into dinakdakan, a dish I would consider the local version of sisig although the meat in this case was not chopped as finely. We were also served some duck soup. I binged on the really sweet pineapples they served for dessert to neutralize all that fat.

After dinner, we went to the town plaza for a wonderful cultural presentation of both the young and the old. What is noteworthy about this all is the fact that the older group is not a performing group but actual cultural practitioners, bearers of the Mayoyao's age-old traditions.

For those who are asking about the next tour, it will be in January, this time for the rice planting season. For reservations, please contact Josh Nalliw at +63 906 5308242.

Part 1: Trip to Mayoyao, Ifugao
Part 2: Mayoyao Rice Terraces in Ifugao
Part 3: Rice harvest experience in Mayoyao, Ifugao
Part 5: Journey across the Ifugao heartland

How to get to Banaue, Ifugao
Florida Bus has a regular trip from Manila direct to Banaue. It leaves Sampaloc, Manila (Lacson St. cor. S. H. Loyola St.) at 10:45 p.m. Or you can take any bus that goes to Cagayan Valley and get off at Solano, Nueva Vizcaya where you can catch regular trips to Banaue and other towns in Ifugao. From Baguio, KMS Bus Lines and Ohayami Trans leave for Banaue at least twice daily.

How to get to Mayoyao, Ifugao
Take a bus from Manila to Santiago, Isabela (any bus to Cagayan or Isabela passes by Santiago). There are mini-buses from Santiago to Mayoyao which leave thrice daily at 6 a.m., 11a.m. and 3 p.m. From Banaue, there is one daily trip to Mayoyao from Solano which passes Banaue between 12 to 1 p.m.