The Calabarzon region of Luzon, comprising Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon, is known for its heritage and historical trails, as well as its local cuisine and crafts. The province of Laguna alone boasts a number of destinations where one can spend a long weekend filled with learning and exploration.
It’s about time that you reward your hard work by going on a nature escape with your loved ones at some posh hideaway that ticks all the boxes for a leisurely getaway. Get up close and personal with Mother Nature by communing with the picturesque Lake Lumot and engaging in a variety of water activities during the day, then embrace quaintness beneath the stars before capping the night with a soothing massage and a rejuvenating Kawa hot bath. Exciting activities and moments of tranquility abound in this outdoor oasis, which provides excellent value for every peso spent.
In the decade that passed since I first explored the seven lakes of San Pablo City in Laguna, my wanderlust expanded beyond the Philippines and to several countries in Asia. I considered my initial journey to the city of lakes as one of those earliest moments on the road that had led me to choose a life of traveling.
After spending much of the Covid-ravaged year socially distancing myself from other people and the great outdoors, I welcomed the spontaneity to experience nature once again when I received an invitation from an old friend. “Hi Marky, are you free this Sunday to Tuesday?” Jackie wrote to me on Messenger. “I’m going to Cavinti. I was going solo, but the place is kind of off the grid so maybe I shouldn't go alone. Would you like to come?” she wrote in a follow-up message that reached my inbox just as I was about to reply “Yes”—even without knowing the details yet.
A couple of months removed from a travel writing assignment covering the vegetable farms of Cordillera, another opportunity to visit more agricultural destinations came to my inbox from the Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Training Institute (ATI). It was to join their first regional bloggers/vloggers event that aimed to promote Organic Agriculture in the CaLaBarZon region (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon).
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| The Floating Cottage of Aquascape Lake Caliraya |
After our crypt incursion in Nagcarlan, we proceeded to the "Tsinelas" town of Liliw, Laguna. The town's main street is lined with stores selling the preferred weapon against cockroaches and other bugs. Kidding. I'm referring to casual footwear. Shopaholics like my friend Cathy will have a great time selecting from thousands of pairs of shoes and slippers. "I'll end up buying three pairs a day here," she said. At that rate, she'll be the next Imelda Marcos in three years.
It was raining when we woke up as the skies remained gloomy until it ceased. The night's drizzle was still evident on the dripping plants and trees around Villa Sylvia and the slippery, muddy lawn. We left Abigail's unopened Tanduay rum and Fundador to one of the caretakers as a token of niceties. Abigail had left the previous day after concluding our lake-hopping trip in San Pablo to attend a family gathering. That left me and Cathy finishing off the weekend by checking out the Underground Cemetery in Nagcarlan.
At the crack of dawn on Saturday, Cathy and I were already at the JAC liner terminal in Buendia, Taft, waiting for our travel companion Abigail, who had been hammered from a night of drinking the night before. Despite this, Abigail arrived only a few minutes after six a.m. It was my first time meeting her, and the awkwardness quickly turned into familiarity, as if we'd known each other for a long time, especially when she took out the Tanduay Rum from her bag while we were having breakfast at Cafe Lago.
Since I started traveling around the Philippines three or four years ago, I've been to Mindanao, Visayas and the edge of Northern Luzon, doing so I was able to overlook nearby provinces like Laguna. Because of that realization, along with a couple of cool friends, Cathy and Abigail, we set out on a trip to a menage a trois of cities and municipalities in Laguna.
I tagged along my friend Don’s family who went and celebrated his sister Myla’s birthday at the Lake Caliraya Resort along with Don’s girlfriend Kathrina. The resort is as the name suggests is located along Caliraya lake in Laguna, it has amenities like accomodations, bar and restaurant, swimming pool, basketball courts, wall for wall climbing and of course the lake where guest can go fishing, go kayaking or just ride a horse all over the vast surroundings of the place.
