Hello Kreativ People of the World!
Back in the year that was 2015 — when diesel was still cheap, COVID-19 is non-existent and when I was still in a being-holy-living-in-the-ordinary life, we were in Laguna, Philippines for a 2-week seminar, together with my “brothers”. On our first weekend of the seminar, our excursion was to visit the hometown of one of our brothers — Lucban, Quezon. We arrived early morning at our brother’s house.
Lucban is known for its annual Roman Catholic feast in honor of San Isidro Labrador. At a tourism perspective, it is called Pahiyas Festival, which is deeply rooted in the traditional celebration of the people of Quezon in thanksgiving for bountiful harvest.
| San Luis Obispo de Tolosa Parish (Lucban Church) | Minimalist painted ceiling and grandiose chandelier | Church’s bell tower |
It was May 14, 2015, a day before the feast day. We were able to get a glimpse of townsfolk preparing and decorating their houses with “Kiping,” a leaf-shaped and multi-colored rice paste wafers. They ornamented the facades of their homes along with flowers and fruits.
| San Isidro Labrador, patron saint | Kiping, rice paste wafers |
People do this not just because they want to win the prize of having the best and most decorated house but also a way of offering to God for the blessings received through their patron saint, San Isidro.
All roads near the church are closed to all motorists, where most of the festivities happen. We roamed around the streets and alleyways of the town. Everything was so colorful and very festive. It was a joyous sight. I hope that you’ll enjoy looking at the photos below.
I took this photo of an old lady observing the happenings happen down below the streets. I think she has been-there-than-that moment and probably reminiscing some of her previous memories of Pahiyas during her time.
Aside from sight-seeing, we didn't do much but instead, we relaxed and chilled at our brother’s place. He treated us with milktea since their family owns a milktea shop. We left Lucban at around 4:00PM, just in time for dinner at Laguna. That ends our Lucban trip.
Nationwide lockdown commenced last March 2020 where tightened protocols and stricter travel restrictions are observed. Work-from-home or remote work setup is the thing now. Kat, a good friend of ours has still to retrieve her belongings in her dormitory at McKinley, BGC and bring it back to her hometown in Lucban, Quezon.
March 2021, restrictions and quarantine level is less stricter compared to the early days of lockdown. My best friend, JB (present in our Tagaytay trip) who is a long-time friend of Kat, volunteered to help bring her stuff to Lucban — and which is also a good excursion for us after a year in pandemic.
3 Days, 2 Nights! We left Metro Manila early morning of March 19 — going down south. We already loaded Kat’s dorm stuff and we’re good to go! The trip took us around 3 hours.
| Our route from Quezon City to Lucban, Quezon. | Long road trip it is! |
We arrived at Kat’s place just before lunch time. We met her parents, Tito Carlito and Tita Eva, both are teachers, and her younger sister, Kass, a nursing student. We had a quick bite and thirst-quenching drink. Thanks Kat! Since her house is located near at the foot of Mt. Banahaw, the wind breeze is cold and even their water from the faucet is also cold despite the hot weather.
So now, what’s next? To be honest, we really didn’t have a definite plan or schedule of places to visit. We just don’t want to pressure ourselves. (Hahahha, it’s just an alibi for us ‘coz no one really planned anything, or at least a little, maybe).
So after settling down at Kat’s, we decided to go Island Hopping and have our lunch at the beach. But first, the essentials: face mask, face shield, sunglasses, sunscreen (SPF 50), money and some changing clothes. Our place of destination is at Kawayan Island located in Pagbilao, Quezon. So off we go!
Being a bad influence, we seduced Kass to join us along, even though she still has a scheduled online class on that day. Well, she did join us right away anyway. Hahaha! We bought foods for our lunch and chips for snacks along the way, which costs us around Php 900.
We arrived at the starting point where for-rent banca (motor-powered small boat) are stationed. We arrived exactly 12:00 noon and it was a very hot, sunny day!
The island hopping entrance fee is Php 100 per head while we paid Php 2,600 for the boat rental (unlimited use for that day). The boat is good for 6 people. You can ask kuya to be your guide on which stops you can go to. And, our first stop is the Kawayan Island.
| Kat | Kuya guide |
| JB, Kat, Kass | Kass |
It was a 35-minute banca ride. We were told to expect that there are few to no available cottage for rent. There's also no electricity but good thing there's a toilet area. There are available free-to-use benches in a first-come, first-served basis.
| Kawayan Island |
Upon arrival, there are already people in the site. Unluckily, there's no available bench for us. We opt to stay at our banca to have our lunch, while dipping ourselves in the water (knee-deep). After lunch, it's swimming time!
As a beach non-lover (but hey, I'm not a hater), I just stayed by the seashore, just enough to wet my whole body — and just relax. I enjoyed watching Kat, Kass and JB swimming further away from the shore.
We already enjoyed enough and left Kawayan Island around 3:30PM.
Since it was already high tide, our guide was hesitant to bring us to Kwebang Lampas because of its strong current that splashes you to the walls of the cave — but we insisted. We want to maximize our stay. They agreed as long as we keep our life vests all the time.
From Kawayan Island, it took us 20 minutes to reach the cave.
| Kwebang Lampas |
It was just a small cave but there are sharp rocks and the water is too deep. We entered from the cliff side. It was called Kwebang Lampas because you can swim to the other side of the cliff through the cave, adjacent to a sandy beach called Puting Buhangin. We're not allowed to enter the beach because it was strictly off from visitors and tourists.
| Puting Buhangin beach | Puting Buhangin beach with the smoke belch at the background |
I didn't have photos of what's inside the cave because I'm afraid that it might fall deep under. 😅😅😅 We didn't stay longer in the cave. There has nothing much to see.
A play-it-by-ear destination, we are lucky enough to catch the experience of enjoying Bilaran Sandbar before it was eaten by the sea. We arrived there at around 5:00 PM. We were only given 30 minutes to enjoy the place.
The beautiful sunset caps off our Day 1 adventure.
We traveled back to the banca area and washed up before going home. Since it's already around 7:30 PM, we bought barbecue and chips on the way home and ate it at Kat’s house.
It was indeed a tiring yet fun and memorable day after being in a lockdown for about a year.
This ends the part 1 of this two-pronged blog. Be sure to catch Part 2 in the coming days for more of our Lucban, Quezon adventures.
