Pila Revisited: The Transition from Spanish Colonial Architecture to American

view of Rizal Street and heritage houses looking south, Pila, Laguna

Pila is one of 4 municipalities declared a National Historical Landmark last 2000 by the National Historical Institute (NHI) of the Philippines. The others are Vigan (also a UNESCO World Heritage Site), Taal and Silay. These towns have several well-preserved houses and other structures mostly dating back to the Spanish colonial era. But unlike the other 3 municipalities and contrary to common notion, Pila’s old ancestral houses are not Hispanic in design.

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Laurel, Batangas and the Taal Lake Loop

Taal Lake and Volcano Island viewed from the Laurel Baywalk in Batangas

The Taal Lake Loop is a circuitous 100-110 kilometer route circling Taal Lake and Volcano in Batangas. Popular among motor bikers and cyclists, it usually starts from Tagaytay. It then takes riders through Talisay, Laurel, and Taal Heritage Town, offering steep, challenging climbs, zigzag roads, and panoramic lake views. We have traversed parts of this route in recent years but had yet to make the complete loop in one go.

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Maragondon: Blending Nature and History

Maragondon Church in Maragondon, Cavite

After spending our time at the Mahogany Café sipping coffee while enjoying the tranquil scenery of the Maragondon River, we drove back across the bridge near the river’s mouth into Ternate town. A few minutes later we arrived at the town plaza of Maragondon, recalling our last trip to this town almost 3 years ago.

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Maragondon: A River Runs Through It

coffee and pancakes at Mahogany Cafe, Maragondon, Cavite

This Cavite town’s name comes from a Spanish corruption of a Tagalog word for having a rumbling or thunderous sound – maragundóng or madagundóng. This was in reference to the cascading sound of the Kay Albaran River in the village of Capantayan, the original location of the town. It must have been quite a turbulent river and one that often overflowed its banks to such an extent that Maragondon had to move to its present location. Today, however, another river flows placidly through the town itself before emptying into Manila Bay.

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San Juan Beyond Laiya Beach: A Heritage Tour, Part 2

San Juan Nepomuceno Church, San Juan, Batangas

San Juan, Batangas is a large town in terms of land area, the second largest in the whole province. The población or town center is relatively young compared to those of other towns founded during the Spanish colonial era. This was because the town location had to be moved due to disastrous flooding in its old location during the 1880s. Once San Juan was established at its present location in the 1890s, the town began to prosper.

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San Juan Beyond Laiya Beach: A Heritage Tour, Part 1

Casa Leon heritage house in San Juan, Batangas

For local travelers, the town of San Juan, Batangas is synonymous with the beaches of Laiya, the collective name given to 2 barangays in this town’s southern coast. The picturesque white sand beaches, rugged rock formations and crystalline turquoise waters of this coastal stretch have served as a magnet for beach bummers from Meto Manila and the southern Tagalog region for years. But these sun worshippers are overlooking a few other things that this quaint town offers.

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Return to Laiya Beach, San Juan

morning at Laiya Beach in San Juan, Batangas

We had been intending to visit a beach for eternity it seems, after the official start of the dry season in the Philippines. But the weather these days has proven to be quite erratic. As of this writing, a tropical storm (now downgraded to a tropical depression) is battering the Central Visayas. February is supposed to be a dry month but typhoons somehow managed to make it to the country in February during 2021, 2018 and 2013 in this millennium.

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Taal Heritage Town, Part 3: The Lesser-Known Side

Archdiocesan Shrine of Our Lady of Caysasay in Taal, Batangas

We’ve been to this town several times but, somehow, we keep discovering hidden gems here and there. Overshadowed by the more popular sites in Taal town, these heritage spots lie silently in place, just waiting for an unwary traveler to blunder into them. After admiring the views of Taal Lake and Volcano from Tierra Cuta Resort in Santa Teresita, we drove to Taal town for lunch. In the process, we came across a few more heritage structures that have eluded our travel radar in past visits.

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Taal Lake and Volcano: The Golden Hour to Twilight

Taal Lake and Volcano at the blue hour

The transition from day to night or night to day are among the favorite times for photographers to shoot. Besides minimizing the strong shadows that result from the sun being way up in the sky, the light during this transition gives a colorful, mesmerizing effect to the scenery. Often, very average-looking scenarios suddenly appear radiant and dazzling when bathed in the sun’s golden rays. What more for scenic locations such as Taal Lake and Volcano when viewed from the ridgeline of Tagaytay.

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Tanauan: A Hero’s Legacy and His Timeless Insights on Philippine Society and Politics

stained-glass mural at the Apolinario Mabini Shrine and Museum, Tanauan, Batangas

We had originally intended to drop by the city proper of Tanauan and a shrine just outside the city center as a side trip to our Wawa Baywalk visit. As it turned out however, we ended up not just enjoying the natural beauty of Tanauan’s landscape. Beyond that, we got to appreciate more fully the legacy of a true national hero and his profound insights on the struggles and triumphs of the Filipino people. Insights that still ring true for our present time.

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Beauty Amidst a Disaster: Tanauan’s Wawa Baywalk

coconut palms along the Wawa Baywalk, Tanauan, Batangas

It looks more like a tropical beach scene rather than the shores of an inland lake. The coconut palms swaying gently in the early morning breeze gave us that vibe. The looming figure of an active volcano in the not-so-distant background reminded us, however, that we are on the shores of Taal Lake, home to a volcano that had its last major eruption only 5 years ago. However, a different kind of disaster had recently made its mark on the beautiful scenery in front of us.

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Abe’s Farm and Kapampangan Cuisine

Abe's Farm in Magalang, Pampanga

Driving back home from Nueva Ecija meant passing by the province of Pampanga. This province is well-known for its gastronomic work and has often been referred to as the country’s culinary capital. It would be a mortal sin therefore if we would not take the time to sample the culinary delights in one of the reputable dining spots in this gourmet province.

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Lake Farm de la Marre: Vistas of Pantabangan Lake and the Sierra Madres

Pantabangan Lake and Sierra Madre Mountains viewed from Lake Farm de la Marre

We had passed by this area 10 years ago on our way towards the surfing town of Baler, Aurora. The drive had taken us through a mountain road that offered glimpses of a reservoir below formed by a huge dam. Years later we would take the same road but head on a detour towards an agri-tourism park that offered scenic views of the same lake and the surrounding mountain range.

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Nueva Ecija’s Lumang Gapan on a Rainy Day

heritage structures at Lumang Gapan, Gapan, Nueva Ecija

After making it through another stormy week, we thought the weather would be much better as we drove north to the province of Nueva Ecija. Unfortunately, another weather hazard – tropical depression Verbena – made its way through the southern part of the country and helped dump rains into other parts of the Philippines. It was too late to make changes in our hotel bookings so there was no other way but to weather the storm. Literally.

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La Union: Why Elyu Is More than Surfing

surfing at Urbiztondo Beach, San Juan, La Union

Super Typhoon Fung-Wong (local name Uwan) left a trail of destruction after hitting the Philippines recently. This typhoon reached an exceptional size of approximately 1,800 kilometers in diameter at peak intensity, practically covering the whole country. Its eye exited the Philippine land mass at the coastal areas of La Union province. The latter was hit hard with structures suffering damage due to storm surges, howling winds and floods.

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Coffee, Hot Cocoa, Rice Cakes and Taal Lake Views

view of Taal Lake and Volcano from Miara Events Place grounds

Given that Tagaytay is less than 30-minutes’ drive away from our place, it is inevitable that we would frequently end up here whenever we wanted to dine or just have coffee. It is one of the better places in the country to savor a meal while feasting one’s eyes on a gorgeous scenery such as Taal Lake and Volcano. Let’s just hope this volcano doesn’t blow up in our faces while we’re at it, as it last did 5 years ago.

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Perlas ng Silang One More Time

Perlas ng Silang, Silang, Cavite

PAGASA, the national weather and disaster-warning agency of the Philippines, recently announced the start of the northeast monsoon or amihan season in the Philippines. A few weeks before, it had announced the end of the southwest monsoon or habagat season. For Filipinos, both developments spell the end of heavy monsoon rains and the onset of dryer and colder weather associated with Christmas. For us, it means the beginning of travel to destinations we could not previously visit due to heavy rains, floods, and muddy conditions.

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The Devil’s Mountain and Lukong Valley Farm

Mount San Cristobal in Dolores, Quezon

The southwest monsoon or habagat season in the Philippines is officially over but not so for the rainy season. Which is mildly frustrating since we have been trying to get to a beach under sunny skies for the past month or so with no success. We finally decided to head to an upland farm that offers scenic views of two nearby inactive volcanos. One of them, to our mild surprise, happens to be dubbed as the “Devil’s Mountain.”

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Lipa, Batangas: Reminders of a Storied Past

Metropolitan Cathedral of San Sebastian/Lipa Cathedral

The previous week saw a major earthquake down in Cebu, a phreatic eruption of nearby Taal Volcano and yet another typhoon up north in Luzon. This is to be expected when you live in an area that is part of the Pacific Rim of Fire. Together with recent revelations of massive corruption involving billions of pesos in flood control projects, this sad state of affairs made for a truly gloomy beginning of October. So, to add a little luster to our week, we decided to visit a nearby nature park along Taal Lake.

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