Month: April 2011

Around Isarog

So the mishap in our reservations gave birth to a short exploration of nearby spots around Naga.

A whole afternoon with nothing to do, we headed to Mt. Isarog (after a Bicolano lunch at the SM) not to climb it but to explore the nearby areas.  We hired a van for the afternoon and heeded his recommendation.  He brought us to an enclosed hilly grassland where they breed deer, the land so vast we had to look hard to find them.

We eventually walked to where they were grazing or resting to get a better glimpse.

As we were approaching, one by one they got up and in no time dashed towards the gate.

Turned out it was feeding time and friend S who didn’t walk with us gets to feed them.

The provincial government funds this Deer Farm, which today holds 300 herds of deer from 60 herds when it started in 1996.  They have at least 5 species from Australia such as Blackbuck Antelope, Fallow Deer, Red Deer, Elk, etc.   Located at the slopes of Bicol’s 2nd highest mountain, the Deer Farm is about a 90-mins scenic countryside ride from CWC.

Nestled on the shoulder of Isarog and about 30 minutes drive from the deer farm is Concosep, a barangay in the town of Tigaon.

With an elevation of about 1,800 ft, Consocep is home to 3 waterfalls (Tumaguiti, Kawa-kawa, and Bulalacao) but because just days before the trip, I developed a pinched nerve and could hardly walk; we opted to visit just Kawa-kawa falls, the smaller and has the easiest trail of the three.

The path is wide and mostly concrete and it only takes a few minutes to reach the falls.

Derived from the word “kawali” or pan because the pool resembles it.  Nothing impressive but it gave my nerves a good workout, which actually was recommended by many.

Unwittingly, it turned out to be a good 1st day.

Useful Info:

If you are in need of transport around Naga, get in touch with:

Edgar Medina
Mobile:  0933-480-1747 / 0926-567-9797 / 0918-596-2593
Posted on by Jenn 4

The Mix-up That Went Right

Credits:  Template from Crystal; Paper from LivE URAwesome kit.

A miscommunication that had us staying in Pili, Camarines Sur for 2 nights was not such a bad thing after all.  The plan was to stay at Gota Village in Caramoan all the way but when I inquired for rooms on the Gota Village Resort link at the Caramoan website, I assumed that it was for the resort and wasn’t very specific, but apparently the inquiry went to the Provincial government (which operates both CWC and Gota Village Resort) and we ended up with a 4-nights reservation at the wakeboarding domain, a more popular destination I suppose.  Not exactly our idea of a Christmas break and owing to low season, Gota (thankfully) wasn’t full and we managed to change our bookings right there and then.  We just had to stay the night because the ferry to Caramoan had already left for the day.  No problem, we’ll take what we have and make the most of it.  A blessing in disguise, I would like to think as we also found out from the CWC staff that we will not make our flight if we don’t spend our last night at CWC, so we ended up staying 2 nights each in two places.  Being flexible is less stressful, don’t you think?

CWC stands for Camsur Watersports Complex, the watersports park that made wakeboarding the new thing among the youth and a new haven for adventure sports enthusiasts.  The park was designed for wakeboarding, water skating and waterskiing with a 6-point cable ski system towing the wake boarders all day and all night.

The pool and the massage huts with Mt. Isarog in the background.

The government-operated park has hosted many competitions placing the Philippines on the water sport enthusiasts’ map.  Once considered a disaster-stricken province due to typhoons that struck them through the years, Camarines Sur or now more popularly known as CamSur has steadily risen to be among the top ranking tourists destination, even hauling the most tourists’ arrival in the Bicol region, outperforming Albay, where one can find Mayon Volcano.

We were given 2 wood cabins on a cul-de-sac at the Villa Del Rey – all pre-fabricated from China, I heard.  The wood cabins gave a cozy feel of the mountains and is so conducive to curling up in one corner and read.

After all, we were there to take a much-needed break from the crazy Christmas season and weather didn’t help much as well.  But the adventurers that we are, we still found some time to explore a bit of the nearby places.

More of Camsur coming soon.

Posted on by Jenn 3

Simple & Low-Key

Credits: DID Lesson 2 papers — camp stripe, orange stripe, plain jane, splendid fiins notebookdots 03, thursday b, 08, 02;  Elements — Crystal Wilken’s SVC stitch, flea market brads, heat yellow strips, ikari’s urawesome gray stitches, LivE S$S Twill 2 Delight, ricrac orange

Sometimes the best places are obscured in simple low-key settings… like this Italian-style pizzeria in a Total Gas Station along the National Highway at Barangay San Rafael. Who would have known that one could find great pizza in Laguna and in a gas station to boot?

Came highly recommended by Boots Alcantara of Casa San Pablo, we set out to search for this supposedly good find.  Orders are taken at the convenience store and one can choose to dine inside the store (a small corner is set up like a bar facing the station) or al fresco just behind the store.

The crust, for me, is what makes or breaks a pizza and this definitely made their pizzas – thin and crusty baked in a wood-fire oven.  The toppings, with special mention to their Pesto, Pepperoni and Margherita, have just the right amount of ingredients, the cheese and the sauce not drenching the crispy texture of the crust.

They’re pasta, likewise cooked al dente with me favoring their Bolognese.

Gone before we knew it!

La Pizzeria made such an impression when we had a slice each of they’re Pesto pizza some years ago, I made sure to have a meal there when I found myself back in San Pablo last year.  It still did not disappoint and my meticulous friends continued to be wowed.

Right after lunch and before heading home, we stopped by to bring home some local treats.

El Mare’s buko (coconut) and chicken pies are popular food to take home with you to remember San Pablo by.

Both pies had fillings filled to the brim, the crust – flaky definitely deserving the thumbs up.

Posted on by Jenn 3

Making Tradition

Birthdays are always a good excuse to get together.  Since we graduated from High School many moons ago, we still keep in touch but seeing each other often is fantasy today, with different lifestyles and priorities as the number one culprit.  Not to mention that 10 in a group means 10 birthdays and busy bodies that we are, it’s complication to the max. Determined to keep the bond, it became a tradition of sort for 5 of us with birthdays close together – if you consider a span of 3 months close – to treat the group to something special, each year transcending to finer and more enjoyable experiences.  It started with extravagant dinners to out-of-town lunches to dinners prepared by a chef to this.

We don’t travel well together.  It’s the difference in travel styles.  That said, the travel planner that I am dared to plan an overnight trip to Laguna and Quezon for the group last year.  They complained – about how far the trip was… that they don’t like airbeds as it is difficult to share the bed… and why were there only 2 bathrooms for 9 of us… fun, isn’t it?   😯

So we had lunch at Ugu’s and so impressed they were, they stopped grumbling about the 3-hour drive.

We then headed to Sitio de Amor, our home for a night.  Again, they oohed and ahhed… until they realized the bathroom and bed situations.  I told them to live with it (for a night).

I have eyed that tree house since I first saw it.  So I booked it.

It had a balcony with seats built all around.

The back of the pool

And beautiful views of the grounds to boot.

A close to perfect setting to gather together and catch up with each other till the wee hours of the night, the only thing is… it had only 1 bedroom which could only fit 4 of us.

Not bad at all.

The rest had to trek back and forth to their room, called Lanzones – a room with a beautiful view of the lagoon that fits 6 and yes, with only 1 bath.   😛

The motley crew before heading back home.

All is well that ends well.  They were happy despite the bathroom and bed dilemmas.  The breakfast was as usual, superb.

Posted on by Jenn 1

The Potter, His Home, His Food

Augusto Bigyan, a once upon a time accountant turned potter extraordinaire, landscape artist and a wonderful cook is someone I used to visit a lot when I needed some inspiration.  Just to be in his wonderful place is enough to replenish my juices.  I’ve known him since the late ‘90s, and this post is close to my heart because although I haven’t been as frequent to visit lately, he has remained my favorite potter and his place still a preferred respite after all these years.  The workshop and residence of Ugu, as he is fondly called, is still the best (but not so) kept secret (anymore) of Quezon.

He’s works are mostly functional pieces — dinnerware, decorative tiles, accent pieces such as these vases, bowls and plates.

Last November during a joint birthday celebration with some friends, I suggested that we take the Viaje del Sol route and have lunch at his place.  I wanted to take them somewhere I consider special and wow them.  As most have never been there.  It worked.  They were more than wowed.  They shopped till they dropped too.

Ugu, the prolific humble artist that he is, slowly started transforming his home into this wonderful haven of art in the ‘90s.  The first time I stepped foot here, his garden was mostly talahib (tall weeds or grass) still, with just a few Balinese inspired cabanas and simple but tasteful wooden furniture to speak of.  Today, clusters of cabana with the same tastefully laid-out furniture occupying a bigger lush landscaped garden with his masterpieces thoughtfully dispersed all over.

They started serving meals since way back because after a 3-hour drive, you’re hungry and there aren’t any place to have decent meals anywhere near.  And his is more than just decent.  I remember going there craving for his dishes as much as wanting to get a piece or two of his latest works.

Ugu’s other passion is cooking and he is equally talented in that area, serving up creative dishes with simple, appetizing flavors of a home cooked meal. Lunch is a fix set depending on what’s in the market the day before.

So go out of your way to visit this wonderful haven at the outskirts of Tiaong.  I guarantee that you will leave the place so full of inspiration, if not a whole bayong (bag) of pottery goodness and a happy tummy.   😉

Getting there:

The first few time would be a little tricky and hopefully they don’t tear down my one and only landmark… here goes:

From SLEX, go all the way to the end going towards Lucena.  You’ll see a junction when you reach Sto. Tomas, take the left road still going towards Lucena.  Driving along the National Rd., take the right road (which is the National Rd. as the left road will take you to the town of San Pablo) when you hit the junction at San Pablo.  When you hit Tiaong, just follow the road till you see a Rural Bank on your left, passing the market and the municipio.  Turn left at the small street just before the faded pink building (my landmark), which is the Rural Bank, a few meters after you hit Km98.  You will pass a railroad track, continue driving till you see  “Alvarez Village” and “Alavarez High School” signs, make another left on that road.  You will hit a Mexican looking terracotta house.  That’s Ugu’s.

Address:  Alvarez Village, Brgy. Lusacan, Tiaong, Quezon

Other useful info:

1.  They usually go on sale 3 times a year:

  • During Pahiyas Festival (May 15)
  • On his birthday (August  14) – the discount always matches his age.
  • Year-end sale (1st week of Oct)

2.  Call in advance or you won’t be served any lunch, they only market enough for a day’s worth.

Telephone:  +6342-545-9144

Posted on by Jenn 7