part 4: finally, atimonan

i love coastal roads that are, well, right by the coast. i mean like, you're on the road and there's the sea right there. add in some Helio Sequence, a steady drive and it's just perfect.

once you reach the town of atimonan, take the road turning right - away from the town, don't go in - to hit the coast. i hope you get there around noon, so you see the sun throwing brilliant spears of light on the blue blue water. then see the whole lovely scene stretching out as you drive by.

we checked out a few resorts. the ones that had turned up on the net were either fully occupied or didn't look promising. lucky for us, we happened on a new resort development with a kind of orangey, brick, tex-mex thing going. tex because there were exposed cow, shark(?) and other scary skulls about. mex because it was dusty.
it was so new that some of the rooms weren't even done yet. our bathrooms weren't fully functional. and the restaurant had a VERRRY limited (hotdog for breakfast) menu. you know the resort has great aspirations though. i particularly liked the wood swing that hangs by the side. that and a few other shots made for great pictures. haha.

at first, A and i weren't too happy about the beach. the low tide pulled the water far out, so we had to walk maybe 20 meters to lie in the water. we had to pull the kayak out even further later on. the sand was dark gray and didn't look particularly clean.
but the water was so calm. when we took out the kayak and rowed out, we could have been in a lake. We think it's because that particular bay was almost completely ringed by islands.
it was my first time to row a kayak out to really deep water. it was lovely just sitting there, looking down & wondering what was happening at the bottom. to see the sun striking shafts all the way down down down til you couldn't see where it was reaching anymore. just lounging out, talking, careful not to tip over.

after an afternoon nap (after 2 kinds of pancit and fried chicken for lunch ;p), i was astounded. suddenly, the beach was breathtaking. there wasn't any.
the water came right up to the resort. and all you saw was hues of blue deepening as the water went farther. we took the kayak out again, not having to go far to go very deep. and, hushed, waited for the sun to set behind the mountains.

++++

at some point that day, we realized we missed the eme road - better known as the zigzag road which runs through the Quezon National Forest Park. it seemed we had inadvertently passed through a relatively new and relatively unexciting diversion road. so the next day, we hatched a diabolical plan for A to drive so we could detour. but D was up for it anyway and i think the excitement of the drive surprised him.

due to the tight turns and steep inclines, flag guys have to wave you through each turn,making sure no other vehicle shares the road with you. not driving of course, it was just an exciting ride for me. and the towering trees on each side, the sunlit canopy of leaves made it more scenic. (note to self: really write that angkor wat entry already)


* to get to eme road from atimonan - take the road back to pagbilao. about 10 minutes past the town, there'll be a huge sign on your left that says "BAWAL dumaan sa old zigzag road.." so what do you do? Take the turn and daan sa old zigzag road. A "welcome to Quezon national forest park" sign should immediately greet you.

** at tex-mex place: we spent just Php 1,000 per person for aircon room with cable (twin sharing), breakfast, lunch, so many litros of Coke and Royal, 2 days cottage rental and 1 and a half day kayak rental. i love cheap escapes.

part3: pagbilao, lucena, atimonan

alright. i'll just be honest and admit that the reason why i've been putting of this entry is because i forgot the name of the place where we had merienda. haha! but basta, when you take that turn-off before reaching pagbilao town proper, it's the first resto and park you'll see on your left. there's a huge sign, so non-ulianins unlike me will be sure to remember the name.

we stayed there for a bit to decide what next. this place is interesting naman as it has those stilts-ed huts that stand in the water. and you can hear the water lapping under you as you eat. they went a bit further by putting in a nautical theme- the hut's front was shaped like a boat's prow. we also found the food conveyor from the kitchen (up in the hill) to the dining hut (down in the water) cute - it was in the shape of a little red plane.

they had a few aircon family rooms for rent - P2k++ but as we weren't thrilled by the view or the place, we decided to just look for a cheaper place in lucena, then head for atimonan early the next day. pagbilao's coast, we realized, is primarily a fishing area.

what could be cheaper than free?
fortunately, D's mother's family maintain a house in Lucena. and again, fortunately, we bumped into D's uncle right as we were walking on the stilts-ed walkways. what an unlikely place to bump into anyone.
having arranged free accomodations for the night, we wondered what there was to do in Lucena. being primarily city-folk, we made a beeline for..tada..SM Lucena. i ended up buying a frisbee and a kite in Toy Kingdom ;p

ho-hum. anyway, the next morning, we pulled ourselves out of bed and drove through the town of Lucena (missed Buddy's Pizza), Pagbilao again and inadvertently took the diversion road to the Atimonan coast.

dive & trek, anilao, batangas

i should be finishing the quezon entries instead of writing this. but damnit, i'm tamad. and besides, life has over-taken me. which just means i'm slow and not that life is particularly fast-paced.

but but but anyway - WHEEEEE! my first dive weekend ever! 7 dives! :) i love the underwater world!!!! i saw turtles(well, more like a turtle, several times). i saw lots of parrotfish and clownfish and lionfish and and and...and the reef and the coral was just amazing! amazing! hahaha, i'm apparently also inarticulate. but well, the underwater world has that effect. i do believe if everyone went diving, people would be happier.

having heard so many stories about that place, i was totally unprepared for how beautiful Dive & Trek is. of course, what's below water eclipses what's above. but i'm thinking non-diving friends would enjoy it as much as divers would.

after parking in Lemery, boats take you to DnT. The trip takes less than 10 minutes, with a mountain of rock and green rising on your left. and of course, deep blue water stretching all the way out to your right.

DnT sprawls along an area fronting the sea. so all the rooms and their balconies- basic, clean and shared among friends or family - face the sunset. Again, amazing! a wound across the sky bidding us goodbye.

going home, we were trailed by bright sparks of white bioluminescence, as if the sea were saying "come visit again soon". (well, technically it's saying "stop disturbing us damn you!", but i'll take creative license)

maybe i'll tell you more about it once my infatuation's died down, i've had more sleep and i'm a bit less gushy than this. in the meantime, i'll go research about all the underwater creatures i met for the first time.

quezon via rizal (part2: lucban, tayabas, pagbilao)

the original non-plan was to "head in the general direction of quezon". go to a coastal area, find a beach. After a few hours of internet research (the Lonely Planet guidebook wasn't any help again), a plan shaped up: "head for the triangle of pagbilao, atimonan and padre burgos". we had three days and three towns to hit. sounded reasonable.

taking the rizal route, i know i'm in quezon once the road narrows and heads up. something about the air in lucban changes - i suppose it does in any mountain town - that tells me i'm almost there. sadly, travel companions wanted to head straight for pagbilao. so we weren't able to stop in the old cathedrals of lucban or tayabas. or buy some baskets. or even chorizong lucban. or walk around the tiny town square. it WAS late afternoon already though and we still hadn't found accomodations, so i suppose it was reasonable to just settle somewhere already. sigh. (brat.)

nearing pagbilao, we saw a sign for turn-off for Pueblo Por la Playa. Not having any other leads on where to stay and the name being familiar from the google search, we followed the purple arrow. alas, the place was "exklusib lang po ito". the short (transplanted) white sand beach and clutch of mexican houses were strictly for members.
very much frustrated, we headed back to the main drag. (it takes about 10 minutes on a very narrow, curvy road to reach the development)

now even more clueless, we headed to the main town where i asked directions for the general area of resorts. we were pointed back to that same turn-off. back where we came from, there was apparently another sign for a park and restaurant. with no other choice, we turned-in again.

sa may riles

a bus lumbered past -
an empty, glass rectangle lit weakly inside by flourescent.
couldn't hear the rumbling of it, i felt so removed.
i realized i hadn't looked around a lot, i mean,
really raised my head and looked, since i got back.

and i thought, ang tagal ko nang di nalalayo.
kailangan ko na uling umalis.

to quezon via rizal (part1: lunch at pagsanjan)

from makati, we took the "backdoor" to quezon. that is, via antipolo, rizal, passing through towns with names like pakil and pangil. i wanted the city kids to discover this route - my route from so many summers going to tayabas - so they could see the furniture makers along the way, the small towns, the mountains on the right, the fish pens on your left or sometimes, the other way round.
this is the road to take if getting there isn't the only objective and the going there is part of the vacation. it's a good road by the way and i wish more people took it. hmm, or maybe not, as this would mean traffic.

we had lunch on the way, in a little gallery cafe in pagsanjan called 83, er, gallery cafe. i'm glad we got suckered in by the artsy facade and garden look, because the food didnt' disappoint.
it doesn't take a lot to make me happy with pinoy food, but it takes a lot to impress me. being a 'gata' person, the chicken in coconut cream was a real hit. the added touch of 'mustasa' (is this a tagalog cuisine thing?) gave the coconut cream a subtle, slightly bitter bite. the menu - mostly pinoy favorites like binagoongag baboy, fried fish with tortang talong, laing, nilagang baka - i wouldn't call it extensive, but you're sure to find something there that you'd like.
the pastas looked interesting too - with sauces with kesong puti or chorizong lucban - but rice was the order of the day. at the end of the meal, we were glad to have stumbled on this little gem of a place. and were happily, lazily on our way further east.

(if they hadn't been tired, i'd have wanted to take a boat on the river and go through the waterfall in a bamboo raft. i guess at this point, having left makati a bit late, travel companions just wanted to get wherever "there" was already.)


* TO TAKE THE ROAD TO QUEZON/BICOL VIA ANTIPOLO: well, just head for antipolo. if coming from ortigas, take the right turn at the Hamaka park. This would put the Ynares center on your left and follow the road all the way straight. You'll pass an intersection with a Shopwise, 711, kfc, wendy's on your left. Keep going straight past this. Around 5 minutes down, you'll pass a Y intersection right after a small Shell station, keep to the road on the right. If you hit Robina Farms, a cement factory and steep curves - you're on the right track! Just follow this road all the way down to whatever town in rizal or quezon you like.

** 83 GALLERY CAFE: when you hit pagsanjan, the main road to town is direcly perpendicular to the church (you'll see the pagsanjan church to your left, the river is behind it). so turn right at (or a bit past, i'm not sure, but anyway, that's the only main road) the church. 83 Gallery Cafe should be a few minutes down the road. You'll see it on your left. It's quite eye-catching with its terracotta colors and a colorful, unidentified female statue outside. Oh, i almost forgot, check out the painting in the restroom (heehee).