http://news.inq7.net/lifestyle/index.php?index=2&story_id=69164
By Augusto Villalon
THIS SUMMER, TAKE A Sunday, or better still, set aside a few days, and discover the Viaje del Sol which circles the Southern Tagalog provinces of Laguna, Quezon and Batangas.
Strung along the highway are interesting shops and gardens, artists' studios, unforgettable cuisine, and places to spend the night in amid rustic, first-rate surroundings.
The Laguna portion of the route starts at the Calamba exit of the South Luzon Expressway. The Pettyjohn pottery workshop in Pansol is the first stop. Jon and Tessy are considered pottery greats who pioneered studio pottery in the Philippines, using local clay and ash to create functional pottery. They also conduct pottery classes.
The Laguna route connects to the hot springs of Pansol, the historic towns of Bay and Pila, with their well-maintained ancestral homes, and Pagsanjan, with its famous rapids, before doubling southward to San Pablo and then to Quezon province.
Head for Kusina Salud in San Pablo for Filipino food that is certainly not the kind that can be found in any ordinary home like ours. Chef Paul Poblador, whose culinary creativity is full of surprises, fuses comfort food with the unexpected.
He served a fusion mami for merienda the other day, with condiments and spices to stir into the rich broth.
Kusina Salud is not only about culinary flavor. It is a sensual delight, set within a tropical jungle of a garden, with trees, luxurious bamboo, and plants coexisting with the patchwork house of recycled antique wood, its architectural details appliqud embroidery-style in baroque abandon.
After all, this is the house of Patis Tesoro. Who else can combine pattern upon pattern and wash it with a color palette that astonishes the eyes? A gallery and gift shop has treasures, curios and collectibles to further tempt the eyes.
Villa Escudero, about half an hour from Kusina Salud, is a resort whose appeal is timeless. No vehicles are allowed past the parking lot. A carabao pulls a long, slow-moving buggy that brings visitors to the front desk to check into rooms located in bamboo cottages thatched with anahaw. From the lakeside cottages, the sunrise view of Mount Banahaw beyond the lake is stunning.
Banahaw backdrops the elegant plantation-style Escudero family residence built during the American Commonwealth era. Beside it is their astonishing private museum with a collection of amazing range.
Within a half-hour driving distance is Sariyaya, where stunning pre-World War II mansions around the plaza are reminders of the days during the American Commonwealth era when coconut boomed and plantation owners constructed homes that reflected their stature.
Potter's Garden
In Tiaong is Ugu Bigyan's Potter's Garden. Like his popular pottery that combines clay with dried wood, his garden blends nature with pavilions that provide chairs, daybeds and pillows, all of his own design, to entice urban bodies to relax. A lush garden rambles around pavilions, shops, pottery studios that offer classes, and Ugu's residence.
After half an hour's drive from Candelaria in Quezon province, the highway enters the tip of Batangas province, leading to the town of San Juan.
If there would be a high point in Viaje del Sol, it is, without a doubt, genteel, elegant San Juan.
Beaches are considered the town's main attraction, but unknown to many, the town itself is a gem. Behind rows of mahogany trees on both sides of the streets stand graceful houses that mostly date from the 1920s until the years just before World War II.
Some are aging dowagers, their good bones still showing despite years of neglect. A number of houses only need a nip and tuck to bring them back to shape. Others, abandoned by their owners who have moved to cities-Manila or abroad-stand abandoned, in decay and disrepair.
San Juan houses have a similarity in design. Probably most of them were built either by an unknown architect or by a team of master carpenters who moved from one construction to the next.
Many two-storied houses are designed around a peaked roof that looks like a spire covering a small, single-room third story that is the prominent feature of the fa‡ade. Turrets pierce the San Juan skyline.
The Leon Mercado house, lovingly restored by his descendants, stands
out. A Commonwealth-era variation on the traditional bahay-na-bato, the
ground floor of the two-story pink house is of concrete while the
second floor is totally of wood.
Wide windows slide completely open.
Ventanillas below windows open to let in more air. Interior partitions,
all of polished hardwood, are perforated on top as they are in
traditional Philippine houses, to increase air circulation.
In San Juan, Bahay Marikit is a surprising, absolutely comfortable resort hotel picturesquely evoking traditional Philippine architecture built around a large pool whose free-form shape meanders to avoid cutting mature coconut trees on the site.
Only two hours away from Manila, Viaje del Sol opens up an entire experience of Philippine life that recharges urbanites by reacquainting them with provincial roots.
Contact: Pettyjohn Pottery Workshop in Bucal, Calamba, Laguna (049-5451608); Kusina Salud in Bgy. Sta Cruz, Putol, San Pablo (049-2466878 or 02-7226985); Villa Escudero in San Pablo (02-5210830, 02-5232944); Ugu Bigyan Potter's Garden, 490 Alvarez Village, Bgy Lusacan, Tiaong, Quezon (042-5459144); Bahay Marikit in San Juan, Batangas (043-5754745, 02-7570294); for information on San Juan, Batangas, contact the Tourism Information Office headed by Councilor Noel Pascua at the Municipal Hall (043-5753571, 043-5753854).
Feedback is welcome at afvillalon@hotmail.com
