Overnight at Nagcarlan, Laguna

Finally, we were able to bring our dog, Nacho, out for a weekend trip to the nearby province of Nagcarlan, Laguna. We found a quiet location with a good mountain view while browsing through AirBnB, and luckily they were pet-friendly. Off we went on a Friday morning, joined by our aunt and cousin. On the way we had brunch at Lucia’s, our favorite restaurant which we frequented every time we go to Laguna passing through Lipa, Batangas. The drive took a little less than three hours, including our stopover. It was the longest drive Nacho’s had so far, and we were nervous for him at first because when we brought him for the first time to my folks’ house in December, he’d been so stressed in the car. This time we knew what to do to prepare him for the drive, and we were quite relieved to see him relaxed during the ride.

What made us decide for to book the house we stayed at was that it was secluded and surrounded by trees and vegetation. Plus, D and I have ever visited Nagcarlan together only once, and that was a for a quick photo shoot of the Nagcarlan Church. It was to be D’s first pripee stay in Nagcarlan. It would be my second, and I remember vaguely a weekend when I stayed there along with friends from Youth for Christ when I attended a youth camp was a student at the University. But that was in the mid 90’s, well before I recognized the wanderlust in me. So I went to our recent getaway excited on what the place had to offer.

The house was a couple of minutes’ drive from the main road, and upon turning into the street, the road became narrower and houses became further apart. It’s the nth trip we’ve had this year so far where I would get anxious at the last leg of the drive en route to our destination, hoping that there won’t be another car passing through from the opposite direction because we were on a one lane street.

Finally, we arrived, and the house had a two-car parking lot. The mountain was already peeking at a distance, and birds of different colors and sounds were flying about. I knew then and there that the trip was already worth it.

The caretaker welcomed us and gave us a quick tour. The gate and the doors were not locked when we walked in as the neighborhood was safe. A few minutes later the other caretaker who offered cooking services came to get our dinner requests. The caretakers have a store and also go to the market to buy any ingredients. They said they could get us fruits from the market so we asked if they can shop for us some bananas and coconuts. Nacho and my aunt had a blast exploring the vegetation at the backyard, and I was happy for Nacho running on the grass (which were chest deep for him). The contrast of the color green against Nacho’s body was cool to the eyes.

The house we stayed in was a simple loft type home with a small dipping pool. The water in the pool did not have chlorine and came from a spring. The view of two mountains, which was what we came for, was something I could not get enough of. From a distance, Mt. Banahaw and Mt. Cristobal, which are also volcanoes, stood.

The locals believe Mt. Banahaw to be a spiritual mountain, whose surrounding land was believed to be holy. Since I was young, I always heard about religious pilgrims visiting Mt. Banahaw. I would hear stories from friends in the university about holy water being collected from Mt. Banahaw. I recall a myth I was told about some caves in Mt. Banahaw, and that if one was unholy and enter a cave, they would never be able to get out. Mt. Cristobal, on the other hand, is known to be Mt. Banahaw’s opposite, and is believed by some to be the Devil’s Mountain. Some would say that while Mt. Banahaw emits positive energy, the energy emitted by Mt. Cristobal is negative. There are urban legends about hikers gone missing when they attempted to climb Mt. Cristobal. I don’t think I have the stamina to climb any of these 2 mountains, so urban legend or not, I’m happy where I sat from appreciating them from a distance.