Making Each Day Count

In January, D and I tried something that I’ve always been curious to do: pottery. I was first inspired to have a stab at pottery when I watched Demi Moore do so in Ghost. I was amazed how a chunk or clay transformed into a vase in a matter of minutes. D had a brief stint at this when we visited a pottery shop in Cappadocia in 2023. Since then I’ve been on the lookout for a chance to have a proper pottery session.

Thanks to Facebook, I found a pottery studio that could accommodate a private introductory class. However, since it’s a little over an hour’s drive away I decided to make use of a banked holiday from December when we made plans for our drive to Silang, Cavite, and an overnight stay at the next-door province of Batangas.

On a Friday morning, D and I headed to Rise and Shine Pottery in Silang. The studio was located in a quiet street, and I liked how we were greeted by the sound of birds and the water fountain in their garden filled with colorful flowers.

Before we started our host, Ria, gave us a tour, and she explained that the ceramics we were to make that day would have to stay in the studio as they will glaze them. D and I will return in a one to two months to get the final products.

Over the next couple of hours D and I had an interactive and hands on session of making pottery. I thought it was a good form of meditation as time flew by while I concentrated in molding my pieces. D managed to create more pieces than me, as later on I was distracted by a cute furbaby who observed us atop a chair, and I went over to play with her towards the last part of the activity. Overall, pottery making was a fun, worthwhile and interesting experience.

We ended at around noon, just in time for lunch. We met up with one of my good friends from the university who was from the area. Late last year, I went with her and a couple other girlfriends to Da Nang, Vietnam. And because that trip was still fresh in our minds, we had lunch at the nearby Uncle Ho Vietnamese and Filipino Cuisine.

After our delicious lunch, I said see you later to my friend, and D and I drove off to Batangas where we would stay the night. We passed through Tagaytay where one of the world’s smallest active volcanoes, Taal Volcano can be viewed from. There was a traffic build up in Tagaytay due to a bridge being built, and given Tagaytay could be quite busy on Saturdays and Sundays due to Manila visitors, and seeing there already was traffic that Friday even though it was not yet even rush hour, D and I made note to leave for home earlier the next day to beat the Tagaytay Saturday traffic.

A little less than an hour away from Tagaytay we reached Calaca, Batangas. We found the place we would stay at in AirBnB. Our friendly host met us when we arrived, and showed us to the cute house. It was surrounded by farmlands and trees. The atmosphere was serene. I imagine it would be lovely to work from home here, but alas, the signal was a bit intermittent. More reason for me and D to unplug from the internet, but not from the gadgets as D passionately took photos and videos while I easily finished reading an ebook whilst lounging around.

Later on D and I had early dinner at the garden, ready to take on the sunset. Since there were no restaurants nearby, our hosts offered a variety of homecooked meals at affordable prices. We had Filipino sour stew and friend milkfish for dinner. For breakfast we pre-ordered eggs, season fruit and coffee.

We had a chat with our host and his wife who shared that they recently moved to Calaca from Metro Manila. I was inspired by the attention to detail and care for their place – from the landscaping to the house, and its interiors. As we were away from the city, the place was also free from light pollution, so gazing at the night sky filled with stars was a fantastic experience. Finally, my most favorite part of the stay was waking up at the sound of birds chirping.

The place we booked is also advertised in Facebook, called Garden of Faith. They are pet-friendly, so hopefully when we get a chance to return, we can bring Nacho with us. I imagine he’ll have a blast exploring the garden and rolling in the grass.