Food for the Trails: Old San Juan Hotel and Restaurant, San Juan, Batangas

Bridge Shots in Lipahan, San Juan, Batangas

I have been longing to pass through the short cut road from San Juan, Batangas town proper to Tiaong, Quezon and the worry that we might soon find ourselves in the dark compelled us to pass through it. True enough, the roadsides were mostly covered mostly with vegetation and rice fields and there were no lamp posts to guide us in case dusk finally run us over. But that did not stop me from enjoying the rural scenes, and it was too bad that our digital camera could not fully capture the sceneries right before our eyes.

* view of the river from both sides of the bridge

All tiredness due to bumps in travel were set aside by the breath-taking (and I mean breath-taking!) view of a river from this high bridge. Internet search revealed that it was just past the village of Lipahan in San Juan but I cannot really say if it is already within the bounds of Quezon or not.

* a candid scene! a carabao getting entangled with the greeneries

In any case, it was a moment to behold. Photo shoots are the only thing we can do and just enjoyed the scene. The setting sun only added to the intensity of the scenery despite the darkening colors around.

* Trailer Pransis striking his usual poses

In these brief moments of pleasure, it only gives you this realization that we can enjoy nature even in not-so-far-away places.
 

Rural Life at Rosario, Batangas

* Trailer Pransis trying to be funny inside a jeep en route to Rosario

* a newfound friend, Kuya Joel, who we accompanied for his dental clinic visit

* the church at Barangay Alupay

A short vacation will always be a welcome opportunity to anyone. More than just an escape, a retreat (read: rest and relaxation) is what I conceive of vacations.

Thus a recent return to Rosario, Batangas to share time with some intimates proved to be yet another ‘opening up’ experience. I daresay that the passage of time is always lost in the still air of that particular village I went to. The environ is thick with the scent of a mixture of fresh and dying leaves of plants and trees together with the smell typical of farmlands. You might also just want to lay down on a duyan placed under a convenient shade. And lose yourself as you think of virtually nothing and do nothing except to gape up the cloudless sky. Finally, one can forgive the ever sultry surroundings.

Dusk fills you with rich imaginings as darkness falls into the plantations and the tall coconut trees. You are out of place without Gin running through your veins; lives will come and go in this place but barikan (drinking sessions) will stay.

* one of the often mentioned eatery – Ka Loring Eatery; serves a famous and delicious lomi, so they say

* the super duper special lomi; one waitress was particularly amiable as she exchanged more-than-just-simple greetings, hehe

* a view of a grassland; in the background, one of the many mountains scattered in the province of Batangas

* a rural road but a concrete one; yes, concrete finally after many delays in this road construction project

There was something intimate in seeing one particular family in my visit, with all those children gathering around their mother for supper, the supper being offered willingly to us ‘barikeños’. A radio can be heard from inside the house. Outside, we share lives and stories through a small shot glass as if it was our mouthpiece.

At a celebration, everything is communal: cigarettes, matches, alcohol, pulutan, water, microphone (for the videoke), stories, tales, bragging, even spit and breath. This merrymaking is their absolute life, for this brings them joy after the hard work during the day. Work in morning, alcohol in the evening. It would be an insult to lay judgment to them for between a city life and a rural life there are many differences. They have derived meaning for their lives in their decidedly simple living.

As days passed by, I got to realize more and more than I am yet to know many things – about the leaves of madre cacao, about the delicious food lying just beneath the streams, about rural beliefs and myths, about moving through the dark, and many other things. Setting aside the pressure that I am definitely in need of work and money, living in that place richly surrounded by greeneries is far better than the indifferent steel and concrete buildings in the city. After all, we all trace our roots to nature – the grounds, the flora, and the fauna. Although we shall be perpetually bound by ‘metropolitan’ activities, it is always good to go back and reconnect with our own family: nature.

Post-note: See an earlier entry about Rosario, Batangas here.

[How to go to Rosario, Batangas: 1) From Manila: board a bus bound for Lucena, Quezon and drop off at ‘Sambat ng Candelaria’ (in Quezon). Then you have to wait for the classic Supreme Buses bound for Batangas and board one. You will pass by the town of Rosario along the way. 2) From Batangas area: you will have to reach Lipa City first. From there, either at Robinsons Lipa or at the town proper, you will have to ride a jeep bound for San Juan, Batangas. You will pass by the town of Rosario along the way.]

The Casas on Calle Rizal – La la la Alaminos, Laguna: Part 4

* statue of a woman standing in front of a house in Rizal Street

* view of the house where the woman statue can be found; situated on the corner of Rizal Street and the Maharlika Highway

* the Fule Mansion complete with detailed decorations along the fence of the place

* one starts to figure out why it is getting hard to maintain houses made out of wood, such as this one

As with many other places in the country, the main street – most often the very one leading to the church – contains the biggest, if not the most imposing, houses. There was Calamba for instance, then San Pablo, and San Juan in Batangas, just to name a few. And to a certain extent Alaminos can be categorized along this line, as I have observed that in Rizal Street, the street that leads to the town church, many such houses (and even mansion, if we could count the Fule residence there as one) are found.

* a house which I could say is simple yet elegant

* the surrounding compliments the already serene feel of this house

* an imposing one

* one can trace the features of the upper part of this house, features that certainly were lifted from the designs of the houses during the Spanish times

Novice as I might be in technically categorizing these houses, the look of the houses themselves would give one that idea when they came to existence. They are not Spanish, those that some call Antillean ones, nor are they modern, in its present-day sense. They are more to me like immediate post-American, for they have features that can only be placed during the American times. As to the hardcore bahay na bato, I could not find one; or was it just I missed them? In any case, there were certainly traces on some of the houses that feature Spanish details, or designs for that matter. I was able to talk to some elders who told me of the events of the Second World War which included Alaminos. It could have been possible that those tumultuous times had, to some extent, caused the destruction of the houses of the Spanish times.

Lastly, there was a recent comment posted on the first part of my Alaminos series. And the comment relayed a number of details about the Fule’s of Alaminos who I have alluded to earlier. I extend my thanks to whoever shared those details. It is my hope that future readers would find that helpful as well.

The Houses of San Juan, Batangas 3

The last cut into houses of San Juan, Batangas.

* certainly a big one, as I was not able to include a portion of the house in this shot

* an imposing one, found as one approach the market place

* one owned by a lawyer as can be seen, found near the market

* a house with the lower floor turned into a store

* cute, little one

* Cafeño, the only café I saw in the town

* another house with its lower floor turned into a business, this one into an eatery of some sort; I remember noting that the man seen walking on the left was drunk

* a house turned into a clinic, although at closer inspection the house seemed a little neglected for me; this is where I waited for the public transport to take me back home

Side-thoughts: Someone asked if I have really went to the places I have posted here in my blog. As far as I know, all of the entries I have put in here so far were the places I have really gone into. Although in some cases, the photos shown were secondary, meaning some may have been requested from some other people for the copies of the photos to be in my possession, I am quite confident to say that I have no desire of putting Back Trails entries in which I have not really manifested myself. My captions are a little boring to read by I hope to improve on them as time goes on.

* Trailer Pransis outside the municipal hall of San Juan

Just before I forget. San Juan is also known for its beaches sought by tourists the whole year round. Laiya is what they commonly call it/them.

The Houses of San Juan, Batangas 2

The second installment in sharing of the houses of San Juan, Batangas.

* this one is old and uninhabited; relatively big one as well
* strategic in the sense that it is situated on a street corner

* we were particularly fond of this one as we always had to see an old woman by the open window on the right with a bell close at hand; wish we could talk to her sometime

* a house turned restaurant

* another big house, quite close to the main thoroughfare of the town

* we had some laugh over this house as it definitely had that skewed look

* another uninhabited one as far as I could remember

* a clean cut one

The Houses of San Juan, Batangas 1

One of the towns of my dream. Again I say that this town is a treasure in itself with all these houses. I have split this entry into three parts as I really want to give enough space for each and every house I was able to take pictures of. They deserve to be seen and appreciated by the Filipinos and the world at large.

* found along the main street towards the church of San Juan

* another house found as one approach the church of San Juan

* this one is really big, but we were not able to take a shot of the entire house as there were people outside; the last thing I want to be told is ‘What do you think you are doing?’

* a simple yet beautiful one

* this one is really majestic with its symmetry and its strategic place – at the end of the street

* a fairly new one I suppose since I seem to have seen this form of house in Laguna

* a mansion?

* my apologies for this almost out-of-line shot, I remember struggling while this one was being taken with all the people around

A Treasure Place: San Juan, Batangas

* view of the river in San Juan (is it the San Juan River mentioned in books that empty into Laguna de Bay?) from the bridge as one enter the town of San Juan

It was I think more than a year ago when I first took a liking to San Juan principally because of a discussion with an intimate regarding the many old houses that still remain in the town. I was really itching to get there, and I was only able to satisfy myself until recently.

Briefly said, the town was really a treasure of old houses. Situate yourself randomly on a certain point and you would certainly find an old house, be it front of you, or behind, or on the sides. On thinking about it, the place was probably not affected much by the onslaught of the World War II, but I am yet to confirm this hunch.
San Juan is really part of the division that happened many years ago of the once big place called Rosario. The town’s roots trace its origins to the shores of Batangas not far from the place.

* the municipal hall, outside it read: erected – Bolbok – 1928

It was once found in a place called Pinagbayanan. (One might want to go a few entries back and look up on the entry on Rosario, Batangas to have a grasp of their history and beginnings.) Two rivers called Bancoro and Bangbang frequently flooded the town which compelled the townsfolk to relocate. The town did in fact suffer water submersion in 1883. The relocation was granted by the Governor-General at the time (on December 12, 1890) while the town was still under the administration of Gobernadorcillo Benedicto de Villa. The town’s name was changed to San Juan de Bolboc on February 28, 1914. The place was later to be known as San Juan Nepomuceno (around early 1920s). Today it retains a more contracted form of the name, San Juan.

* the church of San Juan

* a part of a school adjacent of the church, might have been a cumvento before, but no access to the place was possible at the time of the visit as it was apparent close

* the interior of the church; I am beginning to be amused with this for I always encounter marriage ceremonies in the churches I get to visit

* San Juan himself

The town’s first church was erected in Pinagbayanan in 1843, mostly made only of bamboos and materials from coconut trees. The stone church was later built in 1845 through the efforts of Father Damaso Mojica, its first parish priest. After the flooding and submersion in 1883, it was transferred to its present location in 1890. It was finally inaugurated in 1894 with Father Celestino Yoldi, a Recollect, as its parish priest. There are still a number of entries about its history as recent as 1996.

Later I shall share what I have most like about the town – its treasure of houses.