Revisiting Taytay Falls, Majayjay, Laguna

It was 2006 or 2007 when I first stepped at Majayjay. I could hardly remember the travel to the place but I can still remember what beauty there is waiting for us. How campers go there to enjoy the icy cold waters of its fall called Taytay falls freely flowing at the foot of Mt. Banahaw? The barangay was small and they have horses and produce before getting near the entrance where you will find a staircase down to the long walk before reaching the falls. The numbers of steps were all a blur but the experience of the walk was still clear and its view is as vivid as a dream.

I was just informed by my colleagues that our Magalawa trip was changed to Majayjay trip and I was excited to know how the place has changed. I’m still hoping that it was not.

Gearing up for the trip I packed 3 Paella in can, energy bar, 1 litre of bottle water, windbreaker, rash guard, blanket, comfy clothes, leg sleeves, socks, and bennie. I cannot find my flashlight so I let others bring those to our trip (gladly they did).

Here’s our itinerary for the overnight at Taytay Falls, Majayjay, Laguna:

Day 1

0630A Meet up in Buendia-LRT

0700A Board bus to Sta. Cruz, Laguna

1000A ETA Sta. Cruz, Laguna; Board jeepney to Majayjay Town Proper

1100A ETA Brgy. Hall

1200A Lunch (at Brgy. Hall)

0130P Pitch our tents

0200P Rest (me time)

0300P Snacks

0400P Swimming Time

0700P Dinner

Day 2

0800A Breakfast

0900A ME TIME (Swim/picture picture/etc.)

0100P Tidy Up

0230P Take a Jeepney back to Majayjay town proper.

0430P Ride Jeepney to Sta. Cruz, Laguna

0600P Ride4 bus back to Manila

0900P ETA Buendia-LRT, Manila

How to get to Taytay Falls, Majayjay, Laguna and what to expect?

-          Take a bus in Buendia-LRT going to Sta. Cruz, Laguna (this travel might take about 2-3 hours, going to Laguna may have multiple battle neck where traffic is expected to be heavy, around Calamba area and other areas) and our fare is Php153.00**

-          At the terminal you can take a tricycle or look for the jeepney terminal to Majayjay Town Proper. (We took the tricycle which we paid Php70.00 each, I would suggest you take the jeepney which cost around Php17.00 unfortunately you need to watch out for the schedule of trips because they really don’t have scheduled trips they leave as the jeepneys got filled up.)

-          You will know that you are at Majayjay Town Proper if you see an old church called St. Gregory Parish Church. The tricycle or jeepney will take you to the terminal which is in front of St. Gregory Parish Cemetery.

-          At the terminal take another jeepney going to Taytay Falls. Take note of the schedule. I would suggest you arrive at the terminal at least before 2 PM because they often say that 2PM is their last trip. Jeepney fee is Php17.00

-          Disembark at Gagalot Brgy. Hall for registration costing Php30.00.

Before and After

I added before and after in this article Lori and I were totally shocked with the changes in the area. 

Following are the changes:

1. Tents for rent are lined up.
2. There are more houses that there was before.
3. Houses are built of stones now.
4. Resorts are already available that offers comfortable place to stay.
5. There are lots of stores before the entrance that sells food, barbecue(you have selections of chicken and pork), soft drinks, water, pansit habhab, alcoholic drinks, etc.
6. Souvenir shops
7. A guard that asks for a receipt of your payment and registration.
8. Paved way to the falls.
9. Hanging bridge
10. A resort after the hanging bridge that has a man-made pool which is like a catch basin of flowing Taytay Falls icy cold water.
11. The vine swing
12. DENR posting that it is a protected area.
13. You can no longer bring glass bottles to the falls. Plastic bottles are only allowed.
14. Multitude of campers and day hikers
15. The falls is shorter now.
16. You can no longer climb to the 2^nd falls or jump on the first falls.

What to expect?

Beside from the list above we supposedly maxed out our time as you've seen in the itinerary but frankly, we did not follow our itinerary at all. We found a very far place to pitch our tent to the falls so we decided to just rent a resort which have pool in it so we can still night swim. In the afternoon we went to the falls and we swim for about 30 minutes as it is indeed cold. Ronnie who loved staying in cold place finds the water really ICY COLD. Even it is call we still enjoyed the water and had fun staying and drinking “the bum” at the pool area and worry not about our uncomfy beds and pitch dark.

The next day as planned we had another stroll to the falls and went to the hanging bridge, had some photos, checked out the building that was built after it; and lastly enjoyed a nature made swing.

We went back and had our lunch enjoying the delicious grilled pork chop which cost about Php100.00 to Php120.00 and some itlog na pula or salted egg (I’ve heard just yesterday at Eat Bulaga’s episode where they have their segment at Victoria, Laguna that salted eggs and balut are the area’s best!). They we tidied up and waited for the jeepney. We had the worst experience waiting for the jeepney as we thought it will arrive at the filling area but to our surprise it got filled before it reached the terminal. So we decided to wait for about an hour for another at the Brgy. Hall and we got lucky.

Traveling back to Manila from Sta. Cruz was the worst as we have encountered bumper to bumper traffic. It was a Sunday and most people go back to Manila for work and school.

Hope you find this article helpful.

A Vintage Summer Experience with a Modern Twist of X-Factor

There are two things in this world that you can hardly mix - the modern and historical feel. An activity that has been taking its hype in the Philippines right now – the wake boarding. It’s has its own X-factor in it.  We can go to Camsur to enjoy this kind of activity but traveling to CamSur is very time consuming, so we search for another enjoying yet easy-to-visit wake boarding places near the metro and we found Pradera Water Park and another is in Nuvali. Nuvali waterpark is also taking a lead to the nearest wake boarding near the Metro and the fear of piling a long line before your turn made us to take Pradera Water Park instead. Our initial plan is to get to the Lubao and enjoy Pradera Water Park activity (wake boarding) and stay there overnight but the villa rent is expensive. We were given a quote of Php. 6000. Luckily Mel of Pradera informed us about Prado Farm. Without any clue how near it is in the place, we took our time to research and as well as check it out in Facebook. Good thing I did our research. Prado don’t accept walk-ins so I’ve called up their number – 09209030964 and was happily assisted by their Events Marketing Consultant, Ms. Susan Arcega. By luck we got a confirmation and sad I have not forwarded my request for dinner and breakfast 24 hours before our arrival.

Prado Farm – as you think about the name it was like Nipa house that were made like villas to stay with farm set up and those kind of sort but wait until what you will see in pictures. Doing my research, Prado Farm was managed by siblings of the Gutierrez family. It is known by the local as “Star Flame”. So if you will take buses which just ask them to drop you at “Star Flame”. Why Star Flame? Because this farm converted to hotel place is actually an old LPG tank bodega or factory. As Mrs. Amada Gutierrez wrote on her “Salangi Quo Po!” letter to their guests (try to find where you can read this) the farm has evolved and is still evolving, actually “under renovation” quoted from the letter, from the help of their guest. This touched my heart as it was like thank you letter from a dear friend whom you lend money to help them make their farm a better place.

How to get to Pradera and Prado Farm?

Doing a Commute:  You can take Genesis bus to Mariveles, Balanga, or Olongapo and the fare from Cubao to Lubao is Php. 150 – 156 only. If you can’t get any of three destinations, you can ask the conductors of the San Fernando if they will allow you to transfer once you reached SM/Robinsons San Fernando. Just an FYI, the conductor and the driver was the one who offered the transfer.

Travel Time:  It should take 1 hour to 1 ½ hour travel time to San Fernando and another hour or hour and a half to Lubao. They will drop you exactly at Star Flame or Prado Farm. There is no traffic we went there so it took as only 2 hours to get to Prado Farm. Expect delays if there are slow traffic movement around NLEX.

See Schedule for Genesis Transport  below:

What to expect at Pradera?

Nothing more to expect but FUN and extreme activity. Expect your armpits and joints to get hurt after a long day of wake boarding. So prepare yourself with stretching and trip poses to show on cam.

Kuya Arthur who was our coach and the operator of the mini lake who gave us instructions on how to wake board.

What to expect in Prado Farm?

There are more things to expect in Prado. You can have your Hispanic Summer feel in the area as our of the Gutierrez siblings, their Architect, designed the farm taking all old houses and structures both vintage and old woods built into a Spanish Era feel. They have the yellow house, red house, and  blue house which are all styled in a Spanish Harlem. You will also find their gate amazing as it was made out of old empty gas tanks. On the receiving area you will find their guard asking you to fill in a paper. Try to look up! You will find your missing scooter which your mom forget where she had it placed including your shoes and your black suite case together with your chairs hanged above you. The Azotea’s are exquisitely flavoured with Spanish touch as you like wearing your Barong and Maria Clara’s to pretend you’re in a Noli Me Tangere or El Felibusterismo scene.

My shot of Prado Farm's front view and gate. 

You will also find great iron or metal arts around the place. I love the GATE with the Flat Iron handle… Genius!...

My shot from below of a red staircase .

My shot of the red hall which you will pass along before you can get to Kera-kera hotel.

Feeling Hespanic

Not only arts but you will find culture in the area. You don’t need to go to Baguio to find a town hall and Ifugao house-like structures. As one of the gates allows you to get a chance to feel the breeze with the Cordillera inspired setup. You will find spa beds which will allow you to lay lazy and let the time pass. You will find a tree house too but for me it’s like Tarzan’s house with a terrace.

Igorot's town hall set up.

Ifugao house-like structures to complement the town hall.

Me enjoying the setup.

Kera-kera hotel is also like a museum with all of those candelabras, sculptures, old TV cabinets, and rattan chairs all over the place. The rooms don’t have TV’s but are comfy and very olden times.

There is an infinity pool in Prado which overlooks at the farm with a barn and you will find yourself amazed at a carabao (water buffalo) soaking himself/herself in mud and some ducks in the platform.

Sir Arthur also told us that if we have kids with us because it’s dry season in the Philippines around this time we can have them fly kites in the fields which I like trying again for the very long time. He also said that during the Anihan or Harvest Session they allow their guest to also go and check out the good harvest.

Expect your food to be expensive yet delicious. Mostly of the produce used in their cooking are from the farm and/or other farms in Bataan which are all ORGANIC.

For everyone’s knowledge Prado Farm promotes Bio-Dynamics which is also the reason why our soap was made out of oatmeal and charcoal and the shampoo is a little different it smells like mint or lemon grass. Also, the swimming pool was with flowing water and it does not smell like chlorine at all. You will smell farm with you are there every once in a while; or as the wind blows.

Because it is a farm, there is a lovely barn with tables and chairs in it. I love the intricate capiz windows that were used as ceiling. The ornate chariot on the side that is pulled by a four legged farm animal, a cow or a water buffalo. As you walk towards east, you will find sweet basil and Thai basil growing. At the rear part you will find a big fence which is not more a pigpen which black pigs run freely. We also saw a mommy pig breast feeding 1 big black pig with a black piglet, a brown piglet, a black dotted brown piglet, a white and black piglet, and a white one.

    

And the thing I love about Prado is the chapel where you will find straw mats on the floor with big pillows covered with old ornamented pillow sheets. On the altar was a ground to roof glass overlooking the greens behind the church where a big black wood cross stands – so picturesque and solemnly imaginative for a simply and sacred wedding played with the music of nature, the birds and the rustling of leaves made by the wind.

My shot of the Chapel from the door.

Rates:

Pradera’s 2 hours of Wake boarding – Php. 475.00 per head (I would suggest you do a whole day for Php. 1000 and do it on Sundays or Weekdays as long as not a holiday)

Pradera’s Villa rent – Php. 6000.00

Prado Farm’s Hotel – Php. 900 per head (Php 1750.00 for 2)

Prado Farm’s Meals:

Breakfast - Php. 250

AM Snack – Php. 200

LUNCH – Php. 450

PM Snack – Php. 200

DINNER – Php. 450

Note that for Prado all rates are subjected to 10% service charge.

Again, if you book your reservation include the meal at least 24 hours before the check especially if your company is less than 10 people because on Sundays they ask their staff to have their time off. Which I would let you know on the next article the whole experience of staying the in the hotel by yourself. For more inquiries check this link: https://www.facebook.com/pradofarmslubao

Mt. Pinatubo Climb Itinerary

All is set for our Mt. Pinatubo climb. We are short of hikers but we are still gonna push through.

For those who wanted to know what can we do on Mt. Pinatubo... check out this itinerary:

Tour date: Saturday 24 January 2015

Tour type: Public/shared group tour

Tour cost: Php2090/person

INCLUSIONS

·         round trip aircon van transfer (Manila-Pinatubo base camp-Manila)

·         round trip 4x4 wheel drive adventure

·         local guide

·         conservation fee

·         certificate of conquest

·         assistance of a tour coordinator from team TRIPinas (we trek with our clients)

Optional add-ons :

Shower at the base camp: Php50

Boat ride on the crater lake: currently unavailable

ITINERARY

0230 Meet up (McDonalds El Pueblo in Ortigas area near Megamall)

·         Make sure to have your breakfast and buy your packed lunch and water

·         Meet the tour coordinator - Pay your balance – Orientation - Sign the waiver form

0515 ETA Brgy. Sta. Juliana (base camp)

0530 to 0630 Board 4×4 vehicles.

0730 Start trekking (around 2 hours walking using the old way)

0930 ETA at the crater of Mt. Pinatubo.

Relax, photos, lecture, lunch (at clients' account)

1130 Start return trek (around 2 hours walking using the old way)

1330 Back to the 4x4s.

1430 Back at base camp. Freshen up

1530 Departure from the base camp to Manila.

1730-1830 (depending traffic) ETA Manila

My Next Climb - Mt. Pinatubo

My next climb will be in Mt. Pinatubo this coming January 24, 2015. I'm so excited...

Here are something we need to know about Mt. Pinatubo:

Mount Pinatubo is an active stratovolcano in the Cabusilan Mountains on the island of Luzon, near the tripoint of the Philippine provinces of Zambales, Tarlac, and Pampanga.^[3][3][4] Before the volcanic activities of 1991, its eruptive history was unknown to most people. It was heavily eroded, inconspicuous and obscured from view. It was covered with dense forest which supported a population of several thousand indigenous people, the Aetas, who fled to the mountains during the Spanish conquest of the Philippines.

Mt. Pinatubo before the eruption:

Mount Pinatubo's summit before the 1991 eruption was 1,745 m (5,725 ft) above sea level, only about 600 m (2,000 ft) above nearby plains, and only about 200 m (660 ft) higher than surrounding peaks, which largely obscured it from view.^[13] It is part of a chain of volcanoes which lie along the western side of the edge of the island of Luzon called theZambales Mountains.^[14]

Pinatubo belongs to the Cabusilan Mountains, the central range of the Zambales Mountains, which consists of Mt. Cuadrado, Mt. Negron, Mt. Mataba and Mt. Pinatubo.^[15] They are subduction volcanoes, formed by the Eurasian Plate sliding under the Philippine Mobile Belt along the Manila Trench to the west. Mount Pinatubo and the other volcanoes on this volcanic belt arise due to magma occlusion from this subduction plate boundary.^[16]

Pinatubo is flanked on the west by the Zambales Ophiolite Complex, which is an easterly-dipping section of Eocene oceanic crust uplifted during the late Oligocene. The Tarlac Formation north, east and southeast of Pinatubo consists of marine, nonmarine and volcaniclastic sediments formed in the late Miocene and Pliocene.^[17]

The most recent study of Mount Pinatubo before the activities of 1991 was the overall geological study in 1983 and 1984 made by F. G. Delfin for the Philippine National Oil Company as part of the surface investigations of the area before exploratory drilling and well testing for geothermal energy sources in 1988 to 1990. He recognized two life histories of the mountain, which he classified as 'ancestral' and 'modern' Pinatubo.^[17][18]

Mt. Pinatubo during eruption in 1991:

1991 activities leading to the eruption[edit]

On March 15, 1991, a succession of earthquakes were felt by villagers on the northwestern side of the volcano. Further earthquakes of increasing intensity were felt over the next two weeks, and it became clear some kind of volcanic activity was likely. On April 2, the volcano awoke, with phreatic eruptions occurring near the summit along a 1.5 km (0.93 mi) long fissure. Over the next few weeks, small eruptions continued, dusting the surrounding areas with volcanic ash. Seismographs recorded hundreds of small earthquakes every day.

Scientists immediately installed monitoring equipment and analyzed the volcano for clues as to its previous eruptive history. Radiocarbon dating of charcoal found in old volcanic deposits revealed the last three major explosive eruption periods in recent millennia, about 5500, 3500 and 500 years ago. Geological mapping showed that much of the surrounding plains were formed by lahar deposits from previous eruptions.

Volcanic activity increased throughout May. Measurements of sulfur dioxide emissions showed a rapid increase from 500 t (550 short tons) per day by May 13 to 5,000 t (5,500 short tons) per day by May 28. This implied that there was a rising column of fresh magma beneath the volcano. After May 28, the amount of SO

2 being emitted decreased substantially, raising fears that the degassing of the magma had been blocked somehow, leading to a pressure build-up in the magma chamber and a high likelihood of explosive eruptions.

The first magmatic eruptions occurred on June 3, and the first large explosion on June 7 generated an ash column 7 km (4.3 mi) high. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) issued a warning indicating the possibility of a major eruption within two weeks.

Mt. Pinatubo NOW:

Now Mt. Pinatubo is the most hiked or trekked place in Zambales.

Year of the Wood Sheep - 2015 New Year Celebration

Time had passed and all we can sing auld lang syne...  2014 come by just like any other year and now we are to celebrate in less than a day 2015 or the new year.

2015 is the Year of the Wood feng shui element - the Wood Sheep - so to be in harmony with the energy of the year and befriend the ruling Wood Sheep energy, it is recommended to wear the colours of the Wood feng shui element - all shades of green and brown.

Just a side track... What I think is really LUCKY? This year will be very great at traveling up the mountains or forest or anything that relates to EARTH... :)

I'm thinking now what will be best for our table for a festive eve. Hmmm maybe pesto to complement with the color or green peachy peachy or red velvet or ube cake...

In addition to the Wood feng shui element, you can also wear the colours of the Water and Earth elements, because these two elements support the Wood in its growth and well-being. So, colours blue and black (Water element colours) as well as all earthy tones (Earth element) are also good in the coming year of the Wood Sheep 2015.

Horoscope and Numerology:

Earthly Branch of Birth Year: wei

Wu Xing (The Five Elements): tu (earth)

Yin Yang: yin

Auspicious Directions: east, southeast, south

Lucky Colors: green, red, purple; Avoid: golden, coffee

Lucky Numbers:  3, 9, 4; Avoid: 7, 6, 8

Lucky Flowers: carnation, primrose, alice flower

You can wear not only clothing, but all sorts of accessories in the green-brown colour scheme, such as jewelry, belts, scarfs, etc. To make it even more powerful, you can choose jewellery with natural crystals and stones with the presence of Wood energy, such as green jade, agate, green tourmaline and malachite.

Also good are crystals and stones with the presence of Water element energy - such as turquoise, aquamarine, pearls, kyanite, lapis lazuli and moonstone. Or, go for black colour ones, such as black obsidian, black tourmaline or black onyx.

Are there colours that are best to avoid in the New Year, or at least for the New Year celebration? Yes, for sure. Least favourable colours in 2015 are the colours of Fire and Metal feng shui elements, respectively all whites and grays, as well as purple, orange and red colours.

Dingdong - Marian Wedding - The Wedding of the Year

And what's trending now is the DongYan wedding (#dongyanwedding)... This is indeed the Wedding of the Year and also what they call the Royal Wedding this December 30, 2014.

Do you want to know more about it? Check the links below:

http://entertainmentwithyu.blogspot.com/2014/12/dongyan-wedding.html

When an angel went down from heaven and walks down the aisle...

Happy Royal Couple

Meet the designer behind the dress

Proposing ONE MORE TIME! This time it's aired.

The designer behind the SUIT

While I'm Waiting...

It's late after my shift at SM Aura Taguig, my sister and my cousins have me waited for them so I decided to grab a cup of Cafe Latte at The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf at the malls 5th floor.

Sipping every earthy taste of the beans and a pack of Splenda with ice on the side is best to kill some time.

Hope they'll arrive soon...

Oh btw, I'm enjoying the holiday tune in the background setting the calm mood. Oh holidays... happy bew year soon!

#twyu #holidays2014 #travelingwithyu #dwyu #diningwithyu

A Refreshing Treat After a Long-Tiring-but-Enjoying Hike...

There is nothing good but to quench your thirst with anything that is cold and refreshing.

We had our BUKO Juice or Coconut Juice from Kuya Marcelino for Php. 20 only. Amazingly this is our treat after we reached the other end of Mt. Talamitam...

Ganito po uminom ng BUKO Juice... - Rhose