A day of leisure in Laguna

Manila, Philippines -  The day started with coffee at a Starbucks in Makati next to a hotel, where foreign businessmen and local yuppies zipped in and out for their early morning lattes and cappuccinos. It hardly looked like they were eager to face another busy day at the office. After all, it was mid-week and most likely, they were caught between yesterday’s unfinished work and tomorrow’s pressing deadlines. Just another typical day at the urban salt mines.

But not for us.

We were going on a road trip to Laguna and other parts south of Metro Manila. And we were excited at the prospect of escaping the hustle and bustle of the city for a change.

It was a pleasant ride along SLEX (South Luzon Expressway), as the city’s skyscrapers faded in the distance and the bucolic scenery outside our van’s window took over. We arrived at Ugu Bigyan’s just in time for mid-morning merienda. The celebrated potter’s red clay house stands out in an otherwise nondescript provincial neighborhood in Tiaong, the first town in Quezon, right after San Pablo, the last town in Laguna.

Patis Tesoro at Patis Tito Garden Café in Laguna

The red brick pathway, accented by ceramic fish tiles, leads you to an inner garden with tall trees and vines, where you find a cluster of native huts set for al fresco dining as well as the potter’s open showroom with the clay pots, glazed plates, and wind chimes. Instantly, you are transported to a less harried time, when beautiful things were made by hand. Later, Ugu himself will show you how it is done. Behind the potter’s wheel, he makes it look so easy.

But first, merienda. It was a simple yet satisfying mid-morning

Refreshment — pancit habhab, which you drizzle with vinegar the way they do in Lucban from where pancit habhab originated, and turon, fried sweet banana in lumpia wrapper — all personally prepared by Ugu, who is not only famous for his unique pottery but also for his culinary genius. The ginumis, white sago pearls in rich coconut milk topped with crushed ice and fresh pinipig, was refreshing, and so was the lemongrass iced tea.

We could have lingered longer at Ugu’s, but an appointment with Patis Tesoro had been set earlier, so back to the van and on to our next stop, the Patis Tito Garden Café in San Pablo, Laguna. Formerly known as Kusina Salud, Patis Tito is its new incarnation.

We would have expected to find the renowned high fashion designer behind an artist table in her atelier. Instead, she greets us outdoors in her forest garden with pruning shears in her hand. She gives us an extemporaneous talk on native fabrics from hand-woven and natural fibers such as piña of which the formal wear she creates are made.

Lots at Aldea de Lago are enhanced by lakes connected by meandering streams

Later this year, she will be a speaker in an international forum on fabrics to be held in France. She is passionate about her advocacy, to revive the dying craft of piña weaving. Yards and yards of the delicate, hand-embroidered and hand-painted fabric hang from wooden poles set up under the tall trees, the better for us to appreciate.

Then she started to pick leaves from shrubs and plants, which she gave for us to smell and taste. She impresses us with the names of the different herbs, organically grown in pots under the shade of the tall trees. Not a moment too soon, and the buffet table was ready for a rather sumptuous late lunch. What did we enjoy most? The fresh pako salad, the puso ng saging called kulawo, and the chicken curry, cooked with freshly-picked herbs from the garden.

She gives us a guided tour of her house nestled at another side of the huge property. Made mostly of wood with intricate cutouts and carvings, it is typical of old houses in the province, only a bit more elaborate. If it were a dress, you’d describe it as casual, and yet thoughtfully put together. The friendly dogs give it a homey feel. The furniture is vintage and so are the accessories. Hanging on the wall at the foot of the wooden stairs is a framed collection of old stamps.

And above it, this sign: “On this site in 1897, nothing happened.”

Patis Tesoro wears more than one hat. Her business card says “Designer” and “Environmentalist.” She says she’s a dressmaker four days of the week; two days she devotes to the restaurant; and on her one day of rest, she’s a farmer. She likes her role as a farmer best.

Patis Tesoro with delicate hand-embroidered pina fabric

It was a short ride to our final destination that day, Hacienda Escudero, which straddles San Pablo, Laguna and Tiaong, Quezon. In a partnership between the Escudero family, and Landco, the leading developer of resort-inspired and high-end leisure communities, 335 hectares of the vast 415 hectare coconut plantation is being developed into a leisure community envisioned to embody Philippine cultural heritage and old-world country living. Imagine a genteel hacienda setting enhanced by modern-day resort amenities.

Two types of lots are available. The lakeside lots of Aldea de Lago measure from 250 to 350 sqm. Imagine a lake as your backyard and the community park is just a quick rowboat ride away. The bigger lots at Aldea del Palmeral, measuring 350 to 700 sqm., are plantation lots where you can do your own backyard farming, cultivate vegetable plots, herb gardens, or even plant fruit-bearing trees. That’s living “life at your leisure.”

The artist at work: Ugu Bigyan behind his potter’s wheel

At the clubhouse, we were welcomed by a native rondalla and were entertained with a full program of Philippine dances by the Villa Escudero Folkloric Group. Refreshing halo-halo served as our mid-afternoon merienda. We took our time, gazed lazily at the countless coconut trees in the working plantation, felt the cool breeze rise, and let the hour slip away until the sun started to set.

We can get used to this. Why not?

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For information, call Landco at 836-5111, 836-5008; customer relations hotline 836-5000 or visit www.landco.ph.