Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco has initiated a fun and exciting way to discover little-known tourist destinations in the country. The Philippine Experience Program (PEP) was launched in Mindanao several months ago to uncover exciting and colorful destinations that are not usually visited by the bulk of tourists, whether domestic or foreign.
PEP is also an affirmation that the region of Mindanao is safe for travelers to visit. The program has been well-received by both locals and tourists, and it has helped to promote the region as a great destination for adventure, culture, and relaxation.
PEP’s second segment featured CALABARZON and, since I haven’t really been to all the nooks and crannies of the region, I decided to tag along, and I’m very glad I did!
CALABARZON is the acronym for the five provinces that make up Region IV-A or the Southern Tagalog Region. These are Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon.
The PEP Tour started in Cavite, at the Aguinaldo Shrine which is the ancestral home of Emilio Aguinaldo, the first president of our country and the only president of the First Philippine Republic.
It was very interesting to see how he and his family used to live before in the affluence of their home, with all the conveniences that were not really common at that time – two huge refrigerators that had a set of Lazy Susans inside, a brick oven for more efficient cooking, an ice storage completely sealed from outside, etc. Going around the different rooms of the house made me feel I was transported to his era.
We were then treated to a typical Caviteño breakfast, referred to as Magdiwang breakfast, consisting of tapa, salsa, tinapang Salinas, tortang itlog with burong mustasa, sibuyas at kamatis, and my favorite casillo (keseo) made from carabao’s milk, which was perfect with the locally baked pan de sal.
We then proceeded to Bacoor to attend this year’s Bakood Festival, the main event of which was the Marching Band Competition. We witnessed battalions of colorfully dressed flag-bearers and musicians marching to the thumping beat of the drums and marching music. There were a total of 47 marching bands, and if all that doesn’t give you the feeling of triumph, nothing will.
Bacoor is the Marching Band capital of the country and it is the birthplace of the oldest living marching bands that still perform on special occasions.
In the afternoon, we were transported to the Taal Heritage Village, a small town richly endowed with well-preserved old houses from the Spanish era, a proud testimony of how our well-entrenched ancestors lived during those days. The Minor Basilica of St. Martin of Tours dominates the area. The church is very beautiful inside and out. It also prides itself on having the longest aisle from the main door to the altar.
The following morning gave us a very interesting Native Cooking Tour in San Pablo, Laguna, known for its seven crater lakes. An Alcantara, owner of Casa San Pablo, gave us a detailed learning session on the evolution of the lowly and ordinary coconut, the different types of food and beverage that can be obtained as it transitions from a being young fruit until it matures. Carefully explaining the details of every stage of its growth, Ms. Alcantara gave me a whole new perspective of this “blessed manna from heaven” that abounds in all regions of our country.
Thank God for these coconuts, Filipinos will always have food on their table! But a surprising discovery for me is that I have been eating an “aberration” all my life. I learned that Macapuno is actually a coconut that failed to develop fully, thus it is considered an aberration…and to think it has been giving me gustatory pleasure all these years!
I ended my day with a tour of the famous Villa Escudero Plantation and Resorts. I enjoyed the Carabao Kart ride from the Reception Area to the Labasin Waterfalls where a traditional Filipino buffet lunch was waiting for us, kamayan style, while we soaked our feet in the shallow running water from the nearby falls. It was such an experience that, I have to admit, this part of the tour made me feel like a young boy once again – I’ve never been on a carabao ride and the last time I got my feet wet while having a meal was when I was still a young boy eating packed lunch prepared by my mother, while my siblings and I were sitting on big stones on a flowing river in Ormoc.
There are much more destinations to enjoy in CALABARZON but due to space limitations, I will have to feature them some other time. Suffice it for the moment to say that I certainly agree with the region’s tagline – “CALABARZON sa Habang Panahon (CALABARZON Forever)!”
YOUR MONDAY CHUCKLE:
A group of nuns is painting their convent
on a hot summer day. Mother Superior tells
them to hurry up and finish because
the blind man is coming. The nuns get
so hot from working in the heat that one
suggests they take their tops off
to cool down. Another one says, “OK, I guess it’s just a blind man, he can’t see anything.”
The blind man arrives and says,
“Nice breasts! Where do you want the blinds?”
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