The following day, we woke up early. From Panguil, we rode a jeepney towards the
town of Pakil. Again, we did not have
any idea what awaits us there.
Our first stop at the town of Pakil was at the town’s plaza
and the adjacent church. One will
definitely not miss this century old structure because the church is located
along the main street. Once in a while,
in local television shows, this church is used as a setting.
There was no ongoing mass that morning though there was a
scheduled burial mass an hour later. The
altar boys were kind enough to assist us when we requested them for some shots
of the inside of the church. Later, they
toured us around. We were not able to
climb the bell tower since it was locked and the one who holds the key was not
around that time. Instead, they brought
us to the chapel of the Lady of Turumba, the patron saint of the town. During the last week of August to the first
week of September, they have this yearly display of the different images of the
Virgin Mary and other saints, which will be used during a procession come first
week of September. 
The moment we got out of the church, the procession of the
town folks who attended the burial mass started to enter the church. After some shots of the outer structure of
the church, we roam around the town and treat ourselves with a fresh buko juice
and a local delicacy made from a cassava.
We asked around if there’s any other tourist spot we can visit in that
town and some locals pointed to us the direction on top of the mountain. They said that there’s a big cross that had
been erected on that part of the mountain and the view is great. I was actually hoping for another waterfall
adventure but there is none in the area.
Instead, we asked if Laguna lake is accessible and after covering
some few meters of walking, we reached a portion of Laguna lake.
It was high tide when we reached the lake. There were lots of grown water hyacinth
around the area. I was hoping for some fishing
activities or any other activities of the folks who are living there. Instead, we were greeted by two kids who were
playing there. We just made use of the
opportunity by involving the kids in our shot.
After Pakil, the next town in Laguna is Paete. Paete is known for its wood carving industry
and its sweet lanzones. We roam around
the town and we visited several wood carving shops.
We managed to mingle and chat with some wood carvers. As part of their daily routines, they were
busy attending to their items because orders keep on coming. But even if they were focused on their work,
they still managed to accommodate us and converse with us for some time.
Wood carving is a skill that I am not good at. Actually, I don’t have any inclination towards
art except of course in poetry if I may consider it. But the likes of painting, wood carving, and
drawing, I cannot crack a good one. As
an artist, you must have an eye for the details and a sound imagination. And I am lacking in both ways. Haha. Maybe, it is just that I am not exposed to
such things during my early years and I did not give it a try.
Anyway, there are many wood carving shops that lined within
a particular street. If you are looking
for good items at a cheaper price, this town is just a couple of hours away
from Manila. They prices of wood statues
in Manila are higher compared with the prices here in Paete. Besides, you can also ask for a customized
wood statue whenever you desire. From
life-size statues to about the size of your palm, the different stores here may
have something to offer that may fit your liking.
With several shops that we ran into, one particular shop
boasts of its great and excellent craftsmanship. We were entertained by no less than the owner
and artist himself, Mr. Luis Ac-ac. Mr.
Ac-ac is already an accomplished and recognized wood carving artist. His recognition is neatly displayed at the
entrance of his shop together with pictures of various local celebrities who
visited his shop one time or the other. The exquisite and fine details of his work are
shown on the items that line-up in his work.
His work is not only dedicated to religious artifacts but to just
anything that his clients would fancy about.
We also learned that none of his kids are following his
footsteps as an artist. Thus, he gladly
takes under his care a young apprentice who shows a great passion in wood
carving. He said that the boy learns
fast and he proudly showed to us the boy’s work.
Before we left his shop, he asked me to take some pictures
of a couple of his artworks because a writer would be publishing an article
about him and his work. I gladly gave in
to his request and we had a good time with the shot.
We had our lunch near the marketplace in Paete. There are several food stalls to choose from
and they offer a wide array of food to choose from. One will right away get acquainted with the
food in this place because all those meat and fish dishes are the same as in
the city.
When we visited the church of Paete, the townfolks here are
busier than those in Pakil. Inside the church, they were busy preparing the
statues of saints most of which were Virgin Mary. The different life-sized statues lined up the
isle of the church towards the altar which each group or family attends to
their own statue. The towns of Pakil,
Paete, and Pagsanjan are observing the same festivity and each town has its own
preparation to make. And when we were
through shooting inside the church, we went directly towards the town of Pagsanjan. Since it was already noon, we might not be
able to reach the town of Pagsanjan in time if we will pass the two other
towns. So we defer the visit to the next
two towns and proceed to Pagsanjan right away.
The moment we reached the town of Pagsanjan, we made no
haste in entering its church. And true
enough to the words of a local in Paete, Pagsanjan holds the most number of
statues to be used in a procession and they are more well decorated. We spent a long time taking pictures of the
statues which were placed in a particular side of the church for public
visitation and viewing. After taking
pictures, we asked permission to climb the church bell tower and we were thankful
that it was open and we were given permission.
Just like those century old churches around the country, this one also
has several huge bells at the top level of the tower. At this vantage point, the main streets of
the town can be seen. The rush of the
wind at the top of the tower was refreshing except for one thing, the smell of
guano. Just like in the province where I
grew up, we used to climb the belfry when I was still an altar boy. During school days, we used to gather guano
or bats dung at the belfry in order to fertilize our school’s plants. And just like here in Pagsanjan’s belfry,
bats make it their own dwelling place and the smell of guano is very much in
the air.
The moment we were through with our visit at
Pagsanjan’s church, we went to the nearby bridge and we were asked by locals to
try a boat ride towards Pagsanjan falls.
So, this is the place where we should take a ride towards the
falls. Since we were not up to visit the
falls and our cameras will definitely get wet, we beg off and opted to watch
kids having their stunts at the bridge towards the river. And before going home, we indulged ourselves
with a serving of Pagsanjan’s famous halo-halo and puto bumbong.
Pakil Church
Laguna de Bay at Pakil
Paete Church
Pagsanjan Church
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