Around South Luzon (CALABARZON)
By: Maryan
We cycled a total of 428 km; visited 4 provinces, 5 lakes and 1 waterfalls using my second hand road bike. It took us 9 days, 44 hours on the bike and ended up with some painful butt, heat allergy, and sunburn which make me look exotic. I decided to write about my experience with the idea of documenting my cycling trips exploring Philippines 7,107 islands. It's a follow up cycling trips after my first cycling trip from Calapan to Puerto Galera. Originally planned to cycle Romblon, we changed our destination to South Luzon to maximize travel time, spent more days with family and avoid holiday traffic.
FROM SM CALAMBA TO MENDEZ
Our target is to reach Mendez by 6p.m to attend a friend wedding but some issues came up that we ended up cycling very late around 11am. We took cycling route via Nuvali
and we found out that this private property do not allow cyclist to enter without a helmet. Yohann decided to negotiate as the other route will be harder for me as a beginner and finally found a compromise (we can use the road provided he won’t cycle). Our first day had a total distance of only 47km but spent almost 7hours on the road because we cycled so slow and made a stops often either to rest, drink and/or eat to recharge our body energy. We arrived very late for wedding ceremony but just in time for dinner. Yay!
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| Overview of Taal Lake from Tagaytay |
FROM SM CALAMBA TO MENDEZ
Our target is to reach Mendez by 6p.m to attend a friend wedding but some issues came up that we ended up cycling very late around 11am. We took cycling route via Nuvali
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| Rest and Recharge |
FROM MENDEZ TO LOS BANOS
In the morning, we said goodbye to newly couple before heading to back to Tagaytay on our way to Los Banos. We spent few hours enjoying the view of Taal Lake in Tagaytay Starbucks to recover a bit from heat, move on our way to Palace in the Sky to find our way to Laguna. We cycled more km this time (60km) but faster compared to yesterday because the roads are mostly going down. Our goal is to find a place to set up our tent near Mount Makiling but it started getting dark and we are still in the city so we asked locals for the nearest and cheap accommodation around Los Banos town.
FROM LOS BANOS TO 7 LAKES
We checked out on time and start cycling as early as 7am and choose to travel via Calauan going to San Pablo. We had our lunch in Sampaloc Lake, the famous lake as it is situated near the city. There are some food establishment, hotel accommodation and bike rental in the area.
Again, we spent some time to rest and had our lunch before going to check out other lakes. We are not able to visit all the 7 Lakes but we passed by Lake Yambo where we find a quiet and relax place to camp but the caretaker is not around and they cannot contact the owner of the place. We arrived Pandin Lake around 5p.m and luckily locals are open for people to camp there. A total of 39km, this time I started learning techniques how to properly use my gears which greatly help me to cycle a bit easier than the last few days.
FROM 7 LAKES TO CAVINTI TOWN
This is a combination of relax and difficult day for me. Pandi Lake to Pagsanjan was okay but not from Pagsanjan to Cavinti where we decided to reach the highest peak via Lumban to see Laguna de Bay.
We passed by around Caliraya Lake and saw some camping site around the area but since our target was to reach Cavinti we continue cycling even if its getting dark. Cycling at night was pleasant because of cold wind but annoying insects (maybe because near the lake & attracted with my headlight) made me uncomfortable as it irritates my eyes. Few days ago while riding and talking to Yohann I just suddenly sucked in air with insects through my mouth and stuck on my throat. A total of 69km we arrived Bumbungan Eco Park around 8p.m very tired. While waiting for our dinner, we set up our tent, go for swimming and wash our clothes.
The food was simple but great (fried chicken marinated in adobo sauce) and of course Thanks to Yohann for rewarding me a can of coke. We slept well despite of a loud sound coming from Karaoke located just 1 meter away from our tent.
FROM 7 LAKES TO CAVINTI TOWN
This is a combination of relax and difficult day for me. Pandi Lake to Pagsanjan was okay but not from Pagsanjan to Cavinti where we decided to reach the highest peak via Lumban to see Laguna de Bay.
We passed by around Caliraya Lake and saw some camping site around the area but since our target was to reach Cavinti we continue cycling even if its getting dark. Cycling at night was pleasant because of cold wind but annoying insects (maybe because near the lake & attracted with my headlight) made me uncomfortable as it irritates my eyes. Few days ago while riding and talking to Yohann I just suddenly sucked in air with insects through my mouth and stuck on my throat. A total of 69km we arrived Bumbungan Eco Park around 8p.m very tired. While waiting for our dinner, we set up our tent, go for swimming and wash our clothes.
The food was simple but great (fried chicken marinated in adobo sauce) and of course Thanks to Yohann for rewarding me a can of coke. We slept well despite of a loud sound coming from Karaoke located just 1 meter away from our tent.
ONE DAY BREAK IN CAVINTI
We did not cycle on the 5th day to give ourselves at least 1 day to rest and enjoy the common tourist activities. We woke up by the sounds of the rooster, tricycles and kids laughing while swimming one meter away from our tent.
We locked our tent to secure our stuff, hang our wet clothes to dry and cycle to check what we can buy from the market. We took pancit luglug, coffee, and banana cue for breakfast then menudo, rice and vegetables lumpia for lunch. We cycle for at least 2km to reach the entry point of Cavinti Falls where we registered and booked a tour. The falls is accessible by trek so you can enjoy the view of the forest while people coming from Pagsanjan can reach the falls by boat, the route I tried way back 2009. We went back to our tent around 3p.m, played fun water activities with locals (riding in a rope then jump to water), swimming, wash our clothes, then wait until 6pm for dinner (rice+fried tilapia).
We locked our tent to secure our stuff, hang our wet clothes to dry and cycle to check what we can buy from the market. We took pancit luglug, coffee, and banana cue for breakfast then menudo, rice and vegetables lumpia for lunch. We cycle for at least 2km to reach the entry point of Cavinti Falls where we registered and booked a tour. The falls is accessible by trek so you can enjoy the view of the forest while people coming from Pagsanjan can reach the falls by boat, the route I tried way back 2009. We went back to our tent around 3p.m, played fun water activities with locals (riding in a rope then jump to water), swimming, wash our clothes, then wait until 6pm for dinner (rice+fried tilapia).
FROM CAVINTI TO LUCENA CITY
It’s Holy Thursday and all people in town busy preparing for Good Friday Celebration. As we go along the way to Lucena we meet a lot of motorcycles and of course cyclist going on the same way which later on we find out that all those people are going to visit “Kamay ni Hesus” in relation to Holy Week Celebration. Before we reach the town, we passed by some Bibingka seller along the road and I asked Yohann to buy one for me. We reached Lusiana around 10am, there we eat the Bibingka we bought in the streets.
I left Yohann in the plaza to spend few minutes praying in a nearby church. We continue to cycle until we reach Lucban; there we saw a bunch of cyclists (looks like a town center for cyclists) eating their lunch with their bike parked in front of the store. It’s amazing to see how this sport becomes common in the Philippines. Also, I never thought the community has this kind of friendly atmosphere; everyone smiling and greets each other when they cross on the road while some we managed to talk while riding. The easiest cycling day for me, we arrived as early as 4pm in Lucena. We cycled a total of 69km and spent 4hours and 30minutes on a bike. We ended up our night watching movie after dinner in one of the restaurant which seems like a Chinese resto but I forgot the name.
I left Yohann in the plaza to spend few minutes praying in a nearby church. We continue to cycle until we reach Lucban; there we saw a bunch of cyclists (looks like a town center for cyclists) eating their lunch with their bike parked in front of the store. It’s amazing to see how this sport becomes common in the Philippines. Also, I never thought the community has this kind of friendly atmosphere; everyone smiling and greets each other when they cross on the road while some we managed to talk while riding. The easiest cycling day for me, we arrived as early as 4pm in Lucena. We cycled a total of 69km and spent 4hours and 30minutes on a bike. We ended up our night watching movie after dinner in one of the restaurant which seems like a Chinese resto but I forgot the name.
FROM LUCENA CITY TO LAIYA
It’s Good Friday so the road was calm and peaceful. Everybody either stay home to pray and meditate. Infact, most of the locals assumed that we are doing it for “penitensya”. We rest a bit in Sariaya, eat some snacks before heading to San Juan. We took some time taking photos and short video clip. We ate lunch on one of the carinderia along the road. When we reached San Juan Public Market we asked locals where we can buy Pinoy Halo-halo. Personally, for the price of Php25 I can say that this is the best cheap Halo-halo I tasted. We arrived Laiya almost 6pm and immediately look for accommodation around the area.
Unfortunately, I guess it’s because Laiya target market are mostly families; resort owner usually charged a minimum of Php3,000 for a room which I think a bit pricey for a normal cyclo-tourists. We look for a place that offer camping area but only found one (or maybe we just missed others)and it was priced P750 per person. Since, it’s already getting dark we decided to get the deal. Yohann cycle back to local market to buy food for dinner. A total of 72km, the longest km we cycle so far.
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| Laiya Resort |
Unfortunately, I guess it’s because Laiya target market are mostly families; resort owner usually charged a minimum of Php3,000 for a room which I think a bit pricey for a normal cyclo-tourists. We look for a place that offer camping area but only found one (or maybe we just missed others)and it was priced P750 per person. Since, it’s already getting dark we decided to get the deal. Yohann cycle back to local market to buy food for dinner. A total of 72km, the longest km we cycle so far.
FROM LAIYA TO LOBO
Holy Day! The hardest cycling day we ever had during our entire trip though it’s only 40km, the road condition was very challenging especially for not experienced cylist like me. We push our bike many times and we rarely find houses.
When we saw a little sari-sari store we bought some bread and soda to recharge our body. Moving forward, it’s still same road condition (locals said that there is actually no road connecting Laiya-Lobo before and road construction just started). We felt very happy to reach civilization hoping we can buy some mineral water and rice but there’s none so we continue to cycle until we reached the first Barangay of Lobo but still no rice and water so we opt for Halo-halo just to make sure we had enough energy for the remaining kilometer. We reached Malabrigo around 3p.m and took our lunch in a nearby carinderia, had some conversation with store owner regarding our trip then continue to cycle to reach Lobo town.
In town, we made some food purchase and refill our water bottle. Yohann assigned me to do water refill because after days of doing it we conclude that he was charge higher if he did the refill. This time I only pay P5, the cheapest for 1Liter which he usually pay P20. Any discount or good deals really makes him happy which I always found funny. This time as much as we wanted to stay in town for accommodation we found out from locals that our only option was to stay in resort again. All fully booked and same pricing in Laiya we asked locals if there is any public beach around. We walked along the beach and found that there’s specific public beach where most of the locals go for picnic. Nipa house available for rent priced between Php1,000 – 1500. It’s free to set up a tent but because we badly need water to take a bath, we looked for a place with bathroom and a bit away from the crowd. Yohann negotiated with the owner in a private compound in front of the beach. He asked if they can let us set up our tent inside, they agreed and I guess the fee was reasonable. Total cycled for the day 40km.
When we saw a little sari-sari store we bought some bread and soda to recharge our body. Moving forward, it’s still same road condition (locals said that there is actually no road connecting Laiya-Lobo before and road construction just started). We felt very happy to reach civilization hoping we can buy some mineral water and rice but there’s none so we continue to cycle until we reached the first Barangay of Lobo but still no rice and water so we opt for Halo-halo just to make sure we had enough energy for the remaining kilometer. We reached Malabrigo around 3p.m and took our lunch in a nearby carinderia, had some conversation with store owner regarding our trip then continue to cycle to reach Lobo town.
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| Malabrigo |
In town, we made some food purchase and refill our water bottle. Yohann assigned me to do water refill because after days of doing it we conclude that he was charge higher if he did the refill. This time I only pay P5, the cheapest for 1Liter which he usually pay P20. Any discount or good deals really makes him happy which I always found funny. This time as much as we wanted to stay in town for accommodation we found out from locals that our only option was to stay in resort again. All fully booked and same pricing in Laiya we asked locals if there is any public beach around. We walked along the beach and found that there’s specific public beach where most of the locals go for picnic. Nipa house available for rent priced between Php1,000 – 1500. It’s free to set up a tent but because we badly need water to take a bath, we looked for a place with bathroom and a bit away from the crowd. Yohann negotiated with the owner in a private compound in front of the beach. He asked if they can let us set up our tent inside, they agreed and I guess the fee was reasonable. Total cycled for the day 40km.
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| Negotiated Tent Area |
FROM LOBO TO BATANGAS CITY
Finally! our last day cyling. Our goal: To reach Batangas City before 5pm to have ample time preparing our stuff going to Semirara Island. We ate Lomi (the famous Batangas food) for breakfast and enjoyed our cycling in a pleasant view of Ilijan Bay.
Finally! our last day cyling. Our goal: To reach Batangas City before 5pm to have ample time preparing our stuff going to Semirara Island. We ate Lomi (the famous Batangas food) for breakfast and enjoyed our cycling in a pleasant view of Ilijan Bay.
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| My sunburn color after Cycling |
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