Because my girls are bored.
Since going north is a suicide mission these days, I decided to go east and did a Laguna Lake Half-Loop.
Just to compare, this is the state of Metro Manila and nearby towns/cities south of the metro as of yesterday.
In contrast, here are the roads we have tackled today.
My mom joined the drive because she didn’t have anything to do since she just submitted an article for publication yesterday. A bored scientist is a danger unto society so better bring her with us or she might do something weird or exasperating.
We went to Paete, Laguna because…I don’t know. I wanted to show the girls that it was once a thriving artistic town where wood carving, taka (paper mâché) making, and painting had provided livelihood to almost the entire town.
Twin I asked why are the shops for wood carvings and paper maché so few. My mom told her, the paper maché industry shifted to China so the local industry died. The Chinese pirated master craftsmen from this area and now they have taken over the industry. We are now drowning in Chinese imports of paper maché crafts. I think the same happened with wood carvings. Now you can only buy on commission instead of buying mass-produced ones. You can ask them to make you a chess set with wood carved chess pieces, rebultos of saints, crucifixes, etc.
We dropped by an art gallery x cafe where I bought tablea (roasted ground cacao beans compacted in tablet form) to make champorado one of these days. I couldn’t take photos of the art works as it was prohibited.
Paete is also the hometown of artist Manuel Baldemor, that’s why there are art galleries in this small, sleepy town.
We proceeded to Pililla, Rizal, which was just an hour away. My mom and my girls have not been there. Twin A and I brought our sketchpads and watercolors in case we could draw there.
It’s a bit sad that the entire day was gloomy so my girls and my mom weren’t able to see a beautiful sunset as I had.
We had a very late lunch in a restaurant 6 mins away from the windfarm visitor’s center.
Twin I hankered for bulalo because she said it has been quite a while since I made it.
The drive back was only 2 hours, with a bit of traffic jam in the commercial area of Sta Cruz, Laguna. Save for that, the whole drive was smooth.
Life in the province is slower. Boring to some. But I would choose this lifestyle any day.
Meanwhile, people in Metro Manila…
