Being self-confessed wanderers, me and my friends 'hate' staying in. As long as we're out and about, it doesn't matter where we end up going. It could be just within the city for dinner, drinks or coffee, or as far out as a road trip or a plane ride away. We'd mostly do everything to nothing and talk deep, philosophical musings to random, mundane, shallow quips. After a long day at work, to unwind and destress, we stay out instead of in.
A road trip is exactly what we all needed - a break from city-living, get away from the stress at work and the usual mundane problems of day-to-day life.
Viaje del Sol combines all the things we love: travel, coffee and art. We love going to unfamiliar places, trying out new restaurants and tasting the specialties and local delicacies, appreciating and discovering local art, meeting new people, and just being out in the open road.
I did a little bit of research on "Viaje del Sol." It is an alliance of entrepreneurs from the CALABARZON region actively promoting local tourism through cuisine, arts and crafts, culture and tradition by way of interacting and meeting the townsfolk. Every year, more and more sites are being added to the route, which is great because it encourages local businesses to build better bed & breakfasts, serve good food, create quality art and improve their artisan skills, which makes for better travel. The program not only targets foreigners, but also the new breed of yuppies who are keen to discover and explore the Philippines.
Aptly named, the Way of the Sun is designed to tour the sunny Luzon countryside. The whole itinerary is made up of a gamut of stops ranging from retreat houses by mountainsides or lakes, restaurants serving the local cuisine, artist studios, lakes and falls, and architectural gems like restored houses or entire towns, artisan towns and century old churches.
Since we're just doing an overnight trip, we had to trim the itinerary down to just a few choiceful stops. Key criteria were good art, good food and great coffee :)
The final itinerary was:
San Pablo, Laguna
- lunch stop at Sulyap Gallery Cafe and Restaurant
- coffee break at Casa San Pablo
Liliw, Laguna
- shoe shopping in town proper
- dinner and coffee stop at Arabella
Majayjay, Laguna
- overnight stay at Majayjay Bed & Breakfast
Paete, Laguna
- lunch stop at Saranggola Cafe
- appreciate local art in town proper
- coffee stop at Kafe Kesada
Then Manila-bound after. But, as per our usual, some adventures and detours led to pleasant discoveries.
I suppose that with any plan, travel (or life), its always good to have an itinerary (goals). This guides you on your journey, but it need not be as strictly followed. A missed exit or a slight detour (mistakes and wrong judgments) can oftentimes lead you to somewhere unexpected. Of course, it may not always turn out to be pleasant, but it makes for an interesting journey (story) just the same. Its one for the books - an anecdote or maybe a chapter, that you can always look back on and have a good laugh or a rueful smile.
