Caliraya: The Lake at the Mountain Top

For the past months, I together with my friends and co-worker at The St. Luke’s Cancer Institute had been mostly cooped inside the hospital due to work. The work had been extra “draining” as well since we are dealing with cancer patients almost every day of our lives. We are in dire need of a getaway from the life of a shut-in; it was good timing that the Director of the Cancer Institute decided to give us an all-expense paid weekend getaway at Caliraya Mountain Resort in Laguna.

Interestingly, Caliraya Lake is a man-made lake spanning three towns in Laguna - Lumban, Cavinti and Kalayaan. In 1937, a US Army Engineer created Lake Caliraya by flooding the Cavinti Valley in order to generate hydroelectric power for Metro Manila. It is also fun to learn that Caliraya Lake is situated approximately 1,200 feet above sea level, and is perched high in the Sierra Madre Mountain Range. In short, it is a man-made lake situated at the mountain top. Supercool, right?

It was already past noontime when we arrived at the resort. One funny thing that I forgot to mention is that you need to ride a boat for 5 minutes (crossing the lake) before arriving at Caliraya Resort Club. We were warmly welcomed by the staff and the resort manager (his mother is one of our patients) and brought to the clubhouse area for a lunch and a short briefing about the facilities and the activities in store for us that weekend. With so many pleasant thing mentioned- it suddenly came into my mind that our stay will be going to be fun. 

We kicked off our weekend activity by strolling at the bank of the lake. Guys, I have to say that I always like the laid back feeling. It always craves me to get to places that at cozy and quite. By the way, we stayed in one of the villas and honestly, there was nothing lavish or remarkable about it. Of course I didn’t expect a lot from the place because I know from the start that it was designed to cater large families and team buildings. Maybe “homey” is the best description that I can give you. But honestly, the resort needs to maintain and upgrade some of their facilities.

I was able to try several outdoor activities: zip line, obstacle course, bungee jumping, fishing, zorbing, cable balance. The most memorable and I call it “death-defying” activity however (with my heart pounding, and my arms and knees shaking) was when I tried riding a 40 meter sky bicycle suspended 80 feet above the ground.  I was so afraid and I was holding on for my dear life but I am really, really glad that I did it.

Basically, the three days visit had been enough for me and my friends to experience the rest and recreation that we are looking for. It was a gratifying weekend trip. Nothing is really more fun than to be with the people you like – a great destination is just an add-on.

Romancing Casa San Miguel

In Zambales, there is a school that stands under a canopy of mango and duhat trees- where little boys build songs and fishermen's daughters play their violin. The school was established by two national artists: world famous violinist Coke Bolipata and the famous contemporary painter Elmer Borlongan. It supports financially deprived children who have talent in classical music, theater and visual arts.

The wonderful stories from a friend who was able to experience the magic of Casa San Miguel convinced me that I should and I need to go there. A picture of brightly lighted paper lanterns hanging from the branches of trees outside the patio left me speechless. For a hopeless romantic like me, this is a perfect date place…and a very romantic one. Thus, this Zambales trip with my friends, Maam Snaffy and Maam Queencea and our gracious host Ma'am Lilian Fabros…

CASA (which stands for Center of the Arts in San Antonio) is a picturesque countryside brick and wood structure, standing amidst a lush orchard. It’s the ancestral house of the Bolipata clan established in 1921, and was opened by Coke as a school and foundation for the local community, right after finishing his studies abroad in 1993. It was his way of giving back to the community, which was greatly devastated when Mt. Pinatubo erupted. 

The place is also known as the home of the exceptional young homegrown musicians- Pundaquit Virtuosi, a chamber ensemble composed of scholars of Casa San Miguel. Interestingly, the place has an ongoing collaboration with Starbucks Philippines. You will be given a complementary unlimited Starbucks brewed coffee after you pay the 100 pesos entrance fee. The place itself is unassuming outside but magical inside!

I mean, can you imagine patches, tassels, sequins, the colors of Turkey and Morocco, sea shells, chandeliers, teapots, drapes – things that do not really match at all but when put together create pure magic. The place made me felt painfully average and inadequate with my plainness, hahaha. And I forgot to mention that the paintings done by local artist displayed on the art gallery of Casa San Miguel is just extraordinarily gorgeous. 

As I mentioned on my previous blog post, I find museum my museum write-ups to be unappealing because verbalizing the experience is really hard.The place is really an artist’s wonderland.

Of course, the exploration of Casa San Miguel will never be complete without sampling the famous and much talked about food at Backstage Café which is located below the concert hall. The place is adorned by paper lanterns and wooden chimes under the cool shade of a giant plum tree- with Coke’s soothing music playing on the background. Bestsellers are Tuyo Pasta, Pesto and the famous Barrack Obama Polvoron (named as such because it was one of President Obama’s favorite desserts during his state visit here in the Philippines).

Everything about Casa San Miguel is eclectic, artistic and beautiful.If you want inner peace and complete relaxation on a weekend, this is a great place to head to.