Paete (Laguna)

My several trips to various locations in the island of Luzon took me to places of historical significance as well as appreciation of nature, and discovering the kind of culture and livelihood of the folks in a given area or region.

A few months ago, I then decided to somewhat temporarily veer off from that kind of “mindset”, and give easy-level mountaineering a try. Easy-level in the sense that, given my physique right now, I ain’t going for the trails done by hardcore trekkers. Actually, I have already scaled Mount Pinatubo (more than 2 hours to summit) and Taal Volcano (1 hour to summit), and based on those two as my “barometers”, I could safely say na pang easy-level lang talaga ako hehehe.

To know the different types of mountains in the Philippines, I went to the Pinoymoutaineer.com website and browsed those that were located in Luzon, filtering out only the easy ones.

My mountain reference site

Since I never trek alone, after “consulting” some of my friends, who mostly travel with me, we chose to visit the Tatlong Krus pilgrimage site at the top of Mount Humarap, located in Paete, Laguna.

According to the website and other travel blogs, the trek would only take an hour or less, coming from the jump-off point in Barangay Ilaya Norte.

My trekmates were Ed Amparado, Grace Bagunu, and Siony Cabungcal, and this was our story last August 9, 2013.

Based on the itinerary I made, the assembly area would be at the McDonald’s restaurant, EDSA corner United Street, near the MRT Shaw station. Agreed meet-up time was before 6:00 AM and Grace arrived past 5:30 AM (very good!). I had a McSpicy sandwich breakfast while waiting for her. Ed and Siony would be waiting for us at the Tanay Market since both of them live in Rizal.

Tanay-bound vans are just parked at the Mayflower Plaza, also along United Street, but we departed at 6:30 AM, since vans only start to move when they are already full. Fare to Tanay was Php 70.00. Jeepneys going to Tanay are also present in the area.

Arriving at the Tanay Market at 8:00 AM, we all rode a jeepney towards the town of Siniloan. Fare from Tanay to Siniloan was Php 44.00. From Siniloan, we rode another jeepney, bound to Paete, with a fare of Php 15.00, as rain started to trickle. Amidst a heavy downpour, we alighted at C.M. Recto Street in Paete at 10:00 AM.

Tanay Market

The town has had a long reputation for its craftsmen highly skilled in wood carving and its embellishment. In 1887, José Rizal described Paete as a town where "carpenter shops" were issuing images "even those more rudely carved" Even now, its inhabitants (called Paeteños or Paetenians) continue with their centuries-old tradition in carving and painting. Its statues, pulpits, murals and bas relief are found in churches, palaces and museums all over the world, including the St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York, the Mission Dolorosa in San Francisco, the San Cayetano Church in Mexico, the St. Joseph's shrine in Sta. Cruz, California, various churches in the Philippines and the Ayala Museum in Makati, Philippines.

Various woodcrafts

The town was proclaimed "the Carving Capital of the Philippines" on March 15, 2005 by Philippine President Arroyo. It is also believed that the modern yo-yo, which originated in the Philippines, was invented in Paete.

Due to the weather situation, we decided not to start trekking in the meantime, and since it was raining, we went to a nearby local carinderia (as in no stall name) and ordered Batchoy at Php 20.00. Very delicious especially since the weather was cold! We also asked the owners how we would go about trudging to Tatlong Krus.

Enjoying authentic Paete Batchoy!

As the rain weakened, we realized that if we trudged the one-hour climb towards Tatlong Krus, safety might be an issue due to some slippery portions along the trail and a possibility of another downpour. Due to this, we went to Plan B, which was to rent a tricycle that would take us all the way up to the said site, and would cost us Php 250.00 (one-way), but since we did not plan to trek at the downhill route, we told him to wait for us for a return trip back to the town of Paete for an additional fee.

After a 30-minute ride, we stopped at a certain point, the drop-off zone for those who bring vehicles. The driver told us that his tricycle would not be able to pass beyond the drop-off site due to uneven contours of the soil. The trek from the drop-off point to Tatlong Krus took us only around ten minutes. 

Drop-off Point

Arriving at our target destination, we were glad that there was only one group of people there, which would not pose a lot of distraction during photo shooting, unlike if we went there during Holy Week, wherein hundreds of tourists flock the area.

On the left side, there was a restroom, which you should pay Php 5.00 if you want to utilize it for any purposes. 

Restroom

There were cottages for rent in the area, costing Php 100.00 for the big ones and Php 70.00 for the small ones.

Cottages

As you move a bit further, in front of you now are the famous three crosses, which started out as made of wood and now are made of cement. In front of the crosses is a cemented altar used when celebrating Holy Mass during special occasions.

Three Crosses and the Altar

A few steps from the crosses, we could now have a breathtaking view of the town of Paete, Laguna de Bay, and Mount Sembrano as seen from Mount Humarap, which is a part of the mountains of Sierra Madre.

Breathtaking background view!

Going back to the tricycle, which was waiting for us, we paid him Php 500.00 for a two-way trip back to the town.

Before we continued downhill, we stopped by at a viewpoint area for more picture taking. You could again view here the town and Laguna de Bay.

Mount Humarap Viewpoint

We alighted the tricycle at the Paete Church, also known as St. James the Apostle Church.

St. James the Apostle Church

In 1580, Juan de Palesencia, a Franciscan friar built a friary in Paete. Its stone church and its convent were built in 1846. In 1717, Rev. Francisco de la Fuente led the construction of a stronger church, which was later destroyed by the earthquake of 1880. The church was reconstructed in 1884 by Rev. Pedro Galiano which was filled with century-old paintings and wooden statuaries. It was destroyed by an earthquake on 20 August 1937 and has since been rebuilt.

Various statues and busts of famous Paete citizens can be found near the church and the police station.

Famous Paete Citizens

Since it was already 1:30 PM, it was about time to eat lunch, as our stomachs began to grumble.

We entered a very simple 24-hour dine-in restaurant called Capati Kainan along Quesada Street. Since Paete is not known for unique delicacies, meawls served here are the usual Filipino meals such as Tapsilog, Pancit Canton, Bihon Guisado, and the like. Our total bill was only Php 305.00 (1 Pancit Canton, 3 Tapsilog, and 3 softdrinks).
 

Facade of Capati Kainan

Inside Capati Kainan

Since my friends love coffee, a few walks from our lunch venue was Kape Kesada Art Gallery. It was a house made from salvaged parts of old houses, brainchild of a dentist and a patron of Paete's budding artists, Dr. Nilo Valdecantos. It is an exhibit venue for Paete artists, mostly painters and sculptors, some of whom already carving a niche of their own or just starting to market their art creations.

Kape Kesada Art Gallery

Paintings & Sculptures by Paete artists

The place is open from Tuesday to Sunday from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM, but is closed during lunch time. On Friday nights, there is an acoustic band.

Oh by the way, they only serve coffee.....that's it!

We went back to the same carinderia and my friends ate merienda there, and as we departed from Paete, we thanked the carinderia crew for guiding us on our trip and for being very accommodating.

My trip back to Metro Manila was first a jeepney ride from Paete to Siniloan Market for Php 15.00. While at that area, there were two options for me: (1) Ride a Tanay-bound jeepney, and from Tanay, ride another jeepney proceeding towards the EDSA Shaw Crossing area or (2) Ride a jeepney going straight to Cainta, Rizal (Php 83.00), and ride another jeepney bound for Araneta Center, Cubao (Php 20.00) . Well, I chose the second option, since I live in Malabon.

The town of Paete may not be one of the most popular places for travel enthusiasts since they barely hog the columns of travel magazines and posters, but it also pays to discover the “hidden” places in Luzon…new sites…new culture…new learnings beckon you.

Explore Pinas!