daytrip: the seven lakes of san pablo city

10th of july 2010
a saturday adventure with gal pals
a D.I.Y. trip inspired by internet research ;-)
laguna: san pablo city, nagcarlan, liliw

what this was like: mission accomplished and more! yey, it's a gurl power saturday! :)

the plan was to see 5 lakes instead of 7. we started late (9am instead of 8am) due to circumstances beyond our control. bunot lake and calibato lake were both already stricken out of the itinerary days before. however, due to what could be called a spur-of-the-moment decision, we ended up taking the chance of seeing these two lakes -- first stop was bunot lake.

destination: bunot lake
we asked around how to get there. we walked from where we alighted the tricycle that brought us to brgy. concepcion from san pablo city proper. there were barking dogs -- whew, morning stress-inducers for me! bunot lake turned out to be picturesque enough. one down! next target was calibato lake.



bunot lake

destination: calibato lake
we took a ride on a jeepney bound for nagcarlan and got off at this resort just before rizal that had calibato lake on its signage. wrong move! the place looked inhabited but there was no single person to be found and there was no sign of calibato lake from what we initially thought was the viewdeck. we had to walk several hundred meters back and got help from a very small signage that says "seven lakes" and with confirmation from a stranger. it was a long walk under the heat of the sun until we went down some stairs and found ourselves in a very forest-like environment. we followed the path of a young boy whom we asked and told us that calibato lake was further beyond -- there -- where he was going, where we were going. indeed, calibato lake was where he said it was! with that said, we already hit two targets -- two lakes. next stop was pandin lake where we were scheduled to have lunch.



calibato lake

destination: pandin lake + yambo lake
from calibato lake, we made our way back to the highway and rode a jeepney to where ate sion, wife of mang tano (whose number i only saw on the internet and with whom i made arrangements for our raft ride and lunch in pandin lake), was waiting for us. with ate sion was kuya rene, a barangay tanod. they both escorted us to pandin lake. it was a 10-to-15-minute walk to the lake but it was worth it -- the raft ride (with local women as paddlers) was relaxing and fun. we got to see yambo lake, too! :) at this point, we hit 4 targets already -- 4 lakes!




pandin lake




yambo lake

destination: liliw
after our pandin adventure, we went all the way to liliw to look for what liliw is known for -- slippers, sandals, footwear! (haha, when gals go together, have an emergency room for shopping in the itinerary).

destination: nagcarlan underground cemetery
from liliw, we went to nagcarlan to visit a historical landmark -- the nagcarlan underground cemetery. after this, we took another jeepney ride in order to get to sambat (ilog), the jump-off point for palakpakin lake.

destination: palakpakin lake + mojicap lake + sampaloc lake
the jeepney driver turned out to be slow and absent-minded -- needless to say, he got on our nerves. we had to take another jeepney ride to undo the effects of his inefficiency on us. we got to the right stop, hired two tricycles for our group of six, and got ourselves to where we could view palakpakin lake. (note: palakpakin lake seems to be the least impressive among the lakes we visited). while we were making our way to palakpakin lake, our tricycle driver made small talk and that's when we found out that he was mang tano (wow! cool chance!), my contact for the pandin lake trip and president of the pandin lake association. after palakpakin lake, we went on to see mojicap lake and then sampaloc lake. super big smiles!!! :) :D ;)




palakpakin lake




mojicap lake




sampaloc lake

aha, mission accomplished before sundown! before we called it a day, we went to prosperity food house in san pablo to reward our famished selves. after that, it was time to go home -- time check: past 7pm, going 8pm.

despite starting out late, despite the plan of seeing only 5, we were able to see 7 lakes out of san pablo's 7! :D 7 lakes plus a trip to liliw plus a trip to nagcarlan cemetery for a daytrip? achievement! hahaha.

breakdown of expenses per person:
(1) jeepney ride from san pablo medical to san pablo city proper: PhP7
(2) tricycle ride from san pablo to brgy. concepcion (special ride): PhP15
(3) jeepney ride to calibato lake jump-off point: PhP8
(4) jeepney ride to pandin lake jump-off point: PhP7
(5) pandin lake raft ride + lunch + tip (optional but we recommend it): PhP180 + PhP180 + (how blessed are you and how much are you willing to bless others?)
(6) jeepney ride to liliw: PhP18
(7) jeepney ride to nagcarlan: PhP7
(8) jeepney ride to sambat (ilog): PhP15
(9) jeepney ride to undo the driver for item #8's inefficiencies: PhP7
(10) tricycle ride to palakpakin, mojicap, and sampaloc lakes (special trip) + tip (optional but we recommend it): PhP15 (up to palakpakin only) + you decide + (how blessed are you and how much are you willing to bless others especially if they're doing more than what's expected to help you?)

click here to see the complete set of photos directly related to this trip.