Lumban

There are reasonable lodging houses in both Sta Cruz and Pagsanjan. You can have your base in anyone of them. If you decide to stay in Pagsanjan you can take a stroll to Lumban, my hometown. Follow the route of the jeepney with the sign "Siniloan". That direction is towards the left if you are facing east. You will not get lost since there are street signs, besides you can always ask for direction from the people you will meet in the street. They are very willing to help. It is best to stroll early in the morning. Lumban is less than a mile from Pagsanjan town proper. If you don't want to walk, then take a ride. The fare is only ten pesos (0.20 USD). But I suggest you take a walk. You will be passing rows of residential houses, then the public cemtery then rice fields and a wide open space. Take a rest and enjoy the view. You can continue walking and after the ricefield, you have reached Lumban, my hometown. This is small community with plenty of children. If somedody approaches you and ask about your business just say you are looking for Dr Gil. Tell them I am you friend and they will give you direction to my residencce. It is along the bend of the road.You can drop by and say hello.
In our community you can already see some shops selling the "Barong Tagalog", the national dress. It is hand embroidered dress although nowadays, machine is already used. The beauty of handcrafted dress is incomparable though.
Beyond the bend of the road is the bridge to the town proper. There are five rows of streets on the left side. All of them towards the Laguna Lake. The roads streches to about 2 miles. Along the first road, Rizal St., is the townhall, and the Catholic Church. Beyond the townhall you will see the production shops of "Barong". You can see women doing the embroidery, talk to them and imagine how long will they finish one. You can move arround the town. Is is just a small town. When you are already familiar with place you can now take a walk towards east along the side of the townhall and the church. It is towards the mountain. You will be reaching the foot of the mountain. The national road is along that mountain. From here you can take a ride back to Pagsanjan or, if you still have time, towards the next municipality which is Kalayaan. There is an uphill road on the right before Kalayaan. It will lead to Lake Caliraya. It is a dam for the hydroelectric plant, 4 mlles uphill and a very nice place to visit. You need to rent a car to go up or wait for hours for jeepney. In Lake Caliraya, you can take a rest at the coast and look arround to see the panoramic view of Laguna. If you follow the road it will lead to Pagsanjan. It is a circumferential road passing the town of Cavinti. We will go there later. To get back to Pagsanjan take a jeep with the sign board - Sta Cruz.