Lobo, Batangas
Super Folks, if you are reading this, I just want to virtually shake your hand and congratulate you, because, we made it through 2020. Kidding aside, last year was an emotional roller coaster for everybody and I feel deeply that celebrating this new year, 2021, is extra special. Feel free to scream "Happy New Year!", jump and dance all night, it's meaningful. We would love to see a better year. To God be the glory. Undeniably, the year 2020 was ugly, but it reminded us of different issues, like political and social, about the power of praying, the air we breathe, saving money, importance of emergency fund, and mental health.
Also, it showed us the beauty of slow living. It taught us that being simple and frugal are better nowadays. Yes, appreciate simplicity and practicality, to be minimalist, as they say "live within your means". We were challenged to learn new skills, like painting and cooking. The summary is like rainbow, colorful, and dark clouds. My realization is like the one I saw online, let me share this, from Grace Diaries fb page.
"For some, 2020 was a season of pain, of trials, and of sorrow. But to most, it became a season of realizing one's purpose, of seeing joy in the simplicity of life, and of understanding love in its most unconditional form. Whatever 2020 taught us, one thing is for sure, God has been with us, in the good, in the bad, and in all things in between."
Halo-Halo
Simple living, the first thing that comes to my mind when I hear this? Living in the province. Have you ever lived in the countryside? Have you ever been to the countryside? Where there are no high-rise condos, but there are rice fields, farms, cows, trees, fresh air, and mountains. If your answer is yes, well, that's good then.
Batangas Brew or Barako Coffee Beans
I remember when we went to Lobo, Batangas, with my friend for a short vacation, that was three days and two nights. It was dry season in the Philippines, our summertime, and going to the beach seemed perfect every day. My friend was also my workmate, so, she invited me to go to their family house in Lobo, on our rest day. Our major travel goals were to experience the pebble beach and see the Malabrigo lighthouse.
Way To Malabrigo Lighthouse
Thankfully, we didn't break the bank. We didn't pay for our accommodation. We spent mostly our money for the transportation and food. Two of my favorite things about the province of Batangas, first, it's near Manila. You don't need to fly to Bohol or Boracay, just to find stunning beaches and affordable resort, it's only about three hours away from Metro Manila. Second, there's a lot of pretty beaches to choose, you can see it from different municipalities, like Nasugbu, San Juan, and Lobo.
Malabrigo Point Lighthouse
Speaking of, Lobo is located near the southern tip of Batangas province. According to Wikipedia, the name "Lobo" may have come from the Spanish and Tagalog term "wolf", lobo. The River Lobo, which flows through Lobo itself, or the name of a group of early inhabitants, known as Lolobos.
The places in this municipality were a mystery to me, until we went there, you know the feeling of first time? I guess one reason is, when we say "word of mouth", we hear first the beaches in Laiya and Masasa, or Fortune Island. It's not really popular, but in Lobo, you also get to see genuine local people, nice beach, beautiful sceneries, and the rural living.
On our first day, we did a little tour of Lobo. We went to the city proper and bought fruits for our beach picnic. We visited a small store inside the dry market that sells Barako coffee beans, which is definitely a Batangas pride, it smells so good, and to see the sunset, we had to go to the public beach in Masaguitsit.
Not sure but, it was already half past six when we had our dinner, our theme was like DIY beach picnic. We had Korean noodles, cold fruits and wine. Me and my friend, we shared different stories and talked about different issues that evening, anything under the moon, literally. The waves were our natural background music. I felt that, us, being regular employees who work 40 hours a week, we would need non-toxic vibes, no work-related issues, once in a while, honestly, everybody. I would describe it as our sweet taste of freedom.
Pebble Beach of Malabrigo
Next day was Malabrigo day, the most exciting and adventurous part of our short getaway. We had to prepare early for an early morning swim, but sadly, that didn't happen. Roughly 15 minutes to get there by tricycle. We went first to Malabrigo Point Lighthouse, a ten-minute walk to see this historic and eye-catching lighthouse. It is also known as Faro de Punta Malabrigo, or in Tagalog, Parola ng Punta Malabrigo, located about 115 kilometers southeast of Manila in Barangay Malabrigo, Lobo, Batangas, Philippines.
In addition, from Wikipedia, completed and lit in 1896, it is one of the oldest working lighthouses in the Philippines as well as the best preserved lighthouse in the country. It serves as guide for ships passing through the Verde Island Passage going to either Batangas Bay or Sibuyan Sea.
"Malabrigo Lighthouse known as the Faro de Punta de Malabrigo, designed by Guillermo Brockman as a cylindrical brick tower with metal staircase, adjacent pavilion and machine room, 1891. Built by the Chinese contractor Jose Garcia, 1896. An outstanding work of architecture from the Spanish colonial period. It has served as a beacon to sea vessels at the Verde Island Passage. Declared as a National Historical Landmark, 27 November 2006." -www.esquiremag.ph
The lighthouse was closed but clearly the ocean view from the top was breathtaking, the vibe was like we were in an old western film. After more than 20 minutes of taking photos, we went down, straight to the priceless pebble beach of Malabrigo. We swam without hesitation, blame it on the hot and encouraging weather. Yes, not a white sand beach, but a pebbly paradise.
"The shores of Malabrigo is uniquely covered by small to medium sized white and gray stones or pebbles. There are smooth and rough ones, but not too rough to hurt, so the beach is pretty much safe to walk on, and can even be therapeutic for the soles if the sun's heat is tolerable enough to stay barefoot."-batangasphilippines.org
Sunset in Masaguitsit
It was high noon when we left the beach, still hungry because we didn't bring enough food for lunch. Good thing there's a small eatery quite near the lighthouse where we stayed for less than an hour, a bit of chitchat over snack time. We decided to say goodbye early afternoon, it was really a reviving experience.
But you know what? That didn't stop there, beach lovers will be beach lovers and like the saying, "let's go somewhere where the stars kiss the ocean", we went back to the beach in Masaguitsit. It's simpler than the one in Malabrigo, we were able to enjoy the sea again, swim freely and capture the dramatic sunset. One for the books!
Free and easy life, most of us would prefer to have that now. Laid-back, it's like an absence of toxic stress. The real world won't give this to us, normal people. Unfortunately, most of the time, we would need to face challenges and sacrifices first. Yeah, it's not a smooth ride, but indeed, always worth the wait. And this blog post ends here, super thanks for reading. Don't forget to subscribe on my YouTube channel!
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