The day started with me waiting for my brothers to come over and install the new house gate which I had them made. They arrived with their wives and kids with them, hmm, I wonder what’s up? Oh I see, a friend from the old neighborhood had invited them to go swimming in Nagcarlan, did they just say swimming? No way was I gonna be left behind! That was at the end of May but summer was still at its peak, I would jump at any chance to get a long dip in a pool, and it’s in a place I’ve never been to or even heard before, great bonus, sounds fun!
Nagcarlan is located in Laguna, it can be reached via San Pablo or Sta. Cruz. I cannot remember much of the trip coz the gate installation finished late so we started on the road at around 9pm. We did take the Sta. Cruz route, from thereon it had been frequent stops to ask people for directions. It was utterly dark in those parts but I must commend their congressman for the nicely constructed roads, equipped with guide rails for easier and safer driving on those swerving highways. We reached Villa Martha Resort at midnight so you would think that we would best unpack and call it a day, but no siree! Our dear friends got energized by our presence and literally threw us one by one into the ice-cold pool. Wow! If Pansol resorts boast of their hot springs, this town should be known for its cold springs. The water in the pool actually comes from the mountain, directed to the pools through a series of pipe system, and the pools are built by which excess water spills off from the other end and goes back to the river. So, by essence, the water in the pool is continuously being replaced. Great, clean and chlorine-free water J.
Soaking and shivering, I decided to have a very late dinner, gave in to a shot of vodka, and crept back into our room to bathe and dry. That room was packed with kids, so I went out and crawled into the tent my brother had set up and went to dreamland.
I was awaken with so much noise, I thought the previous night that we were the only people in this resort. Boy, was I mistaken! The pool was packed, and that darn noise, hahaha. Got no choice but to get up, have my breakfast and my daily vitamin intake of hot coffee. It’s time to roam around.
The resort has 3 pools, one for kids, one that’s 6 ft deep, and one for me, well, for my size at least. To reach the cottages and pools from the parking lot, you will have to cross a bamboo bridge to pass a river which flows from the mountain downhill. The river reminds me of old movies where women do their laundry while the men flirts J. We spent most of the day pool-hopping, eating, and trekking uphill where there is a small falls. There is a famous falls, called Bunga falls, but it was farther away and we were told that we had to go through another resort to get there which we sadly had no time to do. Still, it was a fun-filled day, playing with the nephews and nieces and bonding with family and old friends, right in the middle of another one of God’s beautiful cradle of nature.
I love the place for its refreshing cold water and the well-tended forests. It was a very nice escape from the summer heat and the pollution in the metro, soaking in those pools of running water and being one with nature beats any spa treatment. Nagcarlan definitely is on my list of places to visit again and by then I’ll make sure to see their church (another baroque architecture of adobe stones and red bricks), the Bunga Falls the locals rave about, and of course, a side trip to Liliw for their shoewears wouldn’t hurt… women! J
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