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July 31, 2005
My hubby Dex had no idea where we were headed, but at 4:30pm on Saturday afternoon, we jumped into the van and drove off south. I had scribbled directions to Kinabuhayan Café on a sheet of paper and read out instructions to Dex only as we passed each landmark: the Batangas Lucena exit, the long islands on the road to Sto. Tomas, the San Pablo welcome arch, and so on. A little past 7pm we were on the final stretch, but as we drove along we came upon a military checkpoint, and Dex got really uncomfortable because we were passing into NPA territory. “Where are you taking me?!?!?”
A few minutes later we were greeted by Winston Baltasar, one of the owners of Kinabuhayan Café, who was seeing off a group of Ateneans. He welcomed us inside the bed and breakfast, which struck us immediately as charming and homey. He led us through the main dining area to our hut, which with half a wall on each of only two sides, was completely open to the night. It was amazing how what seemed like a randomly thrown-together collection of furniture and ornaments could be so breathtaking.
Behind a curtain on the first floor was the bathroom, which was more garden than bathroom. The thatched roof of the hut extended only enough to cover the shower and toilet, so the rest of the area was open to the sky. There’s a high wall though, that ensured that any communion with nature would be safe from prying eyes.
On the second floor of our hut was a mattress surrounded by a huge kulambo. Clean towels were neatly folded on top of woven blankets. There was a fan overhead and a round paper lamp in the corner which bathed the area in a warm, cozy light.
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During dinner we met Jay, the co-owner of the Café and the resident chef. Jay was once a production designer for local movies and TV shows, and his talent and practicality is evident throughout the architecture and interiors of the place, which fuses 19th century Filipiniana with modern innovations, such as chairs made out of those old woven seats that Jeepney drivers use, and a bar that features an overhead glass rack made of bamboo.
Jay makes every meal at Kinabuhayan a masterpiece, both in terms of taste and presentation. Our dinner plates were brought to us HEAPING with greens in light vinaigrette dressing, risotto with mushrooms picked from the garden, and chicken cooked with 12 spices.
Coffee was freshly-ground Quezon barako with what Winston says is a secret herbal ingredient. (Jay will tell you what it is.) Winston and his girlfriend kept us company as we finished off dessert, which was soon followed by shots of lambanog and pulutan (inihaw na baboy and cassava chips). We were absolutely stuffed and satisfied. The DJ of the radio station they run, at frequency 98.5, greeted us on air before we joined our hosts for a walk down the street.
We strolled past a couple of cemeteries and a funeral parlor, and the boys tried scaring us as we came to a part of the road that was unlit, before we turned back and retired for the night. We were lulled to sleep by the croaking of 6 species of frogs and the muffled voices of people in the next hut, swapping stories late into the night.
We got up at around seven and were served coffee in our hut. After breakfast and more conversation with our hosts, we got ready for our trek to Mt. Banahaw.
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Our guide, Minda, was a deeply-religious lady in her 50s. She had many stories to tell about the mountain and the ways of people in her town as she took us down the 200-something steps from the talipapa in Sta. Lucia to the river, where many people were bathing in the supposedly therapeutic waters of Mt. Banahaw. We bathed in the twin falls (they're called Buhok ng Banal na Ama and Buhok ng Banal na Ina because of the vines that look like thick strands of hair), and filled a jug full of natural mineral water before climbing back up the steps to the well of St. Jacob, where it is said that if you dip yourself 7 times you will be forgiven 7 years of sins. There were too many people waiting in line to climb down the narrow crevice to where the well was, so we moved on to view some of the caves, including one where Minda told us to announce our names and hometowns to St. Peter, so that he would recognize us when we meet him in the afterlife.
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Back at the Café we enjoyed one last gourmet meal before pulling ourselves away from the lure of the pillows, packing up and heading home.
Click here for more photos!
Aside from excellent food and great company, Kinabuhayan Cafe has all the discriminating vacationers' essentials: hot water in the shower and cable TV! For more information, email Winston at [email protected] or visit their website.
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