LANZONES TIME IN LAGUNA
Paete, Laguna, Feb. 26, 1998 - Anytime of the year is a good time to visit Laguna. But if you want to follow the path of the lanzones trees to an orchard where you can partake of the freshly-harvested fruit, take the Lanzones Tour.
August to November is lanzones season, and the tours are organized in the months of September to November. Along the scenic route, the beige fruits beckon in succulent clusters from the thin branches which seem to reach up in thanksgiving.
But there is more to savor on this tour around the lanzones province of Laguna. Early morning, the airconditioned buses leave from parking lots of certain hotels in Makati. Two hours later, you reach the first stop: Sampaloc Lake, one of the seven lakes in San Pablo City.
Invited lecturer-guides--artists, professors, historians, etc--lend their insights to the places featured in the tour. They take you to the Nagcarlan Underground Cemetery, Liliw Cathedral and the town's shoes and bags stores. To Pakil's woodcrafts shop and the woodcarvers' ateliers of Paete where the world renown "Lilok Paete" of molave, narra and acacia hardwood creations are housed in museums all over the world.
Lunch is festively served on
banana leaves and woven plates in nipa huts of lanzones orchard owners.
A buffet of Filipino favorites like lechon kawali (crispy pork cuts),
inihaw na talong (broiled eggplant), bagoong (salted shrimp),
pansit (noodles), inihaw na bangos (broiled milkfish) and
adobo (stewed meat in garlic and soysauce) make for a real hearty appetite.
For dessert: what else, all the lanzones you can eat and bananas
and dalanghitas (local citrus).
(With files from Mabuhay magazine)
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