An Easter Escape: Lomi, Lakes, and a Little Lost

How are you all doing?

Last week, my husband and I made plans with some high school friends to spend the Holy Week holiday together. It's been a while since we've had a proper catch up with some of them, although we do meet occasionally. Just a little background, my husband and I went to the same school and were in the same batch, so we share a wonderful circle of friends.

After spending a day and night at our house, chatting, updating each other on life and catching up, we decided to attend Easter Sunday mass together at Padre Pio, an experience I'll be sharing in a separate blog post. After the mass, we ended up going to a local cafeteria a friend suggested, famous for its delicious Lomi, a dish Batangas is well-known for.

While we were eating, we discussed our plans for the rest of the day. With no concrete ideas, one of us suggested visiting the Seven Lakes. Upon hearing this, most of us immediately searched it on our phones, and the photos on social media were incredibly inviting. Without hesitation, we decided to go and confidently pinned "Seven Lakes" on the map to navigate our way there. And here's where the twist of our day began, a quest, you might say, to actually find the Seven Lakes.

We later found out that San Pablo, Laguna, is known as the "City of Seven Lakes" because seven volcanic crater lakes are scattered around the City of San Pablo in the province of Laguna, Philippines. The photos we'd seen online were of just one of those lakes: Sampaloc Lake, located near the city center. So, the twist of the day was that we'd pinned the wrong location on the map, selecting "Seven Lakes" instead of "Sampaloc Lake."

It was already too late when we realized our mistake; we were in a place we didn't recognize, at a dead end and seemingly in the middle of nowhere. With no body of water in sight, which was obviously a key feature of our intended destination (a lake!), we started reflecting on what had gone wrong. We began browsing reviews and feedback on Google Maps, and there was one comment suggesting that the pin should be "Sampaloc Lake," not "Seven Lakes." It was clear we were in the wrong place, given our surroundings and the complete absence of any signage indicating a tourist spot.

Luckily, our driver handled the situation well, showing no sign of impatience even though the place honestly felt like a complete wrong turn. We pinned Sampaloc Lake and started on our way; the map indicated it was just 10 minutes away. We were relieved to see the city proper with big signage confirming we were in the right place.

The lake experience, well, let's just say the photos posted on social media were clearly enhanced and taken from perfect angles because we didn't get that Instagrammable impression when we arrived. It was just an ordinary body of water, and honestly, not very clean, as we could see pieces of trash at the bottom. It felt more like a commercialized area, given the sheer volume of businesses that surround the lake, which makes sense considering its location near the city center.

It was later we realized that the lakeside road might be more lively and vibrant in the late afternoon than when we arrived. More vendors were setting up just minutes before we left. Some businesses offered ATV rides around the lake, and they also had motorcycle and bike rentals for tourists, though we didn't try those out. We were too busy exploring the food stalls around the lake! I personally enjoyed the fresh buko (young coconut) the most!

With still some time on our hands, we decided to explore the city hall and the nearby park. It was Easter Sunday, and the streets were almost empty and quiet, making it absolutely perfect for taking photographs.

Knowing it would be impossible to see all seven lakes, as some require trekking to reach each of them, we decided to simply stroll around and enjoy ourselves before heading back our separate ways.

And that wraps up our slightly chaotic but fun Easter Sunday trip to San Pablo. Even though our search for the Seven Lakes had a funny detour, we still enjoyed the lomi, buko, and a peaceful stroll through the city.
We certainly gained some laughs and strengthened the bonds of friendship.
Until our next adventure, wherever the map may lead us!

Thanks for joining me today and see you on my next one!

❤️❤️❤️

_{All photos are my own, unless stated otherwise.
The lead image was edited using Canva.}