Indulgence

In the middle of Wonder

Socrates
Wisdom begins in wonder.

I suppose there are some places that truly, truly inspires wonder. I've just been to that sort of place. Kinabuhayan Cafe in Dolores, Quezon is such a wonderful place. It is a bed and breakfast owned by a good friend of the family, Jay Herrera whose over 20 years of experience as a production designer for television, film and other places, added with his natural good taste and sophistication has created a beautiful little heaven away from the city.

Situated in the middle of Dolores, Quezon, you enter a lovely little cafe and in the back, you'll see three lovely wooden huts with no walls. Airy, breezy and completely liberating, lying in a hammock or on one of the rather comfortable wooden chairs, you can watch television (why would you want to?), read or just chill-out talking to friends. The place is just so comfortable that you could just sit there and just get lost. The afternoons can be pierced by the sound of a two-stroke motorcycle picking up kids at the school nearby, but later on, the place is serenely quiet.

The food is divine, simply divine. Cooked by Jay himself, you find that all conversation stops because the food is just so delicious. Generous heaps of food on your plate can keep you eating and eating and to finish off with very good coffee. And this is from someone who is completely and utterly not a coffee person.

At the same time, Kinabuhayan Cafe can arrange treks and tours around interesting sights around the area. There is a nice, lovely forest area which you can do a little bit of hiking and then swimming on fresh water rivers and tiny rivulets. The water comes out straight from the mountain so you can even drink straight from the pipes that Jay had put coming out of the mountain side. You can have lunch there; fantastic grilled food of an amazing amount and just the lovely mountain air and you can go nature tripping to death.

There are other places of interests -- at the foot of Mount Banahaw are caves, rivers and lovely little waterfalls with spiritual relevance to the people of the area. We did a lot of walking and despite my being out of shape and a smoker, I realised I am still in pretty good shape. I did a lot of walking and jumping from stone to stone and avoiding slipping on muddy surfaces with little difficulty. I was quite the trekker! It was so lovely.

Amidst all that green, the sounds of nature, not a single car horn heard... it was just pure bliss. I know for a fact that I wouldn't have enjoyed had a stayed longer, being the city boy that I am. But for that one afternoon, surrounded in the forest, tall grass and dirt and mud; I felt a certain sense of calm. The clouds were full and shapely. The water was so cold and refreshing. It has been a long time since I had gone swimming in a river or a lake. It's so wonderful to be able to cut through cold fresh water with your body. There is such a big difference between salt water, water with chlorine and fresh water. And I do so love fresh water.

There, I was struck dumb with wonder at the beauty of nature. Oh God! How cliche, I know... but I'm a city boy and I love the urban jungle. I love the concrete towers and the smog and the bright neon lights and billboards. So when I see the beautiful face of mother nature... I am awed like a little child. I wanted to run around, cavort, jump into the river and do silly little things. For a moment, I wish I were with my full circle of friends or family. It would have made the whole experience perfect.

But I had a great time, anyway. Unfortunately, my good friend Berna didn't take out her camera to take pictures so I have none to post here. Sad. Maybe I can ask some of the other people I was with and maybe I can ask for some shots from them...

But I was in the middle of wonder and it was strangely exciting. First time out of the city for this year and I found myself there. I will find myself back there before the year ends...

posted by wanggo @ 5:14 PM