CRUISING COASTAL: Just follow the red line -1

We had no itinerary, no reservations for the night's

lodging, no cooler with food and beverage. We didn't

know where we would stop. We had not arranged for an

interview.

We just had a map where I traced a thick red line running

along the coastline of Pangasinan to Zambales.

We wanted to drive from Manila to Lingayen Gulf via a

highway from Tarlac town, and then follow the road through

the coast, eventually hitting Subic and entering Metro Manila

through Pampanga, then Bulacan.

Although we had been advising our readers to “plan, plan,

plan” before driving out of their homes, we decided to just

take off with as little plan as possible. Just to check if our

roads and the towns were friendly to motor travelers out to just explore – without a

destination in mind.

With the only instruction being “follow the road,” the

Cruising Road Series team took off one Friday in

August. As usual, Cruising columnist Aris Ilagan

wanted to take the wheel first, as he said it has now

become his place to drive in the morning. I was for

the afternoon shift; photojournalist Anjo Perez for the

evening. And Manila Bulletin reporter, Joe Chua – well,

we brought him to keep us focused on Cruising

Coastal.

The whole trip started with Joe’s idea of visiting the Hundred Islands. That, plus

memories of my navigating experience through that same route years ago, developed

the first Road Series for Cruising Coastal.

Five years ago, I participated in a Philippine-Malaysian Friendship Rallye where

motoring journalists from both countries drove through the same route from Alaminos

to Subic. I could not forget that 200-kilometer distance of well-paved roads and

beautiful rural scenery.

The drove, as Aris observes, is not challenging. The roads are well-paved, traffic is

light, and the signs are clear, you can’t get sidetracked.

We left Quezon City at a comfortable time: 8:30 a.m., after

breakfast at McDonald’s infront of Sulo Hotel in Teacher’s

Village, Diliman. We were at the Balintawak exit of the North

Express Tollway at 9 a.m.; 50 minutes later, we were taking

the Mabalacat exit. Traffic was light, so we relaxed.

Food lovers will enjoy the roadside stalls selling the delicacies

of each town. During the summer months, these would

mostly be fruits – watermelons along Bulacan towns,

mangoes in Pangasinan. When we passed, there were

“tinapa” along Capas roads, “aligue” and “alimango” as you

enter Pangasinan, “pastillas” made of carabao’s milk in Tarlac

and Zambales.

Shoppers will enjoy the wood carvings along the roads of Pampanga. Do that on your

way home to Manila, or you’ll put more weight in your vehicle. It would be a good idea

to make a sidetrip to the famous San Guillermo Parish Church in Bacolor, buried in 12

meters of lahar flow. You’ll see the church from the main highway and a sign will guide

you into a narrow road leading to it, about 300 meters away.

Since we had not brought any food or beverage on this trip, we made our first stop at

the Sta. Ines Shell Service Station in Mabalacat, Pampanga. Since we had a Ranger

pick-up and we did not want to put our stuff at the back, we bought a small supply of

food and drinks: One small bottle of mineral water for each of us, a can of juice and

milk, and a small pack of cookies.

From that food supply, our next stop was in Labrador, Pangasinan, at Villa Jireh

Resort. The nice-looking open restaurant was well-positioned along the road, the

Ranger found its way to the curb. It was 12:45 p.m. and we were all hungry.

The open restaurant layout, though very inviting to road travelers, has a catch. You

had to time your spoon-feedings to the swarm of flies attracted to the delicious food

on the table. The waitress tried to get us out of our timing difficulties by flashing a

fly-swatter – which of course we stopped. Or we would have to check for dead flies

in our food!