Sampaloc lake is the place to be..............and drink!!!!

Galing kami ng barkada sa san pablo kagabi. It was late afternoon when we got to san pablo, sampaloc lake to be exact. voltaire, a.k.a lolo voltaire, was anxiously texting us over and over again if we will be coming or not. our one-liner reply was - we're on our way!

before we reached town it started drizzling. we were caught in a traffic jam in alaminos, a town before san pablo. a 10-wheeler truck hit a jeepeney and were stuck in the middle of the road. my goodness, it took us at least 20 minutes to get through it.

after a few minutes from the accident site, we were greeted by a large arch saying "welcome to san pablo city". we were so happy and you could sense the excitement in each one of us. after making a few turns and some arguments whether to turn left or right, we finally reached the capitolyo. this is the city hall of san pablo. a big building which blends with the nature of the town - calm, relaxed, slow-paced. we went down the road leading to the lake and oh boy, what greeted us was the site of the very big, calm and beautiful sampaloc lake! it was drizzling. the raindrops were like diamonds shining all throughout the lake. the effect of the raindrops touching the serene lake was simply breathtaking! it seems to me i haven't seen this lake for ages. if i could just stay there forever and not worry about work or going to immigrating to another country.

seeing sampaloc lake gave all of us a different rush, a different high. you can see it in their eyes! the child in each one of us came out and we were like kids, curious kids, wowed by the awesome lake before our eyes. nature really is at it's best when left alone and not disturbed.

when we reached voltaire's place we hurriedly went to the grocery to buy, what else, beers! we also got some food for pulutan and breakfast. when we got back to the house we rang up rey and he came a few minutes after, with his wife and two kids.

at this time lope was also in batangas and was pleading for us to go visit his place. he texted voltaire where we were. silly voltaire! he told lope we're on our way there. so the guy, so excited for us to get to his place, orderd his kids to kill 2 of his chickens and cook them. he then went outside to the other side of the road to make sure we wouldn't miss the turn. he waited for hours - in vain!

it was all voltaire's fault. pinaasa yung tao, lasheng na kasi!

since it was raining we had no choice but to drink inside the house. the place was small but it's fine. no one complained how small the house was because what each one noticed was the remarkable hospitality of voltaire and his wife dahlia. they were too busy like bees roaming around the house making sure each of us gets our own share of attention.

we were so happy drinking, talking about the happenings in the past, especially involving rey when he was still driving for mang narcing. rey was his usual self, jolly and happy. each time he throws punchlines, all of us in the house lets out a loud laugh.

george was in a good mood, too. teasing me every now and then about the way i drive and that he decided to drive for us because it's safer. i really have to thank the guy, he drove for us back and forth.

jun also had his own share of stories to tell. rey was teasing him because one time they went to a girly bar, jun didn't wanna share his girl. it turned out, ngongo pala yung girl kaya tahimik! syeeeet!

after several hours of drinking, voltaire, couldn't walk anymore because he was too drunk. we had to "deliver" him, like what appliance centers do when you buy one from them, to his room. haha! lasheng si lolo voltaire, kailangan pang i-deliver!

after that we went to sleep.

in the morning, jun was complaining he couldn't sleep well because i was snoring so loud. george played a trick on jun by pushing his head under the bed while sleep. when jun tried to get up, he hit the edge of the bed! they were telling me my snore was like a car running at 120 kph! tangna, ang ingay nun!

we left san pablo around 8 in the morning. the drive back to manila was fast tho it was raining. i stayed at the back of the car while jun and george stayed in front. we were in manila before 10 in the morning, and to our surprise, globe was down for the whole of quezon city. we really must be back in manila! the rain did not stop. it was also raining continuously in manila. if there's one thing i regret, i was not able to take even a single shot of the lake or of us. the rain simply wouldn't stop. but definitely we will be back there - soon!