Viaje del Sol: Lake Pandin and Yambo

     Pandin and Yambo are twin crater lakes, part of the Seven Lakes system in San Pablo, separated by a narrow strip of land. And since its location is just a few minutes tricycle ride away from Casa San Pablo, we decided to include it in our Viaje del Sol tour. :)

 
     We made prior arrangements with Mang Tano, president of the Samahang Mangingisda ng Lawa ng Pandin (SMLP), before our Pandin Lake tour. You can contact him at 0929 978-9565.

Welcome!

 
     We were dropped off at the parking lot and we were greeted by Mang Ato who led the way to the lake.  Pandin Lake itself is a few meters away from the main road. We had to trek roughly 15-20 minutes to reach it, good thing we were ready with our umbrellas. No sweat! Hihi! :)

 Follow the Leader =p

 
     After the 15-minute walk, we were greeted by the beauty of Lake Pandin. 'Twas so picturesque and serene! Out of the seven lakes, Lake Pandin was dubbed as the "the cleanest and the least disturbed". This tour was kept alive by locals who make a living out of the fish and the produce they can get from the lake.

By the lake

Bamboo rafts :)

     We were then ushered to the bamboo raft, paddled by 5 friendly women. Women-paddled rafts is part of the eco-tourism experience that is uniquely Pandin's.
 

     Pandin has an area of 20.5 hectares and an average depth of 60 meters. Lake Pandin is an ideal tourist destination for those who have the heart and energy that can trek up the tough path and be rewarded with a spectacular view of a small lake surrounded by coconut trees. Time to cross the beautiful lake! :)

 Paddling Across

 Fantastic view!

 
     Each raft can accommodate up to 20 people for a tour around Lake Pandin. Aside from the all-female paddlers, a tanod aboard a smaller raft accompanied us on our tour. The tanod would ensure the safety of their guests in cases of emergency.

Bodyguard =p

Legend of the Lakes Pandin and Yambo

     It was told that these two lakes were named after two lovers. According to the legend, a beautiful woman named Pandin was cursed not to step on the earth, otherwise, something terrible would befall her. Yambo, her ardent lover, didn't know about the curse and had made her step on earth, after which there was a terrible noise followed by the cracking grumble of the earth and a heavy downpour eventually converted the area where they're on into twin lakes separated from each other by a bare strip of land. - from Wikipedia 
 

 Locals on a smaller balsa

 
     Fresh buko juice were also served while cruising the Lake -- perfect for the heat!

Yumm-o Buko

     Once we got to the other side, we first saw a grotto of Mama Mary. And there was this pipe where we could drink fresh water straight from the mountain! It was clean, cold and refreshing -- just what we needed for the hot weather!

 Grotto

 Water from the Mountain

 
     We made prior arrangements that aside the tour, we would also have our lunch while cruising the lake. This costs us P180 each, not bad for the food we were served :)

 Feast! ^_^

     We were served these for lunch: grilled tilapia, ginataang hipon, ensaladang pako (fern), buko juice, bananas, steamed rice wrapped in banana leaves and the ube halaya we bought from Ate.

Ensaladang Pako

Tilapia!

Crunchy Hipon

     After our meal, we then hiked up the side of the mountain to see Yambo lake, where some of our guides had their lunch while we stroll the place and take in the breathtaking view.

Welcome to Yambo

Lake Yambo

     There, we met Erika who was kind enough to show us what she was doing -- catching small shrimp =) She found us a bottle to put some of the shrimp she caught. Cute!

Kind Erika

Shrimp Catching =p

     After enjoying the view, taking lots of photos, and enjoying time with Erika, it was time to head back to Pandin Lake.

 By Lake Yambo

     Then they paddled us again to what they call as the "parking lot" near a balete treee. As they were resting, we took more pictures (we had fun toying with the paddles hehe!) It was so relaxing just staying under the trees -- good thing it was quite windy or else we would've melted from the heat! Haha! :D

Time for some R&R

The only male paddler haha! :)

     After crossing the lake, having lunch and capturing the awesome view on camera, (that took about 3 hours) we decided to head back to land. We wanted to try and paddle but it was scorching hot so we left that to our trusted paddlers. We enjoyed the travel back while playing beach-y sounds through our phone Hehe! :D

 Lovin' Nature!

     Our trip would not be complete without a souvenir photo together with our paddlers. We were so thankful to them for being so hospitable, friendly and warm .. and for serving our delicious lunch!

 Team Pandin!

     This was a simple yet fun day! We got to experience & eat something new, meet interesting, hardworking women, see the wonderful serene lakes with rich history and life!

     Before ending this blog, we would like to share the panoramic view of Lake Pandin. We thought we captured the beauty of Pandin with this shot. We now love panoramic shots -- a new discovery for us =)

Panorama of Pandin

Pandin Lake Tour
Brgy. San Lorenzo, San Pablo, Laguna
Contact Person: Mang Tano (0929 978-9565)
Rate: rates: P180 per person for the lake tour, 

P180 per person for food.