SMALL TOWNS, BIG STREAMS: A Lab in Liliw

LAST weekend, it was another road trip for Mama and me as we visited Liliw, Laguna with my boyfriend Una and some human titas from Mama's yoga gang. For Mama, the goal was to load up on those cute beaded slippers called 'cochos' that she has taken to wearing for formal affairs. For me, it was a more physical goal -- to see my very first 'batis' or stream.
We arrived in Liliw on a rainy afternoon, and I had to endure sitting in a small shoe store while Mama and the titas fitted pair after pair. The folks at Socialite were nice, but really, when you're covered with water-resistant fur and have strong foot pads, you really don't need the shoes. (Little Misha, our poodle friend, did sport two pairs of doggie shoes, though. Clothes look cute on toy dogs, but my Mama is convinced I face the world best au naturelle). I must say, I applaud my Mama's patronage of locally-made crafts. Those slippers are lovely, nicely made, insanely comfortable, don't shorten her tendons (essential for yoga), and they go with anything. Mama likes to wear them for formal affairs, actually; she just wore a pair with an authentic Indian saree for the Auggie Cordero show, but that's another story.
The Fernandez ancestral home is big and lovely, with exquisite wood, old furniture, and tons of fun stairs to jump up and down (good thing I've lost some weight, or I would have pulled another muscle negotiating the steps). It was an unfamiliar place, though, so I jumped on Mama's bed at night. The air was cool, the windows open -- if not for the roar of ubiquitous rural tricycles, I would have slept through the night.
The next day, we woke up to wonderful morning light and a marching band celebrating the feast of San Juan. The light was otherworldy (see my pic in the azotea, sorry Mama forgot to rotate it), but that was nothing compared to the big treat -- the spring-fed swimming pool and the stream in Tita Gigi's family property, at the border between Liliw and Majayjay. The water was cool and rushing, and Una and I couldn't get enough. Eventually we settled at the pool, where Misha learned to swim , I fetched my kong toy and tried to climb on Tito Joey's back a few times (sorry, I can't resist trying to get a free ride), and generally swam myself to exhaustion.
Labradors and water. What else could be more perfect? And who knew that places like this still exist, hours out of the blight of Manila? Everything was so green, the air so fresh, I had to get used to it. Mother Nature knew what she was doing when she created forests and streams and mountains. It's when you humans think you know better that things get screwed up. Stand in the middle of Los Banos or Liliw, and see what the world should be, and could have been, if people didn't think you knew everything and proceeded to cut trees and raze moutainsides and rape the earth for minerals and dump disposable diapers and water bottles into the nearest waterways. Helloooo -- if you had just taken care, you wouldn't NEED the bottled water. Oh well. Humans -- we dogs are your best friends, but sometimes, your stupidity tests even OUR patience! ARF.