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Pitogo,Quezon |
Welcome to Pitogo Quezon : Lets explore the beauty of this little coastal township its simplicity and tranquility .Pitogo,Quezon is situated Along Tayabas bay . Located at Bondoc Peninsula Province of Quezon about 220 kilometers from Manila capital city of the Philippines.How to get there:To visit this town is easy there are three route: by sea and two land route ,One road via Unisan on the way to San Narciso or Via Gumaca on the way to Bicol Region I did all those route .By Sea:please note travelling by sea is only for site seeing:motor boat will take you about 4 hours from Dalahican close to Lucena city the capital of quezon Province the scenery are magnificent you will be able to see Padre Burgos little island as if, you are in Palawan or Phi Phi Island in Thailand.Towards Unisan there are some coral reef along the bay and and next town is Pitogo you will be able to see the sandy beach of Cabulihan will known to one of their Beach resort Taklob.Cabulihan is part of Pitogo Barangays.Another Beach is Mahabang Buhanging Good for picnic , swimming and snorkling which it is not far from Taklob beach.Pitogo is setting on a cove as you approach the town you will notice the three division along the shoreline Dulong Bayan(one end) ,Gitna (Middle)and Kabila (at he other end)Although I mentioned that you can travel by sea to get to Pitogo. unfortunately You have to hire a Boat from dalahican to Pitogo (if your lucky) and it will cost a fortuneI did travel this route when my big brother was a chief mate on a Commercial fishing boat some fishermen from Pitogo trade their fish in dalahican.note:Travelling at sea is only good to see the sceneryPublic Transport:Gumaca route:This route will be the most popular one some buses going to Bicol Region and Mindanao would stop in Gumaca The buses can be taken from Cubao,and Alabang.another option will be a bus going to Lucena and then there is a van direct to Pitogo. In this route buses will take via Quezon National Park you can see the narrow winding road you can stop on the top to see the lookout have sometime out if you are taking a private transport.after Quezon National park ,you will be passing Atimonan along Plaridel in this town the view that you will be looking at is Lamon Bay if the weather is clear Polillo Island is visible. Once you are in Gumaca there is a jeepney Terminal that that goes to Pitogo and it takes only half an hour.Unisan route:I like this one you don’t need to take the Winding road instead you will be diverting to Padre Burgos, Pagdangan and Unisan.In this route you will be seeing Tayabas bay in clear day you can view Marinduque Island. If you are coming from Manila and willing to take this route you can get a bus from Cubao the buses are going towards San Narciso and San Andres which the end of Bondoc Peninsula this buses will stop you to Pototanin and there are jeepnies and tricycle taking passenger to Pitogo.by jeepney cost only 10 pesos but beware will cost you 80 pesos if you are not willing to wait for the jeepney.Town Features: The first thing you well notice when you get into the town is the hilly landscape you don’t need to lose weight as it will automatically lost when you walk around the town. In Dulong Bayan they have a port for fishermen to unload their fish. And there are numbers of commercial fishing vessels owned by the locals apart from small fishing boat. Although fishing industry are the most common income of Pitogohin coconut farming also one of the major assets of some residence. Junuary 25th is the town festival in honor of their patron St Paul . The church set on the top of the hill same as school building. There are four school buildings in Pitogo. Three primary and one secondary school. Two of this primary set on two different hills which you will be able to see the view of Tayabas Bay. Primary schools are run by the Philippine Government so children are able to learn for free but the secondary school is private so you have to have pay the school fee , books and textbooks are not subsidize by the government. There are number of festivities that Pitogohin enjoyed, although it’s a quite little town. Community plaza near the municipal hall was the main attraction during festivity period, as there are organized dance pitogohin are welcome to watch. You will be able to see who’s who in the town. Its quite impressive as one will know in the community who’s in the upper society . For some will be a privileged to join at the dancing hall you will be able to dream to join them one day. As the world change the town has changes too although it’s a slow process but new subdivision has been developed some houses are renovated. It’s a wonderful town to live in if you are looking for tranquillity, away from bustling sound of traffic and pollution just let the day goes by……. The People: Pitogohin are friendly and hospitable they known for their accent and pageantry. There are numbers of settler from different islands, neighbouring towns and Chinese migrants some are married to locals and others are more adopting pitogohin life style. Pitogohin social life are somewhat simple but modern, women are more fashion conscious, they are aware of what happen in the modern world . Gathering near the seawall are the most common atmosphere for pitogohin men, In particular the fishermen, they watched the weather pattern if their boat can be taken out the sea for fishing . Most pitogohin obtained higher education but since the job are scarce some are happy to settle and manage their coconut farm , fishing boat or family business. .Sunday is the time for reflection pitogohin are also religious, family get together for Sunday mass .Older women also has a prayer group which they can socialize within their age group. Another form of women's gathering is when they have sintasin ( it’s a form of handcraft to make bags from dried palm leaves) men has also occasional drinking habits. They drink homemade wine (tuba) from coconut palm and local alcohol (lambanog )also fermented from coconut. Only two sport pitogohin love to watched cockfighting and basketball Basketball competition will be held during the month of May. Teenagers from different barangays played against each others team, competition will be played at the town plaza. It is also the month of flower when there are chosen group or family that will be organizing dance and pageant called “Flores de Mayo” It was a beautiful sight watching them walking around the town like a procession, little girls wearing gowns with their escorts in different colours and style same as the chosen ladies that will represent queens and princesses. Agriculture: Coconut farming are the most common product in Pitogo although there are some rice field at surrounding area . Every forty days coconut can be harvested and it’s a long process, first step will be taken it from the coconut tree by small trunk of bamboo tree which at the end there was a knife to serve as hook . Although coconut tree was high to reach but the bamboo will have a connection depending how high was the coconut tree as soon as it was taken from the tree then the worker will find the nuts and gathered it in a group once its done, second process will begin. In a group of coconuts another tools will produced to take the husk out from the shell one by one it will take days to do the husking. Once its husked all the coconut will be transferred to the cooking facility. Third process will be braking it by half it can be done by machete the coconut water will be drained or saved to make a vinegar .Coconut was process by fermenting it in a bottle until its ready , it can be use for cooking. Once its broken it has to place in a huge platform made from bamboo tree. The bamboo platform was arrange in a cross pattern so the smoke could reach to the coconuts. Fire was lit underneath the platform using coconut husk. Once the coconut is cooked or the shell are separated from the nuts . All the cooked product will be weight and sold to the milling company .It will be processed for oil . Coconut farming was a long and hard work but to have a farm full of coconuts ,one has to endure the hardship and Pitogohins embrace this life with patience and dignity. Fishing: When it come to fishing Pitogohin men knew exactly what the word means. From high tide to low tide sea was their life. When its low tide particulary at night , dust or dawn even daytime men and women particularly children they enjoyed going out the sea they will swim at the shallow water when the sand are more exposed. Although the town are surrounded by water but the beach was full of stone there was no smooth sand that one can enjoy but when it was low tide the sands are exposed at the middle of low lying stone, About fifty meters from the beach it has a natural formation of stone that served as wave breaker the coral reef nearby was the home of stone fish. Low tide can be reached as far as nearby little island “Pulo” you can easily get in to the island by foot , but beware it is also dangerous if you don’t know how to swim as the sea water can change instantly and drowning will be the outcome. Few numbers of Pitogohin owned commercial fishing boats they also employed some men from the town ,when the fishing season at Tayabas bay are over due to weather pattern they will travelled as far as Mindanao and other fishing ground like Lamon bay near the Pacific Ocean. Fishermen who owned little boat will be left behind as they fish not far from the town. There are also number of fish ponds at the surrounding area they grow mud crabs, tiger prawns and milkfish, harvest will be delivered to neighbouring town as far as Manila. Full moon was the time when the fish was scarce and it was the time when dried fish will be serve on the table .No moon will be the best time of the month as the fish were abundant . Fish will be embarked and load to a truck to delivered to each destination . When fish are abundant fishermen wives will be making some dried fish for rainy season some will be selling it to the farmers and there are fisherman that gave their catch to a family friend particularly when someone help them in time of needs. Things to do: Depends what you intend to do the rest of the day you can stay all day long till sunset at the seawall gazed the wonderful sun setting towards the west. There are three places that you can gaze the sunset at Barangay Dulong bayan, and Barangay Pamilihan seawalls, and if your accommodation will be along shoreline or on top of the hill the sunset was just marvellous as it is. Early morning walked will be the best for your health as the town has a hilly character walking few times around will perspire you with no time. Early foods vendors will be the best companion as they roaming around the town so walking cannot be lonesome. If you love fishing there are number of boats that are available to hire and spend the rest of the day catching it though intense heat will be the problem as tropical heat can be harmful and also can lead you to dehydration. Snorkelling will be another option if you love water coral reef is around the town as far as Cabulihan and Soliyao colourful stone fish can be seen underneath the water. There are also few beach resort around the town which are good for picnics Cabulihan,Soliyao and Sumag, they also offered an overnight accommodation .If you are courageous enough and has a taste of sea adventure you can also find a bigger boat to take you as far as across the island of Marinduque or explore the coastal neighbouring town Hiking or bike riding also another thing that you could do. from Pitogo to Gumaca will be a good twenty eight kilometres . At the border between Pitogo and Gumaca has a mountain “Boski “ a good place to hike but get someone who is particular to the area to guide you. Getting a tricycle will also be fun to explore around nearby town there are few interesting places to see like the Passion of Christ relic before you reach Macalelon or swimming somewhere at Unisan Resort. Or even in local swimming which is situated near Nag-cruz few minutes away from Pitogo itself. Foods: Like any other part of the Philippine household, steam rice always served on the table it doesn’t matter what time it is on the day. Some household ate breakfast twice , They will have rice cake (puto) or local bread (pandesal) with coffee as soon as they got up, but then around eight o clock in the morning they will be having a proper meal with fresh fish cooked with tomatoes and some fresh vegetable like okra , leaves from sweet potatoes and other leafy vegetables. Since the town has no permanent market number of houses has their own little stores you have to go around the town to find what you want. Although there was a weekly market that you can buy more things, but if you don’t have refrigerator it will be hard to buy in bulk for daily usage, so most Pitogohin’s will be happy to buy for what they needed for the day. Some of them also sell a prepared dish so all you have to do is cook steam rice particularly if you are leaving alone. Since Pitogo is close to the sea fish is always in the table not unless its typhoon or wavy season as fishermen can’t go to the sea. There are vendors sell sweets during snack time like banana cue, cassava and glutinous rice these snacks can be prepared in different ways. Bananas can be cooked by frying with sugar, cakes or just grilled. During typhoon season young bananas which was destroyed by typhoon can be prepared by cooking it with coconut milk with sugar or mashed banana if there are family get together. Cassava also prepared the same thing like frying with sugar but it can be also boiled with sugar. Other type will be cassava cakes and cassava wrapped with banana leaves (suman) Glutinous rice also prepared the same cooking in wrapped coconut young leaves, glutinous flour cooked like dumpling but rolled it in grated coconut with sugar. Not only that Pitogohin loves sweets but they also liked using coconut milk in their vegetables. Because of large usage of coconuts high blood pressure and stroked are the major health issue in Pitogo.
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