One fine weekend, we decided to visit the small plot of land that we’ve purchased from a developer in Maragondon, Cavite. It has always been my dream to build my forever home in the uplands of Cavite, me and my husband’s hometown, and it’s surely a dream come true to finally be able to own land there at a very affordable price.
We hired our friend Piccols to drive us to the location, as we didn’t have our own car. It was a long trip from Bacoor, where we were based, and it approximately took around 2 to 3 hours to get there. Traffic in Tejero and Tanza was the worst, as a number of malls and subdivisions had been erected in the area in recent years (which meant more people and traffic). But the road gets less congested the moment you reach Naic. We fetched our real estate agent in their head office in Naic before continuing our journey to Maragondon.
We took a so-called short cut to the area where our plot of land was located. It was a narrow, cemented road so it’s a give and take type of deal between motorists to be able to pass by. It was fine though as the people were friendly and also considerate.
Reaching Pantihan II, Maragondon, Cavite
The future subdivision where our land was located was in Barangay Pantihan II in the municipality of Maragondon, Cavite. I just loved the vibe of the place as it reminded me of visiting my grandmother’s hometown of Kayquit, Indang, as a child, where the sloping roads were flanked by hilly terrain and dense foliage.
Soon, we reached the area and inspected it. It would take about four more years to develop the land and turn it into a village, the real estate agent told us, but should be done on time. At the center of the land was a tall tree, which would serve as a landmark for the entryway of the future subdivision.
Not a lot of information is available online about Pantihan II, but according to a quick Google search, the village was formerly known as “Sagbat.” The population is just over a thousand here so it’s not very noisy and crowded as Bacoor or Imus. Interesting fact: in the 1990s, there were only 98 households in the area, and now the total number of households have risen to 239. Can you believe it?
Pantihan II was named after its namesake tourist spot in Maragondon, Pantihan Falls. If you Google Maps the place, you’ll find that it is surrounded by several farm and garden resorts. The place is also a few minutes away from the resorts in Pico de Loro and Puerto Azul, the famous beach resort in the 80s and 90s. I haven’t gotten the chance to visit the two, but my husband said he had experienced trekking Pico de Loro in his youth.
We took a couple of photos of the bushy and lush plot of land, but there was really not much to see at this point. As our agent said, it would take years until it looked a semblance of a thriving village. I guess we’ll just have to wait until then.
Where to Eat in Maragondon: Lolo Claro’s Restaurant
Of course, a trip to Maragondon would not be complete without dining at Lolo Claro’s Restaurant. It is the home of the famous fried chicken of Maragondon. They say the chicken tastes just like Max’s – but I would dare say even better. We ordered the chicken of course, and I had a fresh “lumpiang ubod” or fresh Filipino spring rolls since I was on a keto diet. For takeout, we ordered their special noodle soup.
The restaurant was spacious and a lot of people would come and go, probably tourists like us as well. The restaurant seemed to be “full-house,” especially around lunch time. They offered value meals, as well as ala carte and group meals. The prices were quite affordable in my opinion.
Visiting the Kaybiang Tunnel in Ternate Cavite
Before heading home, Piccols wanted to bring us to the Kaybiang Tunnel, which was close by, so he drove us there to take some quick selfies. The Kaybiang Tunnel is a popular tourist spot as it is said to be the longest highway tunnel in the Philippines. The tunnel passes through the Mount Palay-Palay National Park, which is also known as Mt. Pico de Loro. It was built in 2009 and was opened to the public in 2013, to connect the towns of Ternate, Cavite and Nasugbu, Batangas.
It took us maybe about 20 to 30 minutes or so to reach Kaybiang Tunnel. En route to the tunnel, we spotted a sign pointing to the way to Puerto Azul. We found a family of chimps along the road, and paused there to take their picture. There were signs saying that you shouldn’t feed the wild animals, but tourists probably couldn’t help it as we saw a few handing them some junk food and whatnot.
Interestingly, there were also small hawkers selling fresh lobsters. Wow!
Upon arriving at the tunnel’s entrance, we encountered some local folks who asked if they could take our picture. We kindly refused as we had our own photographer with us, Piccols. We took a few photos, but it wasn’t as good as when you cross the end of the tunnel. So we had our picture taken again on the other side.
I needed to pee so bad so we stopped by a roadside canteen, which permitted us to use their toilet for free. We bought some snacks from their shop as our way of saying thanks. It was cool because I didn’t expect that their backyard would have a beautiful view of the sea. I was in awe and naturally took a picture. I was so happy that someday soon, I would be able to live close to a place like this.
On our way home, we passed by another scenic route with a view of the sea. We looked out for signs pointing to a roadside store selling “bibingkang bigas” or buns made from sticky rice. It’s similar to a rice cake, I suppose, and it’s a must take-home pasalubong for tourists. Luckily, we spotted the place, and we bought all the remaining pieces of bread. It sold out because of us. There was another customer after us, but sadly, we left them with nothing to buy haha.
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So that concludes our day trip to Maragondon and Ternate, Cavite. If ever you’re in my hometown, consider dropping by this area as there’s a lot of places and history to discover here. And if you want to buy your own forever plot of land here, live close to the beach and mountain regions, then I can recommend our agent to you. Happy travels!
