Explore Luzon: Enjoying the view of Mt. Arayat from NLEX, Grape-picking in Caba La-union, and resting at Ma-Cho Temple in San Fernando

Hey there everyone, good day! This is the second part of the Explore Luzon series. If you have been following this account, I have shared in my previous post about Tagaytay and Taal Volcano as well as our coffee experience in Pampanga.

As I have mentioned in my previous post, we left Manila early in the morning so we will not get stuck in traffic and take NLEX going North. NLEX by the way is short for 'North Luzon Expressway' and is a highway network that connects Manila to the provinces of Luzon. There are many phases of the projects as you moved further north but I will not discuss that here. It is the most convenient and fastest way of traveling north but could be costly although there are major thoroughfares that connect towns which are absolutely free of toll fees.

We reached Pampanga early in the morning and had our breakfast at a major stopover. We had a few mishaps and wrong turns along the way, leading us to the wrong exit. But the good thing is, it led us to breathtaking views and glorious sunrise. One is the stunning Mt. Arayat. It is an active volcano by the way but is open for mountain climbers just in case you are interested in climbing the peak.

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Grape Picking in Caba La-union

The grape picking was not really part of the itinerary but because we were not able to find Thunderbird Hotel we decided to stop at Caba La-union where the vineyard is located. Thunderbird is also located in La-union and is a beautiful seaside hotel. We felt bad we did not make it.

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There are many vineyards in Caba but their main crops for farming are garlic, rice, tobacco, and sugarcane. For some reason people got interested in grapes as they are a high yielding crop as the local farmer told us.

If you have plans of visiting one of the vineyards, do not worry, the signs going to the area are almost everywhere. People are even waving their placards on the roadside about grape picking. It took us several signs before we decided to stop and ask for directions.

There was a P200 entrance fee but you get to pick and eat the grapes to your content for free. If you will be taking out it is P200 per kilo. They have grapes by-products too like wines and juices as well as pastry and dried fish local to the area. We bought some of their products as support to the local farmers.

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It was not a superior variety of grape you will find in the supermarket but the tangy and subtle taste makes its flavor unique and interesting. I did not really expect that much as our climate is not perfect for those grape varieties but kudos to these farmers for at least trying to propagate the fruit I thought is only possible outside of the country.

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Ma-Cho Temple (Taoist Temple)

From Caba, we drive around an hour via McArthur highway to San Fernando La-union where the temple is located. It was almost 12 noon when we arrived. The verdant temple definitely refreshes us from the excruciating heat. It has a manicured landscape with huge trees everywhere. And the view overlooking the China Sea and the sleepy town of San Fernando was so relaxing.

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The Temple is located in the hills of San Fernando and was built around September of 1975. Anyone can visit the temple and there are no entrance fees. There is an area on the upper floor where you can burn incense and pray. There is also a donation box If you would like to support the temple.

So, I hope you enjoy the photo dump as I do not have any words to explain the details. It was the second Taoist temple I have visited thus far. The first was the one we have here in Cebu City.

You can check some details here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ma-Cho_Temple

Have you been roadtrippin NLEX before? Or enjoy the temple of Ma-Cho? How about grape picking in La-union? Tell us in the comment below.