Time is an expensive resource and it can also give the simplest of joys – the experience of being isolated in the middle of a forest in a simple A-frame cabin with enough urban conveniences for a good sleep.
Following a narrow gravel trail which shoots out from the Marilaque Highway in Tanay is where that cabin is located, listed under the name “Off Grid Tiny Cabin & Campsite” in the Airbnb website. Built by its young owner, Jaime Lazatin, in 2021, the cottage quickly became a popular destination for couples and small families who sought refuge from the stay-at-home policy during the pandemic.
Making the choice to go to the Off-Grid Tiny Cabin is for the adventurous. There, trails defined by native trees lead to a long walk, or to a date with your mountain bike. Soon, the trails will also lead to a tour where guests will cook what they foraged in the forest which is thick with fruit bearing trees and food ingredients. The katmon tree in front of the cabin deck, for example, produces souring agent for sinigang for fish. Another souring agent for meat, the alupidan vine, is in the property, Lazatin said quite proudly of his part of the forest which hosts native trees. He enumerates them – avocados, cavendish, saba, red banana, tibig (fig) trees, kalamandarin trees (hybrid orange and kalamansi), santol. Recently, he harvested pineapple and papaya, and honey from the bee farm.
Lazatin’s plan to nurture the forest of native trees does not stop there. He encourages guests to plant a tree, choosing from his always available seedlings of native hardwood trees, like ipil, narra, mangkono, pitogo, and of fruit bearing trees, some of them rare, like native black rambutan, native raspberry, mango, passion fruit, pomegranate, lemon and vanilla. The place is on its way to becoming an orchard.
It's rare to find a special place where you step into another world of the real outdoors. The tent sitting on a bamboo platform overlooking a bike trail, and the A-frame cabin with a glass wall perched on an elevated open lanai presents a new way to take in the outdoors as you fall asleep and wake in the early morning. (A large space where you can set up tents can turn the place into a campsite.)
At the Tiny Cabin, an adventurous spirit will find something new that can last longer than a sunburn. I found inspiration to write a story that’s long been percolating in my mind, sitting under the sky and breathing the scent of morning. The night before, I found the simple joy of conversation without a purpose. We used to call that – shooting the breeze – talking about nothing in particular. If you can afford the luxury of time, it's not a waste of time to explore the unfinished sentences of friends.
The Tiny Cabin’s isolation comes with comfortable amenities that any adventurer will appreciate. The bathroom, located about a dozen steps from the cabin, is finely-designed, with a rain shower and hot water tempered by an LPG heater. The kitchen counter located away from the lanai is fully-equipped with cooking implements, a stove, even an electric ice maker! There’s a ref in the dining area a few step away, and a bonfire pit that invites late night shooting-the-breeze talk.
The amenities that will be appreciated will be the strong internet connection and the assistance of a caretaker who brews good Batangas coffee. The fact that the property – and all its electricity – is run by solar power is a good food for thought. Lazatin’s system harvests the sun’s energy through solar panels and saves that in batteries that feed the lights, the refrigerator, coffee maker, rice cooker, ice maker.
Stay for the night, or two, or three. I could only afford time for an overnight stay, and wish for a time I could go back.
At Off Grid Tiny Cabin & Campsite, the cool evening air is like a tender massage. The sleep that comes is restful. The morning fog that veils the forest is lovely. And if you need time to reflect on what comes next, you’ll likely get the start of the answer you seek.
Your closest neighbor there is a tiny farm house whose design is worth some thought on what we find most relevant in our lives. If the owner is there, and he is in the mood to talk to strangers, he’ll likely invite you to enter his tiny house where a well-designed kitchen counter, a ref, and a bed, share a three-meter space. A glass sliding door opens to a balcony deck where two antique chairs, several folded camping chairs, and a chest freezer share space – and faces a dense forest. Outside, there’s room for tents and car campers too.
If you still have the spirit of adventure and can afford the time, perhaps you’ll spend a day or two at the tiny cabin of my friend Jaime. I found more than a story there; I discovered friends.
(Off-Grid Tiny Cabin is some 50 kilometers from Quezon City.)