Manila 2009 Day 3

Would be going to Taal Volcano in the Tagaytay (pronounced as Tah-gah-tai) province today! What makes it spectacular is that the Taal Volcano is actually a 'mini' (don't underestimate, it is still considered to be active) volcano within a larger volcano (but what remains of it now is just its extinct crater as it was largely blasted off during a violent eruption in the past).

Slug's brother had hired a local driver, Moses, considered to be their family 'chauffeur' for long trips, to take us there. Went to a weekend market to buy some snacks first. It sold lots of their local foodstuffs that we were unfamiliar with.

Couldn't figure what these were

Wow, large bags of candy floss

Macadamia nuts

Then we began an approximate two-hour journey to the Tagaytay province. It was uncomfortable with 5 adults and 2 kids squeezed into the car, and as the car cruised smoothly along the highways, Slug and I soon fell asleep. After travelling along the Tagaytay Ridge (the crater), we soon reached the place to take a boat ride across the Taal Lake to get to the Taal volcano itself.

Budget accommodation near the scenic Taal Lake

Taal Volcano sitting on Taal Lake

On the boat

Slug's brother and his two adorable nieces

We reached the coast of the Taal Volcano, and some locals approached us to hire their horses which could take us up to the peak of the volcano. Alternatively, we could choose to hike all the way up but it would take a torturous one-hour hike under the blazing sun. Slug and I rejected the offer (didn't want the horse to suffer under the weight of near-100-kg Slug), but the horse-owners were very persistent, taunting us and saying that we would give up hiking halfway so we might as well just hire their horses. We were all quite irritated by them so we decided to prove them wrong by beginning the first step of the hike on our own feet (we did hire one horse for the young ones, though).

Much to our annoyance, the horse owner tailed behind us hoping that we would change our minds. We walked through some small valleys whereby every step we took made the fine sand and dust rise up and coat our legs. In fact, we were inhaling all these things.

Through the valleys

Through the trees

On an unshaded part of the trail

Gazing at Taal Lake and the Tagaytay Ridge beyond

The horse owner waiting to see when we would surrender

There were some parts of the slope which were quite hot to step on and had rocks emitting steam out of the crevices, scary!

Steam emitted from the rocks

These layered rocks (accumulated layers of lava over time) thrilled the geographer in me

A distance away from the volcano peak

Looking down at where we came from

More dusty valleys to go through

Horse owners

As we neared the peak, the horse owner decided to give up tailing us and returned back to ground to wait for potential business from other tourists. We finally reached the peak, hot, thirsty and sweaty. There was a mini bazaar there selling all kinds of knickknacks, from coconut juice to T-shirts, from bags to sunglasses.

Souvenirs at the bazaar

As we peered into the volcano, we were disappointed to find that it was not like what we expected - hot bubbling orange lava. Instead, what was inside the volcano was just water. The inner walls of the volcano were even full of vegetation - it really did not look like a volcano to us.

The water inside Taal volcano

Another mini volcano inside this mini volcano?

Mesmerizing ripples and waves forming on the water

The densely vegetated inner walls of Taal volcano

Steam emitted from the rocky walls inside the volcano

Posing for pictures at the viewpoint

A tempting hiking trail branching away from the viewpoint

When we had our fill of the scenery, we descended the slope and back to ground. Then it was a boat ride back to Tagaytay Ridge, where we had an expensive and yucky dinner at Chowking. Slug's brother bought some pineapples from a roadside stall as Tagaytay is well-known for the juicy and saccharine pineapples that they grow. It was a two-hour journey back to Manila because there were jams along the highways.

Tagaytay Ridge in the background

Some station that measures for any volcanic activity underneath

The horse owners

A mother hen and her cute brood

View of Taal volcano and Taal Lake from Tagaytay Ridge

A pineapple plantation on a small hill

Back at Slug's brother's home, we enjoyed the sweet pineapples while watching cable TV till midnight. There were even fireworks at two separate areas near the house, but God knows what occasion they were for.

Fireworks