Taal, The Volcano and the Town

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 That morning I met up with Ma'am Angi, Sir Steven and the group. We were traveling to Taal Volcano, listed in the book "1000 places to see before you die". We took the Cavite route, towards Tagaytay. We took the zigzag road downhill to Talisay, Batangas. Its is known as Sungay(meaning horn), because of the sharp turns. We went to Taal Yacht club, rented a boat to take us to the main island. Taal voclano is known as "A Lake within a Volcano Within a Lake Within an Island". After lunch, we sailed on. The waters is not too friendly. We kept on tasting splashes of lake water but it was fun, like semi-white water rafting.

sulfur vents
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At the base point, there are people offering horse rides and facial masks. The path to the volcano ridge is narrow, dusty and full of horse manure. We had to steer away every time a horse passes by, which is most of the time. Many people were annoyed by it. The masks are not for the sulfur fumes we imagined but for the dust combined with horse poop. hehe. There should have been a separate path for the horses. It's sad that Department of Tourism kept on marketing our local tourism but they always take for granted infrastructures needed. Like for example in Palawan, the airport is very close to ruins and as I have learned it was built by the Air force, decades ago. I just hope if they want the Philippines to be known for its wonders, they should have planned and done something.

Adventure and historical discoveries

on the way to the top
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There are lots of tourist from different sides of the globe, as if there is a "UN Convention". The trek is fun, and the views magnificent. It was truly worth it when we reached the mouth of the volcano. The lake inside is truly one of a kind. I was thinking it would be small but is has a very large expanse so imagine the destruction it gave during it's explosions. The main island itself has several volcanos in it. There are more or less 14 eruptions. We also walked to the Pulang Bato(Red Rock), where sulfur vents at the sides of the rock formation.

pulang bato
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That afternoon, too exhausted we took a short nap in a hotel in Tagaytay. And on that night we had dinner at Mushroom Burger. I ate Pancit Canton, it has a different taste and it's light.

On our second day, We were going to Taal, the Town. The town is far from the Volcano itself. We had a stop over at Mahogany Market. There are lots of fruits and veggies. That's why it is nice to live up there, with the nice climate and the fresh harvest. We bought some fruits like Chesa and Guyabano(soursop). And when we but kakanin, there would always be free-taste. Sweet!!!

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Then we drove off to Lemery then past the bridge to Taal Town. It is where the rich and the political people lived during the Spanish Era. We first visited Taal Basilica, the largest church in Asia. The original was was built in 1575 in another location and was destroyed in one of the eruptions in 1754, rebuilt in the actual location in 1755. Every time the volcano erupts, towns are relocated/reshuffled, so towns are not on their original locations. The dome still has the original painting.

Ma'am Angi and Me
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At lunch time, we ate at Taal Bistro Restaurant. We enjoyed their native food, Tapang Taal(fried pork marinated in soy sauce) and Enseladang Talong(Eggplant salad with red egg,onions, tomato and green mango). Their chicken is also delicious.

After which we roamed around the town itself. We first visited the Shrine of Our Lady of Caysasay. They say it's miraculous. Legend says a fisherman found the image floating at sea. The image was protected by two Caysaysay birds, hence the name. We took 100 plus steps down to reach the church. We also visited the Sta. Lucia wells, with miraculous waters. It is part of a sunken church.

I reached the crater
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We roamed the streets again, saw the ancestral houses, but too our dismay, they were closed because they say its a holiday. I told them. The heritage town Vigan is too far from the Manila, but tourists go there, and they don't close. Unlike Taal, which is accessible from Manila, but few people knew that there is a heritage town there. They lack effort on their tourism.

Taal is known for piña clothe embroideries. Marcela Agoncillo, the one who embroidered the first Philippine flag lived there. People travel to buy Barong and Balisong there. When I asked the lady how long it takes to finish one design, she said it took her 6 months. wow! There are also lots of shops selling gowns, for weddings, Sagalas, and what have you. Some are classy and some are whimsical as if it came out of a story book. We went to the market bought some authentic pasalubong like, Tablea(pure chocolate for hot choco), ube(purple yam), Tapang Taal, and suman( sticky rice cooked in coconut milk with sugar which is wrapped in banana leaf).

Taal Volcano Crater
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We returned to Tagaytay on our way back to Manila. There are mounds of pineapples at the side of the road. We bought some, they are in different sizes. And we passed by Mahogany Market again to buy more fruits, like jackfruit, Señorita bananas, and Ube. At dinner time we ate Bulalo(beef bone marrow soup). On the Sta. Rosa route, we bought some Collette's Buko Pie for pasalubong.

All in all, our short trip was fun, full of adventure and we cultural/historical discovery of the past. Batangas is such a rich province, there are lots to see and experience. And it is also fun to travel with different people who treats you as family. It is a refreshing experience.