Lamyerda: Trip to Taal

I have been to Tagaytay so many times that I lost count. My father was originally from Cavite and so we vacation there from time to time. A friend also lives there so we basically go to restaurants there when we visit. I have seen Taal so many times as well as most restaurants we go to has an overlooking view of Taal. But I have never actually been there and when the chance came to go there, I quickly grabbed it. Over the holy week, my boss decided to suddenly come to the Philippines and do some business stuff. So I was able to meet up with my online workmates and also meet my boss. With that, me and my other workmate decided to go to Tagaytay and to Taal.

This is my boss. He does handstands on the streets during his spare time.

I was not prepared for the trip down Taal. I know it would be a long way down, but had no idea it would be a bit more extreme than I anticipated. You see, it was raining a bit but luckily, on the way down, it did not rain much, but it drizzled a bit. We actually just rode a tricycle down and I was riding at the back so that was the extreme part for me. I can basically feel the trike swivelling a bit and creating strange sounds as it twisted and turned with the road. To give you an idea how twisty and turny the road is, here is a map. I did not dare take a photo while on the trike.

We arrived at Talisay and what looked like a beach resort of some sort that rents boats to tourists. We waited a while but the boat costs PHP3,000 I think. The boat ride took about 30 minutes and it was a nice boat ride. It was a lake so it wasn’t as bumpy as when it is at sea.

Upon arriving, we were greeted by many many vendors of some sort. Everything has to be paid for. From the photos, to the dust mask. Not that it’s an issue for me, but it is kind of annoying how some of them keeps on selling you your photo that they printed even if you do not want it. We had to ride a horse to the top of the crater and I forgot how much we paid for it exactly, but I think we separately paid for the horse and guide for PHP1,000. It was a dusty ascent and there were a lot of tourists during this time. There was even a bit of horse traffic as we were about to go up to where the horses should be tied up.

Being on top of a crater is pretty cool. You know it’s a volcano but feel a bit oblivious to this fact as you look down the water filled crater of Taal. There were actually some glowing substances below the surface of the water and I wonder if it’s lava. There was a tiny island on the water and I can even see a sort of wooden structure there that may mean that there are people who actually go there.

  

We went down after a few minutes as the heat was unbearable. At the same time, the clouds looked menacing and we wanted to get back to Talisay before it turns into rain. It was a lot quicker getting down and soon we were heading back to Talisay to get back on that extremely winding road.

Lamyerda: To Hermana Menor Island

Summer is for going to the beach so since I wanted to make the last hurrah for summer, I went along with a friend who invited me to go to Hermana Menor. It is an Island in Sta. Cruz Zambales, which is 3 to 4 hours away from my home city, Olongapo City. I saw photos of it and it looked really untouched and the water is really gorgeous. We spent, approximately PHP1,500 more or less. These includes the bus fare, the snacks and meals, the boat fare, hut rental, tricycle fare and the bathroom fee (we kind of had to use a bathroom owned by locals there to wash off the sand).

To get to the island, we had to get to this Petron station and ride a tricycle to go in further to where the boat we rented waited for us. We left at about 2 am and rode a bus ride from hell to Sta. Cruz. I say bus ride from hell because we rode an unairconditioned bus that basically blows off your face and does not let you adjust your seat to get comfortable enough to sleep. I actually woke up with a bit of a concussion since I was sleeping through the ride (yes, sleeping, I was tired) and I may have bumped my head while the bus careened through the sleepy streets of Zambales. We had to go through some murky waters to ride the boat and balance ourselves in there. It was fine for me, though, as I was kind of used to floods. :P

It took about 30 to 40 minutes, I think, to get to the island. It was not exactly sunny when we arrive so the waves are a bit rough and we were screaming our lungs out every time the boat hits some high waves. But we eventually got there in one piece.

There is a curious structure here in this island and some mentioned that someone actually owned the island, so some parts of it are not accessible to visitors. There was also an abundance of trash when we got there that may have been blown in by a previous storm.

There's a cute puppy that kept making friends with us but I'm sure it was because he wanted some food. But he was so cute and friendly that it is just hard not to pet him.

The beach and the water are so clear that it is such a joy to just stay there even when I know that I will get sunburnt after this. I did put on some SPF but I feel that it won’t be enough to combat the sun.

All in all, it was a great experience and it was a truly beautiful island. I hope that people would be more mindful of their trash though. I saw bottles of liquor there and plastic and various trash. The people who take care of the island and gets fees should try to maintain the cleanliness as well and hopefully, the island stays as untouched and as beautiful a few years from now.