Taal Volcano Trip

      Since Amadeo was only 8 kilometers away from Tagaytay to where Taal Volcano is clearly to be seen, we become very familiar to this place and no longer astonished of its beauty. I grew up seeing it and exposed to the local tourists which is pulling over from the highway just take pictures of it. I said ''yung mga taga-Maynila talaga sabik na sabik lagi sa Tagaytay e sawang sawa na nga kami dyan e.''

My clan owns a vast land in Tagaytay who is an original inhabitants of Tagaytay and Amadeo and my classmate said ''parang taga rito na kami'' 

Vulcan Point Island, Image courtesy of Alena Machalkova

         When I was young my dad and I used to pull over the highway in San Jose, Tagaytay and stand by each other and pray. He told me that when he was just 5 years old my grandpa and him went to Tagaytay just to watch the eruption of the Volcano in 1966. There were lavas,rocks and smoke coming off the Volcano and the rumble of  it can be experienced throughout the province.  

        In November 18,2012 we had a chance to hike and meet the volcano up close. My hiking partner was Alena Machalkova a Couchsurfer from Czech Republic which travels the world with a little amount of money and courage. She was a very adventurous person you won't run out of stories with her because she had been a lot of places in the world

Getting There:

From Manila you could take a bus bound for Tagaytay in the South West Interim Terminal in Paranaque City 

Image from Philstar.net

        The only place where you could go first is in Tagaytay which will cost you around 60 pesos. From Tagaytay you could ask some barkers beside the streets that offers Boat Ride but it will cost more especially when you're a foreign tourist it ranges from 2,500-3,000 a back and forth ride from the Talisay proper to the Volcano island the boat is good for 10 persons so it would be fun if you're in a group. You have to take a jeep from the Tagaytay proper down to Talisay I don't have any idea on how much the jeepney ride is but for sure it won't exceed 80 pesos.

       But in our case we had a car and drove it to Buco, Talisay proper and went to a resort that offers boat ride. Since Alena is very good in bargaining stuff she got the boat ride for only 1,000 Pesos. It still depends on the negotiation between you and the bankeros.

We parked the car in the resort and we just hopped in to the boat and sailed our way to the island.  It took us less than 30 minutes to get there.

After docking at the island we went to a tourism office and paid 20 pesos for its environmental fee. The front desk tourism officer advised us to get a Tour guide with us since we don't know where the trails are. Getting a tour guide is a must. If you can't hike through the top you could just rent a horse, that will cost you around 300-500 pesos still depends on the negotiation. Alena and I decided to hike and had a little chit chat with the tour guide here's a bits of info's that I had about the island. 

What is the Population of the Island? he said around 1,000. Is there a electricity here?, No only the tourism office has a generator. Do we have schools here?, we only have an elementary school here you just have to go to Talisay just to study High School and College. Do you have a church here? Yes we do its a Catholic church near the tourism office......the Island's fiesta is celebrated on December 29....That's my birthday. And the whole island is under the administration of Talisay, Batangas.

You should bring your own food and drinks because the goods here is ''extremely'' expensive. A bottle of Sprite costs about 12 Pesos in the proper when it is transported to the Island and sneak its way to the peak observation point of the volcano then it costs about 60 pesos. You'll absolutely know why. 

                                                                                             Halfway There!

And yes we reached the top! it was a very tiring day hiking through the rugged terrains and steep slopes of the island. I thought it was easy but IT'S NOT. 

An excellent view from the highest point of the Island. Tagaytay City can be seen in a very clear day. 

Time to go home, this was my first ever horse ride in my life that's why I'm posing with this horse and smiling with joy!. I won't take it anymore if  I would just walk again down to the plains of the island.