Discovering Taal Volcano

They say the best way to heal a broken heart is to travel - not to escape the pain but to see that there is more to life than what you're struggling from. 

I had to admit that lately, I've been in the darkest days of my life. So I had to seek for brightness, somewhere far. Just like this Taal Volcano which may sound dangerous to some but hides a marvelous view which is waiting to be appreciated despite of being labeled as a"monster" sometimes. 

It was a rainy Saturday, low pressure alert was all over the news yet we still pushed to go to Taal. We depart at 4:30 am from Shaw Blvd. via DLTB Bus going to Biga, we haven't prepared a decent itinerary because of our busy schedules, we just asked the around -- literally no idea, getting lost together! It was fun honestly! :) 

Walking along the streets of Batangas early in the morning is such a good feeling. It's like there's so much to discover! The DLTD Bus dropped us at Biga and from there, we took a jeepney going to Tanauan. Then took another 1-hour jeepney ride to Talisay and another 15-20 min. tricycle ride going to Taal Lake Yacht Club where my friends booked a tour for us ahead of time to avail a cheaper price rather than booking on the spot. As usual, I will give you a list of our expenses later. :)

Since it was a gloomy day, the place is not crowded. We had the place to ourselves! :P We sorted our stuff and decided to bring only important things because it might rain during the trek and we need to save our things from being wet and to avoid extra baggage as well. After sorting our things, we registered and signed up the waiver and headed to our boat!

Picturesque TLYC :)

 After a 45-minute boat ride, we arrived at the jumpoff point of the trek. Started the trek at around 9am, we were so excited to see the view of the Crater Lake.  My camera went dead and I got nervous because I can't seem to open it again. I thought it would give up on me too! :( Good thing it just needs a little rest!

Taken with Supremo 1

 There's not much assault but its still tiring because of the slippery trail. It had rained for days and even that day, the sun hasn't shown up.

There's this regular trail which most of the tourists choose you can ride a horse going to Taal Lake and the secret trail for the adventurous guys--of course we chose the latter! :D

That's Mt. Maculot at the back! Hoping to visit that mountain next time. This is the first time that I haven't packed a trail mix and food. Good thing we dropped by at Mcdo earlier and I got my self a cheesy pandesal. Oh God, Cheesy Pandesal is so much cheesier at the trail! Hahaha. I wish I bought two instead! :)

It's around 10 o'clock when we reached the Crater. Every drop of sweat was worth it! Despite of the gloomy weather, Taal's beauty is still undeniable! Nature never really failed to make me feel renewed. It's one thing I like about going places.

After appreciating the beauty above, we thought that was it! Our guide Rj said we're going up close the Crater! So we again went down to go closer to the Crater. We can see the smoke while going down which made us get more excited!

It's even more gorgeous down there. It's so ironic that no matter how it can be a danger sometimes, it's still a wonderful work of God. I guess that's how life is too-- no matter how hard it can be, there's something beautiful that is bound to happen that's why you can't hate it forever. 

So thankful for my "kaladkarin" friends for pushing this trip with me! You all knew I needed this and you supported me all the way! I will forever be grateful to have had friends like you and keep in mind that you can always count on me as well. :)

 It was past 12 o'clock when we headed back to TLYC. We washed up and rode a tricycle going to Tagaytay since we planned to stroll there before going back to Manila. It started to rain heavily even before we arrived in Tagaytay. We didn't expect too that it would be that long to travel from TLYC to Tagaytay. Boy, that was so tiring, was like more tiring than the trek. The road was very zigzag-y just like an intestine.

We we're quite hungry already and it was raining cats and dogs when we arrived that we didn't had the chance to search for a good place to eat. We wanted an authentic Bulalo and Lomi as we were talking about this at the trail. But the weather wasn't so cooperative that we ended up at the nearest place which I think was Papa Prito. It was a good place to eat, the food was good too! We ordered a bulalo but it didn't satisfy us. The pritong tawilis as good though and their tapa.

 We overheard a lady saying that Manila is already at the orange alert while we we're eating which made me worried about my daughter back home. Ate Jean suggested we stay overnight in Tagaytay because the streets are slippery and its dangerous to travel back home but I insisted I can't. We hurried to a nearest bus stop after eating. We we're soaking wet and was so cold that time, we didn't had the chance to explore Tagaytay. Maybe next time my dear, Tagaytay! :)

Our Itinerary

4:30 AM - Depart from Shaw via DLTB bus going to Biga
6:00 AM - Alight bus, ride a jeep going to Tanauan
6:30AM - Breakfast at Mcdo Tanuan Market
6:50 - 7:40 AM - Take a jeep going to Talisay (it's just a short walk from Mcdo, near 7 Eleven) then take a tricycle ride going to TLYC
7:50 AM - Register at TLYC, take a boat ride to Taal Lake
8:45 AM - Alight boat, ready for trek
9:00 AM - Start trek
9:30 AM - Arrival at Volcano
10:00 AM - Start descent to Crater Lake
10:15 - 10:50 AM - Explore the Lake
11:00 - 12:00 - Head back to TLYC, wash up
1:00 - 2:30 PM - Travel to Tagaytay
3:00 PM- Late lunch at Papa Prito's
4:00 PM - Take a bus going back to Manila

Expenses:

Bus Fare to Biga - Php87
Jeepney Fare to Tanauan - Php10
Jeepney Fare from Tanauan to Talisay - Php25
Tricycle Fare to TLYC - Php10 each
Tricycle Fare to Tagaytay - Php100 each
TLYC Tour Package - Php3,400 Prepaid Package(we paid via bank deposit) / 4 = Php850 each
Late Lunch at Papa Prito's - Php200 each
Bus Fare back to Manila -  Php90 (?) I forgot :(

Total: Php 1,362.00

Watch or Video here:


There you go guys! Our travel will be available soon! Blame the crappy internet connection, I've been uploading it for three days already. :(