DocFun & the TAAL VOLCANO, Talisay on the eve of Typhoon Odette

My Taal Volcano adventure was a physically challengingexperience.  The journey started in Matabungkay Beach Resort where we concluded our Calatagan expedition.  The journey was a circumnavigation of the Taal Lake where it took the entire morning to reach our destination in Talisay, Batangas.  We passed by many interesting towns where I plan on visiting in my next adventures.

When we finally had to stopover for a bathroom break, the bus incidentally stopped at a gas station right beside the Mabini Shrine. So with my trusted Nikon camera, I alighted the bus and paid homage to a hero of the Philippine Revolution and took some photographs of the place.  This is where Apolinario Mabini. the "Sublime Paralytic" and a hero of our fight against Spanish colonizers was laid to rest in his homewtown.  I also plan on visiting this shrine again together with my next visit in the Tanauan ruins.

The circumnavigation of the Taal Lake was filled with mishaps that fortunately we all arrived safely in our destination.  The bus almost figured in a collision with a long truck in one of the hairpin loops in the Cuenca highlands and another one in Talisay where the left sideview mirror was hit by an oncoming truck.  Our bus driver must have miscalculated the width of the road where I presumed was too narrow for two big vehicles.  Talisay is a coastal town which was declared as a protected area in helping protect the ecosystem of the Taal Lake.  This is also where most of the jump-off for the crossing across the lake takes place.  Boat rides across the lake is regulated by the tourism authority of  the town.

Passenger embarkation in the boats is strictly controlled by a dispatcher.  A group of seven is the required and safe capacity of each boat.  No one is allowed to get on the boat without having your name listed in the passenger manifest.  The boat was equipped with a 4-cylinder manual transmission gasoline engine that glides smoothly over the water surface at a fast speed.  Speed is necessary to navigate the high waves of the lake and avoid being capsized.  The lake crossing was an exciting trip which was both scary for some but excitng and thrilling for other.  Our boat was jumping over the waves and we were soaked wet to our underwear as water splashes into the boat everytime we hit the waves.  Some waves are higher than the boat which elicited a lot of shrieks and screams from the female passengers.  My immediate concern at the moment was not getting my camera wet inside the bag because water was splashing literally everywhere and not even myu hidden bag was spared.  Luckily the camera was still dry when we reached the other side.

I almost forgot to tell the most exciting part of this story.  We went to this island on the eve of Typhoon Odette's arrival.  So we were met by tall, rugged waves, strong rains, gusty winds, slippery mud and horse crap-laden trail.  There was danger all around but we just view all these as challenges.  The highlight and ultimate objective of the trip of course is reaching the summit or edge of the crater.  At first I was reluctant in proceeding because of my condition.  However, I just asked myself "If not now, when?" and as simple as the question entered my mind, I immediately started the trek towards the top.  The trek was really challenging but I was not going to falter, nor was I disappointed as I got the first glimpse of the landscape from at least 3 kilometers uphill from the basecamp.