Exploring Philippines 113 - Taal Volcano Crater (Post 5 - Trek to the Crater)

When we asked around for a trip towards the town of San Nicolas, we were directed to the old market place where we could either take a jeepney or a tricycle ride towards that town.  Since it was still early in the morning, a jeepney in a terminal will have to wait until all seats are taken and that means we have to wait for some time.  Instead, we hired a tricycle for the five of us but the fare was higher than usual because according to the drivers, at this time of the day, there will be no returning passengers from San Nicolas to Lemery and it will cost them some gasoline for an unpaid return trip.  The fare was reasonable enough for us, thus, we agreed to take a tricycle ride.

The ride from Lemery to San Nicolas was enjoyable and wonderful.  The ride was enjoyable in the sense that we happened to fill our lungs with unpolluted country air and we seldom saw vehicles within our route.  That particular morning proved to be wonderful because the sun was slowly rising and it was one rare occasion where we appreciate a sunrise.  The bright morning sun was promising a brighter and wonderful day ahead of us.  And under 20 minutes of ride, we alighted at plaza of San Nicolas which is several meters away from Taal lake.

From the town’s plaza, we heartily walked towards the lake.  We were anticipating that there were available boats going to the island volcano just like in the town of Talisay.  But we happened to see only one boat and it is used as a patrol boat of local authorities within the lake’s premises of San Nicolas.  We asked around for a possible boat rental with some locals whom we saw and they directed us to follow the nearby shoreline where there’s a small community of fishermen in the area.

After more than 10 minutes of walking, we came across some fishermen who were already up early and were busy preparing their things for the morning catch.  We asked around for a possible ride towards the island volcano but the locals were clueless.  It seemed that our planned activity will fail.

Since we have two charming ladies in the group, Leah and Cha, we let them do the negotiations.  Eventually, an idle fisherman talked to the owner of a boat and agreed afterwards to accompany us to the island volcano.  We were charged 1200 pesos including the return trip.  The fare actually was a bit higher compare with the boat ride in Talisay. We agreed with the fare because the route to Taal volcano is farther on this part of Batangas and secondly, there is no known commercial boat within the vicinity.

Since the boat that we rented is not dedicated in bringing tourists to the volcano island, there is no life vest onboard. The boatman/guide assured us that the boat can carry the six of us safely across the lake.  Though we were nervous and only a couple of us can really swim, the call of adventure was already there and there was no backing out. 

We boarded the boat before 7 am.  It was indeed a good day for an outdoor adventure and as we cross the lake, the water proves to be sleepy.  If there were waves we encounter, they were the ones coming from our boat and there were some being caused by the morning wind in the middle part of the lake.  We passed also along the fish cages located several meters away from the lake’s shore where a large volume of fresh water fish, mostly tilapia and bangus are raised.  That particular morning, the water in the lake reflected the clear morning sky and we could see clearly beneath the lake’s surface.  Since it was a smooth ride, our attentions were diverted to the surrounding environment most especially towards the waiting island volcano.

It took us more than 30 minutes of ride before we reached our drop off point.  We came upon a first possible drop off point and we got excited right away.  But our boatman/guide took us farther to another community.  The community that he brought us has more houses and a bit populated compared with the first one where there are only less than 10 houses.  We learned later on that our boatman/guide is actually a part of this community before he migrated to San Nicolas and from we heard, he is not able to visit this community for several years already.  It was sort of a reunion for him and his comrades here.

The moment we landed on the shore of the island volcano, we were greeted by the locals.  It was good that our boatman/guide knows the people in this community and it was easy for him to call someone to our guide towards the volcano.  It was April 3, 2011 when we set foot on this island volcano and at this particular time, no visitors came to this place because the Philvocs issued an alert level 2 warning.  For a couple of weeks, there were tremors on the volcano and a fear of eruption could happen any given time.  With the situation at hand, we asked some of the locals in this community about their plans in evacuating the place.  They just laughed off the idea of leaving their community because according to them, they have experienced the same thing during their entire stay on this island and yet no major volcanic eruption takes place.  They further added that if ever the volcano will indeed erupt, the animals will be restless and that will be their cue to leave the island.  But at that particular time, it was life as usual for all of them.

While our boatman/guide joined the early morning drinking spree with his buddies, a native to this island served as our guide towards the view deck of the volcano.  He remarked to us that we were already late even if it was just 7:30 in the morning.  He said that a good trek towards the volcano normally starts before the sunrise to avoid the heat of the sun.  And he was correct.  At this early, the heat of the sun could already be felt and most probably, the place also contributed to the heat that we felt.  Since it was summer, the place dry and dusts were all over the place at the start of our hike.  As we followed the trail, there were hardly shades from the trees that could shield us from the heat of the sun.  The brown environment was overwhelming including the very ground which adds more heat as we progress towards the top of the mountain.  For inexperienced hikers, it was really a challenge to cover the almost 30-minute trek towards the view deck of the volcano. 

The moment we started our trek, the lads in their horses followed us and offered a ride.  Their initial offer was 1500 pesos and we were shocked of the rate.  The last time when we were on the other side of the volcano, the rate was only 500 but it has gone tripled on this part of the island.  We were told by our guide that the rate was a bit higher because there were no tourists for several weeks because of the warning issued by the government.  The lads continued to tag along and as we made our progress, the rate even dropped to 800 pesos.  But since we were committed and determined to complete the whole stretch towards the view deck, we opted to walk. 

An upward climb is always the hardest.  It would be a good climb if the temperature is tolerable but as the sun heats up the place, we were catching our breath most of the time.  And for several occasions, we spent some time resting in order because it was like we were already running out of oxygen.  And just like what our guide told us earlier, we need to start hiking before the sun rises because it would not be a walk in park anymore the moment the heat of the sun becomes intolerable. 

After a not-so-good display of stamina, at last, we reached the view deck.  And the feeling was simply rewarding.