Taal Volcano Crater via Balete, Batangas

This post is my day trip experience at Balete, Batangas-Taal Volcano's Crater and Lake.  
My apologies for posting this late.
P.S.  This blog post is loaded with pictures!  I tried so hard to keep it to a minimum.  :p

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Come to think of it, I've been to Tagaytay plenty of times since I was a kid and mesmerized by the beauty of Taal Lake and Taal Volcano, but I haven't gone to both, up-close.  Not until last 21st of October (2012) where I, along with fellow blogger/local travel enthusiast Tim and his sister, Mikee, were invited by Meet Manila, Ms. Riva Galveztan of Casa Marana, and Balete, Batangas Mayor Joven Hidalgo to experience a day tour at Taal Volcano via Balete.  I haven't heard of the town (Balete) before, so that's a good start.  Exploring a new place is definitely a plus!

To kick-start our trip, we all met at Magallanes Shell Station around six in the morning.  We instantly found our shared traits on the hour trip to Balete.  Having found fellow local traveling enthusiasts and possible future travel buddies was an accomplishment!  I've been trying to look for such and I finally met them.  

If you're taking a car for the trip, take SLEX and exit at Sto. Tomas heading towards Star Tollway.  Take Malvar Exit from there, then turn right at Barangay Bulihan and straight to Balete.  Follow road signage to Punto Miguel Lakeshore for the sightseeing boat tour.

If you're commuting, take any  bus to Lipa-Tanuan.  Drop off at Levi Town in Lipa and take a jeepney or a tricycle to Balete Municipal Hall.  Behind it is where Punto Miguel Lakeshore is situated (fronting Taal Lake).

But for our group, instead of heading straight to the lake, we went to Mayor Joven's humble abode just three minutes away from Punto Miguel.  As soon as we hopped off the van, we were welcomed warmly by Mayor Joven and his wife, along with his staff.  

bottom left:  Mayor Joven Hidalgo; right: our breakfast c/o Mayor Joven

Hospitable at its finest!  Fried tilapia, sinigang na tilapia, rice, suman, and kapeng barako for breakfast.  Yum! :)

No need for sugar on their suman.  Kapeng barako is my fave coffee, ever!

According to Mayor Joven, Balete is a former barangay of Lipa City.  The town now serves as the gateway to Taal Volcano and its crater.  Unlike the usual route from Talisay, there's a trek that will lead you to the crater from Balete's side of the volcano.  Since the town is fairly new to tourists (local and foreign), Mayor Joven and his municipality are very enthusiastic on developing their side of town, and us, bloggers, are very willing to help promote the place.  By 2013, the local government will start developing the shoreline of Balete by putting infrastructures for tourism, which is a great place to open businesses too, thus more jobs for the locals.  :)  That's what I like most about Mayor Joven, he is working his way to develop his community, focusing on tourism and discipline, as it will generate income to the town.  That's why I asked if there's any historical landmarks around the area that would add to their tourist destinations, but he, unfortunately, said that it no longer stand since the historical church (I forgot the name) was put down by the landowner and barricaded it with high walls.  Though there's Marian Orchard at Barangay Malabanan in Balete.  It's a spiritual place for religious tourists.  Will definitely check it out some time soon.

Top left:  our boat to the volcano; top right: Mayor Joven leading us towards the port at Punto Miguel Lakshore.
bottom left:  (left-right) Mikee, Tim, me, Mayor Joven, Riva;  center-right:  our entourage c/o Mayor Joven

Right after breakfast, we walked our way towards Punto Miguel led by the mayor himself.  He wasn't able to tag along on the trip due to his commitments that day.  We were then accompanied by his staff and local policemen.  That's what you call entourage ;)  Wow, we're definitely pampered and secured! :)

Gloomy weather at Taal Lake.  Refer to where the arrow's pointing at, that's the volcano's rim.

top: Tagaytay City (see those three buildings, I believe that's SM Wind Residences.  I really don't like condos); the mountain on the far right is Mt. Mapayong.
bottom:  nearing Taal Volcano's shoreline.

top left:  touchdown Balete side of Taal Volcano
top right:  Tim, Riva, Jener and Arianna
center left:  Jener and Mang Itoy (one of our tourist guides), Kuya Mar (Ms. Riva's driver), and Police Officer Rara Layon
bottom:  my horse, Angelica (named after the actress, Angelica Panganiban, seriously)
bottom right:  one of the steep treks towards the crater.

Honestly, it was my first time riding a horse.  I even thought they were ponies because they look small for a horse! LOL.  I'm more of a trekker, but since everyone's riding, I gave it a try too.  I kept on petting Angelica, telling her to take care of me.  :p  I'm quite anxious on the entire ride due to the steep slopes.  Oh, by the way the entire trip was sponsored by Mayor Joven Hidalgo (much thanks, Mayor!).

Here are some tips on this trip towards the crater:

• Be at Punto Miguel by 6AM so that you'll be at Taal Volcano right before 7AM and start trekking and be back before noon to avoid the extreme sun rays. 
• Wear long sleeves, pants, cap, and trekking/rubber shoes whether you trek by foot or riding a horse since there are large weeds with razor-sharp edges along the way and it's usually scorching hot (when it's sunny, of course).
• Beware of steep roads.
• Bring raw eggs :)

top:  At the ridge.  Stopover.  overlooking Taal Lake and Mount Maculot (behind me is Taal Volcano's crater)
bottom:  Taal Volcano's Crater

overlooking Taal Lake and Mt. Maculot

top left:  our sort-of-terminal from the ridge.  Hop onto that big rock so you could hop on your horse easily.
top right:  The crater.  The sandy-like shore on the right is where we'll be heading at that time.
bottom left:  Look at that rainbow-like crater lake.  Beautiful!
bottom right:  It's just me fixing my clothes after my jump shot :p

Too bad we hadn't brought raw eggs with us so we could boil it into the crater lake.  Might as well wear your swimsuits under your shirt and pants so you could have a quick dip at the lake.  I happen to just dip my hands and it really was soothing.

We then headed back after 45 minutes of exploring the crater, though I wasn't able to see if there's boiling mud pool or steam coming off from the ground on the other side of the crater lake.  So, yeah, bummer.

The entire horseback riding-trek, back and forth, took us only half an hour.

top right:  That used to be Gringo Honasan's resort
center right:  Bird Sanctuary
bottom left:  Binintiang Malaki
bottom right:  Mang Itoy, one of our tourist guides

Aside from the Taal Volcano crater, there's more to explore around Taal Lake.  This is not usually included on a regular packaged trip to the volcano island, but you could request this side trip to your bangkero with additional cost (that you have to haggle).

We were able to see the bird sanctuary around the volcano island, floating fishing pens up-close, a dog swimming in the middle of the lake (weird yet cute), Binintiang Malaki up-close (where it's mistakenly pointed as Taal Volcano by many, and Mang Itoy informed us that it's part of the volcano, though it's not the "core"); and saw Pulo-Pulo, small islands near Mt. Mapayong (named after an umbrella because of it's cone-shaped top).  If only I had zoom and wide lenses, I would be able to take better pictures of Kasiles (white and brown long-neck birds) and Tagaks (white long-neck birds), and the picturesque view of Taal Lake.

We even had white-water-rafting-like experience on some parts of the lake due to northeast monsoon and, boy, that was fun, yet kind of scared for our gadgets' sake haha!  We weren't able to bring our dry bags since we weren't expecting this side trip prompted by Mang Itoy.  A very thrilling ride indeed! :)  I should start saving for a waterproof camera/flip video camera for these kind of trips.

The entire Taal Lake ride took us 2 hours, as far as I can remember.  So there goes our appetite for late lunch at Mayor Joven's house.

top:  Barangay Sala where Mayor Joven's house is situated.
bottom:  Fried tilapia and adobo for our late lunch.  Yum!  Galit-galit lahat hahaha

Since Mayor Joven wasn't around, we left Barangay Sala and went to Cintai, Corito's Garden and experience Bali in Balete.  That's another post, dear reader.

The proposed itinerary for Taal Volcano Crater via Balete, Batangas after the jump.  :)

Corregidor

a very late post..

After a decade, I was able to revisit Corregidor through Sun Cruises tours last September 9th.  It was supposed to be an overnight stay at the island since I want to experience the walking/ghost tour this time, but Sun Cruises effed up (my apologies for the term as I can't think of anything synonymous to it) with my reservation two days before the tour.  Their reason, there's no ferry on my way back the next day.  I've had my reservation a month before and it was all settled.  If I hadn't confirmed on the scheduled tour due to the gloomy weather a couple of days prior, I wouldn't have known about the matter and would be left jaded and clueless at the island if I stayed for the night.  The Php 1,500 worth of overnight trip at the island plus the dinner at the cruise wasn't worth it at all because of their failure to remind their tourists of the situation and their incapability to strategically book a tour.  Well, they refunded the Php 500-worth of overnight stay at the island (which I got discounted from the tourism expo held at SMX).  And because I loathe their service, I don't feel like availing their dinner cruise even if it was included on the package.  That was my ordeal with Sun Cruises.  Hope you don't have to go through such.

Get your tickets/stickers at the counter on Sun Cruises at the harbor upon arrival for your seat number (ferry) and bus number (tour).  Left Manila past 7:00 AM

Good thing, Corregidor made my day.  

Formerly known as Fort Mills, the island of Corregidor served as Manila's citadel from attacks on enemy warships during World War II.  Though the island is way closer to Mariveles, Bataan, it falls under the jurisdiction of Cavite City (the town, not the entire province of Cavite.  There are still some Filipinos who connects 'city' to Cavite, like Bacoor, Cavite City, which isn't the case.  They should stop at Cavite, that's it.  Cavite City is a town where the naval station, Sangley Point, is situated).

The guided tour kicked off from the dock by riding the tram-like bus (can't call it as 'tram' since it's not on rails hehe) that will take you to different spots around the island: Battery Way, Battery Grubbs, Topside Barracks, Cine Corregidor, Pacific War Memorial, Fort Mills Post Headquarters and Chapel, The Spanish Lighthouse, Lorcha Dock, La Playa Restaurant (lunch, which was included on the day trip package I got), Pres. Manuel Quezon, Sergio Osmena Sr. and Filipino Women Memorial Park, Filipino Heroes Memorial, Japanese Garden of Peace, and Malinta Tunnel.

I'll let the tour guide tell you the stories behind the said landmarks because it'll depict the tour if I tell them here.  That's what you're paying for, anyway.  ;)

Rowena, our very entertaining and hilarious tour guide :)

Definitely wear comfortable clothes, bull caps/hats, shades, or bring an umbrella as it's very sunny on the island (well, when I was there).  There are souvenir shops on most stops where you can purchase refreshments.  But, of course, it's much cheaper if you brought your own drinks/snacks.  Shirts range from Php 250 to Php 350.  You have 10 to 15 minutes of exploring the area on every stops, or let's just say time for photo op. :p

Oh, if you're a currency collector like me, definitely bring loads of cash as some shops are selling those.  Too bad, I wasn't able to buy some for my collection.

I had my lunch at La Playa Restaurant along with fellow tourists.  It is inclusive on the tour package, by the way.  The food was just so-so.  I had consumed a lot of their mushroom soup because it's so creamy.  :)

Scroll your way down on some of the photos I took during my trip.  You'd enjoy it way better if you go for a trip on the island.  :)

Battery Way

Battery Grubbs

Topside Barracks

Cine Corregidor / Pacific War Memorial

Pacific War Memorial

Pacific War Memorial
top right: call center of WWII :p

Spanish Lighthouse

Lorcha Dock (top); La Playa Restaurant (bottom)

Filipino Heroes Memorial

Filipino Heroes Memorial

Japanese Memorial Garden

Malinta Tunnel
Last stop on our day tour at Corregidor Island

Destination: Coron, Palawan (Day 3)

~ a photo travelogue ~

We all woke up late, around 7 AM.  Yup, it's late if you're in a paradise like Coron.  We headed out to the restaurant for breakfast that served toast, rice, scrambled eggs, sunny side ups, corned beef, tocino, fruits, and dried fish.  Coffee and juice are also served upon request--unlimited too.  

After getting ourselves filled up, John and I decided to go kayaking, while mom stayed at the dock to take pictures or shoot a video.  Unfortunately mom wasn't able to press record on her phone while we're kayaking.  The water was very calm, which was a great time to kayak.  I had fun but had anxiety attacked when we were about to reach the other side of the island.  I can no longer see the coral reefs and the sand so it gave me the attacks.  Lol.  So we went back near Dive Link's shoreline and go round and round.  It was a great exercise early in the morning.  By the way, you can kayak whenever you want.  It's free of charge.  But be sure to wear vests for protection 'cause you'll never know when your kayak will turn over.  You can swim too if you want, but beware of sea urchins and jellyfish.

After our morning kayak, we went back to our room, bathed, and packed our stuff as we decided to leave the resort early.  There's enough time to spare so we decided to climb up Mt. Tapyas to see the entirety Coron Island and the sleeping giant, and have our lunch at a nearby restaurant.

Ms. Tess of Dive Link Resort :)

We checked out at Dive Link Resort around 9 in the morning.  Thanks, Dive Link!  We had a great stay.  Very accommodating staff.

Kuya Mark, our shy boatman, of Dive Link Resort :)

Mom decided to stay in a restaurant instead of going to Mt. Tapyas.  So we dropped her off at Dads' Coronzy Coffee & Tea Shop, which was just near the Harbour Center, but along the main road.  You can just walk around the town proper instead of paying Php 10 per tricycle ride.

carioca

bananacue

These kids went inside the coffee shop and were selling carioca and bananacue.  The place wasn't strict as opposed to the shops in the metro where street vendors are not allowed inside an establishment.

My strawberry smoothie.  I loved it.

the price range for the drinks is way similar to what is in the metro.  Php 100 ++

We brought the drinks with us as we walked towards the foot of Mt. Tapyas.  It's just five minutes away (by foot) from Coronzy.  So no need to take a trike ride from the port to Mt. Tapyas or vice versa.  Another advice, better bring bottled water instead of smoothies, and do stretch exercise before going to Mt. Tapyas. You'll thank me after.. :)  You're welcome in advance :p

You'll never get lost at Coron.

the corner coffee shop.  left side of this photo (refer to the photo before this) is where the huge signboard is situated.
will try this place next time :)

just turn left from the main road if you're coming from Harbour Center.
the road to Mt. Tapyas.

foot of the trek.

We made stops from time to time.  Seven hundred steps?  It's no joke.  No matter how fit you are, you'll feel exhausted because it's humid and it's kind of steep going up.  Take breaks and have snapshots of the scenery around you.

The Sleeping Giant.
He looks mummified, eh?  He must be Mt. Buntis' (in Maragondon) hubby but they fought so they separated.  ^_^
Okay, I made that up.  lol.

finally!  the place reminds me of People's Park in Tagaytay.

we went towards the other side of the summit and this captivated us too.

I remember catching myself singing ♫♪ the hills are alive with the sound of music ♪♫ here that made Pres laugh hysterically.  lol

now, going down.  that's how steep the steps are.

You can buy your bottled water at the sari-sari store right beside Daven's Palace at the foot of Mt. Tapyas.  Php 10 per bottle.  I totally drank the entire bottle less than a minute.  That's how dehydrated I was.  Then we went back to Coronzy and this kid sells buchi.

mapilit sila, pramis

 Instead of moving to other place to have our lunch, we stayed at Coronzy's and ordered sinigang na salmon, fried chicken, and stir fried vegetables.

I wasn't able to see how much each dish costs, but mom says it was too pricey.  It wasn't that good as well, most specifically the stir fried vegetables.  They put too much oyster sauce in it that it ended up too salty.

We went back to the port where we will be picked up.  The van assigned to us was still in the airport waiting for incoming tourists since all flights got delayed, but gladly, there's a spare van who picked us up at the port.  So here's the tip, always coordinate with your tourist guide, in our case we communicated with Ms. Cherry of our whereabouts and the time we wanted to be picked up.  As soon as we got in the van, the chauffeur went to other hotels and picked up other tourists as well.  The van was totally packed.  Thank 'gawd' we only brought backpacks and not luggage.

Our Cebu Pac flight to Manila got delayed for an hour or so due to, again, air traffic.  Instead of leaving at 4, we left around 6.  Oh, if you have lotion or any liquid bottled items with you, throw them out, leave it somewhere or put it in your check-in luggage.  The authorities does manual check of bags, so umbrella is a no-no too.  They even told me to have it checked in.  Are they crazy?  Haha!  Of course, stubborn me, I ignored them and just inserted it in my bag, underneath.  My pepper spray was confiscated too.  I forgot to remove that very item on my keys.  Bummer.  I haven't used it and will never use it in a plane.  Duh...  As if the police will protect us from harm too.  Gee.

Nevertheless, the flight calmed me down.

See you soon, Busuanga, Coron.  :'(

♫♪ Manila, Manila, I keep coming back to Manila.. Manila, I'm coming home ♪♫

Complete itinerary (and review) of our trip where you can base your Coron vacation after the jump.