Last October 10, my team in my current company travelled to Talisay, Batangas to trek the Taal Volcano. Well, the trip was made possible due to a teammate's request/curiosity to see the volcano's crater (Dante, if you'll be able to read this, thanks to you :D). This is also the first time I will be using my GoPro Hero 4 Silver Edition so pardon my pictures.
Group Picture (while we're still in a good condition..)
(credits to Dante Lopez for this picture)
We arrived at Calinisan Beach Resort in Laurel, Batangas around 10 in the morning. We chose this resort because of all those beside Taal Lake, they offer the cheapest boat ride (2000 for a boat that can load 10 persons) and they appear closest to the island (via GMaps).
After resting and changing to our trekking gears, we boarded on a boat and was set to arrive on the island after 30 mins. We were 14 by that time, and we use one boat only for the trip (I don't know if that's nice because we saved another 2000 to rent another boat or that's a bit dangerous since we're somehow overloaded. :D)
Alpine Team
(credits to Kelvin Chan for the last two photos)
We arrived on the island around 11:30 in the morning, and Mr. Golden Sun is on his peak of brightness. I found myself unprepared since I didn't wear long sleeves and leg-length leggings to completely protect my skin from any tan lines, so please. Protect your skin. Wear sleeves and leggings. We had two local guides for the activity, one leading the trail and one sweeper. Some locals started offering us horse rides but since we still take pride in our skills, we continue trekking without them.
On the early part of the trail, you will be encountering a sandy land part. Again, I found myself unprepared because I chose to wear sandals (because they will consume less space in my bagpack) and the sand, scorching because of sun exposure, kept on being stuck between my sandals and my feet which made me really uncomfortable. Please wear rubbershoes. One of our teammates already decided to take a horse ride while taking this part of the trail. After reaching the end of the sandy part, you will be able to see the view of the mainland and the Taal Lake.
And so the trek continues. The next part of the trail is the common grassy part. I recommend you pay attention while taking this part of the trail because I think this is a common path for those who trek and for those who took horse rides. A lot of horse dumps are in the trail so better not be in daze. You will also be encountering a gazebo in which the guides call the half-trail mark to the view deck of Taal. You can have access to water but it is not for consumption. I used some to relieve my head from the heat. The bottled water that I have brought is also empty, so bring extra money if ever you need to buy a drink (or rent a horse).
The trail continues to a part I hate the most, STAIRS.You can see the stairs from the half-trail gazebo and by that you can already tell how hard it is to climb them up. I was fine taking the steps at first, but suddenly felt dizzy halfway the stairs. Good thing a teammate provided me some sweets and I found my strength again. Maybe I was hungry by that time since it's already around 1 PM and I haven't eaten lunch. Bring sweets or light snacks to keep you charged while trekking. Another teammate of mine decided to take a horse ride since he also felt dizzy while climbing up. The other guides are recommending me to take a horse ride. I asked them if the view deck is still far from our current position and they said yes. Unfortunately, I insisted to get one because of my full-of-pride and competitive self. What I had in my mind by that time is that one horse ride could be my budget for one brand new paperback novel, so I should not take a horse ride. Forgive me.
Some view deck pictures :)
We were lucky on the day of our hike because we were offered to go to the actual crater. According to our guides, Taal Volcano is at ease on that day. I have friend who trekked the volcano a week earlier and said that they were only allowed to reach the view deck and was prohibited to go to the crater since the volcano is on an alert level. They also experience gases/smokes coming out from some parts of the trail and they were told that those were dangerous. Point of advice: Consult some guides first regarding the volcano activity before taking the trek.
And since Taal is on a good mood that day, after taking a rest on the view deck, we started trekking again to Taal's crater. The trail to the crater is very steep so don't forget to keep your distance from each other. This is a downhill trail so reaching the crater is easy. Several minutes of trekking and we reached the crater! From the pictures below, you can notice that the water is a bit yellowy. This is due to the old boat docked in the shore that spreads rust in the water. Nevertheless, I found the view very nice and calming. Who would expect that from this scenic view came molten rocks and poisonous gases that killed 5000-6000 people years ago?
After savoring ourselves with the view of the crater, we started to trek back to the view deck. I found this part really torturing for my legs since this is a continuous assault. Remember not to be a bibo kid and always take some break or you'll end up passing out. Several minutes later we reached the view deck and started trailing back to the community area. I found it very rewarding to finish the trail without using a horse. Hurrah!
To relax ourselves from the very tiring trek, we have a two-hour swim in Calinisan Beach Resort after having a very late lunch. Tip: we can't order any meal here for a vegetarian (so he ended up eating hard boiled eggs :( ).
So that sums up our team's outing on Laurel, Batangas. I hope you learned some things in here if ever you are planning to take a tour on Taal Volcano. Thanks for reading :)
