Taal Volcano- The Third Time

The third time I went to the Taal Volcano crater was when we accompanied a Thai friend, Sudthida and her mother.  She was on a short visit for a meeting and one of those in her “must-see-must do” list is the Taal Volcano crater. 

There are many individuals or businesses  offering a tour or a boat ride to the crater.  We opted for Taal Yacht Club as we have already tried them when we did our 2013 team building for around 40 persons, which they handled very well.   They are organized, easy to deal, they provide good customer service and most of all, they have fixed rates so there are no surprise charges.

We reserved a tour with Sonya, the caretaker of Taal Yacht Club who manages the bookings , the same person we talked to in 2013. You may reach TYC at +6343 7730192.  Alternatively, they have an office in Makati City which may be reached at +6328113283 or +632 8113183.

There are two options for the tour.  The first one is the  Regular Tourist Trail which leads to the crater view point or the rim of the volcano. It takes 20 minute boat ride to reach the dock in the volcano, and the entire tour will take around 3 hours. The second option is called the Secret Trail, the more difficult one leading to the lake crater itself, which was what me and I friends did way back in year 2000 or so, the first time I went there.  It takes 40 minutes to reach the dock by boat, and the entire tour will take around 5 hours. Considering that we have an elderly with us, we opted for the regular trail.

The view from the view point of the Regular Tourist trail

We paid the tour in advance (through bank deposit) and we were given a discount.  We paid Php2,400 instead of Php3,300.  The price includes 1 boat good for 5 persons, fees for the boatman and the  fee tour guide, entrance and parking fee to the yacht club, use of hut for 2 hours upon return from the tour, and shower!.  We also opted to rent horses at Php600 per horse.  Other expenses at the volcano itself is the municipal tourism tax of Php100 per person and the Php50 landing fee per boat. 

It was raining very hard when we left Manila and we were not very optimistic that the crater visit will push through.  But lo, the sun shone on us when we reached Talisay, Batangas, the jump off point for the  boat ride to the crater.   Everything was ready when we reached the Taal Yacht Club.  Our guide and the boatman were waiting for us.  

All throughout the 20 minute ride to the volcano, the water was very calm.  Upon landing at the volcano, our guide gave us a short overview of the tour before we headed for the horseback ride.  Each horse is accompanied by their caretaker, which they also refer to as guide.  I was assigned “Trisha”, a 2 year old beautiful, playful horse who stops every now and then to eat some grass- which I didn’t mind at all.  (I am however a bit disturbed that a young horse had to carry me on her back- it felt cruel that I vowed never to ride a horse again!).

We reached the rim where one can look down into the crater.  The view of the “island within a lake within an island within a lake within an island”, is beautiful as ever- and it was a good idea to opt for the trail to the view point, rather than the secret trail or the trail leading to the crater. I love the view of the green crater, superimposed in the view of the mountains and the bigger lake. At the view point, we spent a long time just marveling at the view, enjoying the cold wind, and of course, taking a lot of pictures- selfies or otherwise.

After the crater, the next stop was of course the Bag of Beans in Tagaytay, where we enjoyed a really good lunch.  We also dropped by the Puzzle Mansion, before heading home.

Our guests were very happy with the visit - it was their first time to ride a horse, and was their first time to be in a volcano.  Our guests were very amazed that they vowed to return to the Philippines to see the other places!  

Other information:

About the tour:

Bring some bottled water.At the view point, you will be offered to buy “Gatorade for your horse driv er/guide” at Php100 ($2 dollars) which is 60% more than the original price.  I handed my guide a bottled water which I brought with me, instead. 

About the horses:

According to the caretaker of the horse, there are around 200 horses in the island, and these are not owned by the residents.  The households are assigned a horse to take care of, and they are also provided with feeds and vitamins by the owner.  The horses work around 3 times a week, and for only one trip each time. (I still feel bad for the horses though!).

Calinawan Cave, Tanay, Rizal

I have never heard of Calinawan Cave, until my 8 year old nephew, who is into outdoor activities now, planned to do some trekking and caving.

Calinawan cave is in Tanay, which is but an hour ride away from home.  We headed to Daranak Falls, which is the jump off point.  There were way too many people at Daranak Falls during holy week, and we reminded ourselves never to go there again during Holy Week.  We wanted to back-out, but nephew prevailed (of course). 

The good thing is, most of the people there only wanted to be by the falls- and were not interested in the cave.  We signed up for the trekking and cave tour at the booth, which is a few meters away from the entrance to the falls. The guide showed us the trail to the cave, which is a 30 to 45 minutes uphill trek.

And he just keeps on going...and going..and going..and going...

We reached the cave- and there was a kiosk where we hired another guide to the cave.  The cave tour is run by the descendants of the person who discovered it. It was discovered during the Spanish colonial time and the family has donated it to the government, but the government is not acting on it so until then, they will continue to run the tours to the cave.

The cave is not impressive at the outside.  It looked like a mound of unimpressive stones with a small opening.  The guide lent us flashlights and we went down the opening.  

But we were surprised how big it is inside. We found ourselves in a big hall and the guide shared with us how the cave was discovered by his ancestor. Calinawan cave was where the Americans and Filipinos secretly meet during the Spanish-American war.  It was where they “settled” (nagcalinawan) and signed off on the details of their agreements. Another account says that here is where the Filipinos realized (nalinawan) that they wanted to be a free people. The guerillas hid there during the World War 2, and so did the 200 Japanese before they were cornered by the Filipinos and American soldiers. 

At the mouth of the cave

Inside the caves, there are different rock and stalactite/stalagmite formations.  (I'm sure there will be a lot more if you let your imagination run wild). At the entrance is the eerie looking face which the guide calls as “The Face”. It stands at the entrance like the guardian of the cave. 

The Face..up close

The Face

Further is a big column, of course called "The Column". "When the stalactite/stalagmite meet, they form the column". This one took millions of years to form.

Our guide by The Column

To the right of The Column is The TRex. 

The mighty T-Rex

Further up, is the beautiful and impressive Grotto. It does look like the scene of the apparition of The Lady.

The Grotto

There is also The Curtain and another which looked like an aquarium.  Beside the aquarium is The Volcano. 

By The Curtain

The Volcano eruption

And of course, this hole the shape of a heart, which the guide jokingly calls as The "May Forever".

Yes...Forever exists..

Guests can explore levels 1, 2,3 and 4 of the cave .  There is a level 5 where the bats live.  We had children with us, so we opted only for levels 1 and 2- which took us more than 30 minutes to explore. 

What used to be bat caves..before they got disturbed by people and they had to move to the lower levels of the cave. 

And finally.. The Exit

After the cave, we met with our first guide and did the river trekking- which was a lot of fun for my nephew. 

It was a fun day-despite the heat.  My nephew and 1 year old niece survived (and enjoyed) their first cave experience.  Looking forward to more outdoor activities with these two!