A Day in Tagaytay - Wet an Adventure!

Just when I thought I've seen enough of Tagaytay, joining this semi-impromptu trip with some friends from work shows that there can always be something new or special you can experience even if it's in a place you've been to many times before.

Zipline

After stopping by at Starbucks to grab (Jase's) coffee and enjoy the scenery, our next stop was the Picnic Grove, the location of the Tagaytay Zipline and Cable Car. We only tried their dual zipline, which was quite similar to the Superman Ride at Tree Top. I found it funny more than scary so I was laughing the whole time while my ride-mate was screaming (how harmonious, LOL).

One blooper though was the stop - so sudden, I had this fear we were gonna bump into something or worse, get some bones broken. :))

Sonya's

At around 10:40, we headed to Sonya's Garden for their lunch buffet. Oh, we realized we weren't that hungry yet so we roamed around the garden first.

Then finally we got hungry and headed to the restaurant for lunch. Vegetarian or not, you can't help but enjoy their garden salad. Although we got so eager that we forgot to ask for the vinegrette, the combination of lettuce, fruits, nuts were enough to satisfy us. My favorite was their bread with a combination of pesto, olives, white cheese, and I forgot the name of the other one. :p There were a lot of people having lunch that time and so the service was slow. Overall, we all enjoyed the food and the place.

We realized this was indeed a loooong lunch so we immediately headed to Taal Volcano Trek jump-off which was farther down in Brgy. Talisay. I did not expect they'd actually agree to do the trekking, I was half-joking when I suggested it and was not even armed with anything but a pair of pudpod Havaianas. We got caught in traffic so travel time took almost 1.5 hours.

Boat Ride

Started at 4:00pm and lasted for 25 minutes, this for me was the most exciting part of the trip. I did not expect a lake to give such bumpy boat ride. My seatmate almost tipped over. Hahaha. And the ironic part was we got really wet not because of the rain but because of 3-second interval shower greetings from the lake. We had to cover our entire fronts from head to foot with huge plastic. That even was not enough. It is advisable to bring a poncho - yellow-colored raincoat you can get from Acer Hardware for 20 bucks, esp. during months before summer when it gets really windy around Taal. Do not get it from there as it costs five times.

I also learned that what is commonly perceived as the Taal Volcano (as image above) is not the one that is active and not the one open for trekking (dunno why). Our boat headed for the farther island, the one closer to Mt. Maculot. Thanks much to Kuya Bobby (+63.9207204584) from Villa Amparo Resort for making this boat ride possible and for not overpricing. :)

Taal "Trek"

Well I'm not entirely proud of this - we did not really trek towards the crater. But was forced instead to ride a horse in order to make it before nightfall. I would have wanted to let the others experience trekking also. The horse ride took 25 minutes to reach the top. It was the most relaxing part of the trip. I loved how the cold breeze brushed through my skin.

Meet Patricia; without her, never would have made it. But oh noes... How could I've quickly forgotten the name of this girl. But I remember her stories more. She's an 18-year-old, and takes her horse riding skills for a stint as a trek guide. She was really nice, enjoyed her company.

The Crater

Just in time for sunset, our being late turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Thanks to my guide who took our group picture below. If we had more time, we could have gone down to the actual crater lake but then we saw some fumes to hint the volcano's active.

 

 

After some photo ops, we started our descent, and headed back to the rockiest and wettest boat ride back to the resort.  I'd like to thank Keerthana for inviting and granting me along with Jase the privilege of being their tour guide. Hehe. I'm really glad I experienced this trip with these cool guys and hopefully they got to enjoy as much as I did. Thanks to Kuya Tony for driving for us. I'm not sure if I can share his contact info here. Just PM me if interested.


Some Lessons Learned:
1. Be early, if you want to trek. If during the afternoon, arrive at jump-off as early as 1pm.
2. Magdala ng pocho, at drinking water.
3. Don't buy overpriced softdrinks for your guide but give the tip to them personally.

Expenses Guide:

	cost per group	cost per head
van rental/diesel	2500+900
toll fees	229
picnic grove entrance		50
zipline		300
lunch at sonya's		610
boat ride	1500
horse ride		450
trekking tourism fee		50
face mask, taal trek		30
mineral water/softdrink, taal trek		50
poncho, taal lake jump-off		100
sylvannas from rowena's		190

Best of 2010

I've learned it is not only important to take as many photos as you can but going back to them and reliving each moment is as equally significant to create some meaning out of it. So for better memory management, for every place I deem worth-sharing, I shall capture in this blog.

For my first ever entry for this blog and for the year, I've compiled my best destinations for the past year. If there's a word to summarize my 2010 it would be adventure. I'm glad to have met new friends, conquered new things, new places, and even myself. I've finally felt the freedom to go and be somewhere, anywhere...

1.) "Best Climb" - Mt. Pulag (Napo-Ambangeg trail), June 2010
I can't believe a small decision to attend an orientation of Globe Adventure Club would lead me to climbing 5 mountains this year. Well not unlikely as I've always been curious to join our mountaineering org back in college. This was the most difficult, exhausting, yet fulfilling climb. See, the heavy, fully loaded backpack, the night trek were all dreadful. But being 2922 MASL after over 2 days of trekking was quite something.

2.) "Best Birthday Gift" - Singapore, May 2010
Universal Studios was the highlight of this trip. I also got my first SLR and got my first photowalk around the city. It was by far the best birthday celebration I've had, all thanks to kuya.

  

3.) "Best Teambuilding" - PDCSD in Subic, May 2010

Fun and relaxing. I'm grateful to be part of this new team. After a few months of pondering, I have decided to take a shift in career path back to software development. No regrets so far. ;)

 4.) "Best Misadventure" - Caramoan, November 2010
So what do you do in Caramoan when it is struck by the tail end of the cold front, with huge waves and gusty winds you don't want to risk getting into? You go to the famous Red Bricks church, only to find out  there's a burial ceremony going on. You go to a restaurant (you know, not the carinderia type) to comfort yourself, and you find out the cook is on leave. The whole time we were wondering who among ourselves has that dreadful 'balat'.

Good thing I was with one of the most positive friends I knew and we survived all these bloopers and managed to have fun even if it was within the corners of a hotel room. Lesson learned: don't risk going there during the rainy season as without the island hopping, there's really not much. But sure I'll be back.


5.) "Best Bum Trip" - Cebu, July 2010
We took our time: waking up when we wanted to, pigging out, beach bumming, touring the city and taking as many pictures as we could. Cebu is really beautiful with really friendly folks. Wish I could go back during Sinulog and go to Bohol as well.

6.) "Best Impromptu Trip" - Subic, October 2010
Amazing how a trip planned for around 18 hours managed to pull off with a rented van and 8 participants. We went to Tree top adventure (Tree Drop was a blast) then Camayan beach to unwind.

7.) "Best Adventure Trip" - Bicol, August 2010
Amused by Mayon, Cagsawa and the kids' trick shots, Vera Falls, and Lignon Hill 'superman' zipline. Gave it a shot at CWC and failed miserably. Haha

8.) "Best Road Trip" - Subic, December 2010
Ocean Adventure the second time around. They had new shows and I was impressed by Olongapo Jones' relatively distinct accent. Hahaha. The road trip didn't seem long at all, thanks to a blooper and laughter-filled drive, right Jungle Joe.

Also, not taking SCTEX and going through the old route crossing San Fernando exit would save you around 100 bucks in toll fee.


9.) "Best Wedding" - Tagaytay, October 2010
Well-planned to the most minute details, this Tagaytay wedding was just as charming as the couple. <3

10.) "Best Deed" - GAC Medical/Dental Mission, September 2010
It has always been my goal to be part of a medical mission. This seemed to be the longest day ever. But being able to help as many folks as we could in an Aeta community in Olongapo was just priceless.