Taal Volcano

Took a day trip down south to an area called Tagaytay. It's about a 2 hour drive south of Manila. Lots of greenery and mountains. It's famous for the Taal Volcano. We left early in the morning to try and beat the heat. Afterwards we had lunch at a famous restaurant called Antonio's. We were almost denied entry because we weren't in compliance with the dress code but they made an exception for us. Antonio even made his way around the restaurant to greet each table. Apparently he is well known in the culinary world. The restaurant is a renovated mansion in the hills. Very good food. Fresh local ingredients. A bit out of a movie scene.

www.antoniosrestaurant.ph

Taal Lake. You can see one of the volcano peaks on the left side of the picture. This is the launching point where we boarded a small boat and took a 20 minute ride to the volcano.

This is the top of the main crater. The little island inside the lake is called Vulcan Point. This lake is the world's largest "lake on an island in a lake on an island". And Vulcan Point is an island on the "lake on an island in a lake on an island".  Confusing to think about. It's also one of the loweest volcanoes in the world (1,020 ft).

I've been asking the boys lately to put their arms around each other for pictures. Trying to encourage brotherly love. They still can't do it without making a funny face.

This is the view looking down onto Taal Lake and the volcano peaks. I took this picture from the patio of a Starbuck's. A spectacular view.

We had a local guide take us up the trail to the top of the main crater. You can either walk up or pay additional money to ride a small horse. Toby was adamant about not riding a horse so we all decided to walk. It was a pretty decent hike to the top. Took about 45 minutes with some fairly steep parts.  The boys were super troopers. 

Pit stop. The boat ride included straw hats for everyone. They came in handy. Also, the night before we rolled up wet hand towels and put them in the freezer. A local trick. They feel SO good and stay cold for a long time. 

Definitely worth a day trip to see Taal. We've read that the experience can be negative due to locals trying to make money off of tourists. But we had no problems at all. The view from the top is picturesque. The peak at the left of the picture is said to resemble a face (of Jesus) looking up to the sky.