After my first few weeks in the Manila office, it was a great gesture when my new colleagues invited me on a weekend trip to explore the breathtaking landscape of Taal Volcano.
In the morning, well before the dreaded Manila heavy traffic, we got into a car in Makati, so we reached the shore of the calm Taal Lake relatively quickly. From there, we continued our journey by motorboat to Taal Volcano Island. When we reached the shore, both adults and children of the small village stared at me curiously: the foreign, unusual European face became a real spectacle for the locals for a moment.
We set off on the steep road leading to the crater rim on the back of small, hardy horses. On our way to the top of the mountain, we stopped at one of the highest viewpoints to enjoy the unparalleled panorama. The view of the crater lake, surrounded by the outer, huge Taal Lake – was truly impressive.
I started walking down, because I simply felt sorry for the little horse on the steep path.
Approaching the lake at the bottom of the crater held more surprises. Our guide showed us that the lake water was almost boiling at certain points, and you could even boil an egg in it – the geothermal heat was so intense. Moving a little further, the water temperature was tolerable, theoretically suitable for swimming, although I preferred not to try it.
However, Taal Volcano crater-lake is not only special because of its temperature, but also because of its unique geological structure. Taal is one of the strangest natural phenomena on Earth.
An island in the ocean hosted a lake, an island (teh taal vulcano) in the middle of this lake, then a crater lake in the middle of the vulcano, and another tiny island in the middle of the crater lake.
An island in the ocean hosted a lake, an island (teh taal vulcano) in the middle of this lake, then a crater lake in the middle of the vulcano, and another tiny island in the middle of the crater lake.
This unique geographical fact, as well as the active proximity of the volcano, made the weekend trip a truly fantastic, unforgettable experience.
