Discovering the beauty of Taal Volcano

I was asked by a friend to come with them for their short break at Tagaytay. As agreed upon, we will meet at one of the malls in Dasmarinas Cavite, April 22, 2014. But due to unexpected circumstances, they decided to just pick me up along the way. After almost an hour of waiting, they picked me up and finally get to the place at around 11:30AM.

Our initial plan is just to explore Tagaytay City. When we get off the bus, a man approached us and asked if we want to go to Taal Volcano through Talisay, Batangas. With so much excitement, we decided the visit Taal first and resume our Tagaytay adventure as planned when we came back from there. We took a tricycle ride from Tagaytay to Talisay for about 25 minutes. It’s a little farther than we expected. But the fully concrete road is good enough for the travel. Along the way is a relaxing view of Taal Lake and the volcano itself. A breath-taking view of deep ravines and the zigzag road will give you an experience of travelling to Baguio City (according to them, I haven’t been there yet).

Revisiting My Hometown

Part II

April 18, 2014 – Moriones Festival: I am Crucified, You are Saved!

 9:00 AM. We’re ready for the Moriones Festival. We decided to move early to be able to catch up with the parade of Morions in the town of Mogpog. During this time, it’s not easy to get a jeepney or tricycle because everyone is busy for some church activities and we really have a hard time to get one. Luckily, a Good Samaritan passed by offering a ride with them. Unfortunately, the parade is done already and we are not able to watch it. We decided to just have some photos with the Morions roaming around the town. We also managed to visit the town’s church, San Isidro Labrador Parish Church, where we found busy local folks preparing for the late afternoon procession. After a while, we decide to look for a place to eat. We found one at the public market so we take our breakfast there. Right after, we decided to move to Boac, Marinduque’s capital town, hoping that we can watch the Via Crucis(Station of the Cross) – the re-enactment of Jesus Christ’s carrying of the cross and His crucifixion.

Luckily, the activity is just about to commence when we arrived the town. Everyone is in high spirit for the highly anticipated event. This is one of the highlights of the festival (the other one is the Pugutan – the beheading of Longhinos, a left-eye blind Roman Centurion who struck Jesus’ body with a spear and the blood from it make him see the world). The activity started at about 11:30 AM. Under the intense heat of the sun, the Via Crusis started roaming the town. Almost everyone is on the street to witness Jesus suffering for our salvation. The event ended up in Jesus Christ crucifixion along with the two sinners.

Revisiting my Home Town

Part I

Two weeks before the annual Moriones Festival in Marinduque, I was asked by my friends if they can come with me to witness the spectacular tradition of the Marinduquenos. Without any hesitation, I agreed believing that this is the time to showcase what my province got. Everyone is excited.

April 16, 2014 – All the Buses are packed. 

We decided the rendezvous at Turbina Terminal, Calamba City at 2:00PM. Two of my friends need to attend to their job on that day but decided to go out early to avoid a heavy traffic and make it on time. Unfortunately, the 2:00PM call time became 5:00PM because of the crowd of passengers taking the opportunity of having a long vacation. All provincial buses are packed, so it’s hard to get one that can accommodate us. After several tries, we are lucky that we get one. Although we are standing, we are happy that we finally get the trip started. We leave the terminal at around 5:30PM. Along the street are groups of passenger waiting for buses. I wonder when will they reach their destinations if (even in the terminal), (the) buses can no longer accommodate the passengers?

On our way, some passengers get off the bus leaving empty seats where we can seat comfortably. We reached Dalahican Port at 9:15PM. We paid for our ticket and started boarding. The ships started its 3-hr course at around 9:45PM. The sea is calm making the travel more enjoyable. The moon is watching over our journey, lighting our way. The gently blowing wind gives us comfort.