Saturday in the Philippines,
Tagaytay is about a 2 hour drive if you leave Manila at 7:00 am before the traffic starts building up. It is the site of the Taal volcano with an island in the center of a lake inside a volcano which is an island in a lake inside a volcano.
We bought our tickets overlooking the lake. The guide joined us and then we drove for over half an hour down to shore along a twisting winding road. One section had a sign "beware of collapsed road, one lane only". And indeed it was collapsed over the cliff and barely one lane.
The boat looked like a gondola with bright colors and pontoons on either side for stability. It was also motorized and under power we plowed through the waves for about 20 minutes to the island shore. There to greet us were the islanders and their horses.
My colleague Steve (having 2 expats Steve U and Steve W is amusingly confusing to everyone) does not fancy horses (had an unsatisfactory experience one day) so we decided to hike up. Twas a steep climb in the blistering heat. Seems only the anglos were silly enough to hike as all the oriental tourists passed us on horseback. I was exhausted as we neared the top and the steepest grade, dodging the horses as we climbed. Finally climbing past the horse unloading area I looked over the rim into the second lake with a small island in the center. There were steam vents on the edges and you could see steam bubbling up in parts of the lake. They say it is highly sulferic water. A spectacular view of inner lake, crater, outer lake, crater and horizen.
Then it was time to descend. I debated the wisdom/honor of being macho and toughing it down or playing the survival card and hiring a horse for the descent. In honor of Michelle I opted to ride the pony. It was a different view from five feet higher up and most impressive. The saddles were Filipino size but with riding experience I was able to maintain a comfortable position and enjoyed the ride. A few times the horseman jumped on behind me and we broke into a trot.
At the shoreline we found our boat waiting and climbed aboard for the trip back. As we crossed waves the spray lunged across the bow and being in the front I got the free shower with the warm and clear water. By the time we arrived I was soaked to the skin through my shirt and jeans. Along the way we passed many groups of nets and bouys that were local fish farms.
After a cold drink we piled into the car for the half hour drive back up the side of the crater and the trip back Manila. A stop at a roadside stand produced a pineapple that had been in the ajoining fields only hours before and a taste of what pineapple can really be like if it is fresh.
Traffic was already in gridlock on the so called expressway and we took to the back roads. Some three hours later after traversing many small communities and seeing the squalid huts and tiny shops of the backside of Manila (which the average tourist will never see) we emerged below the airport and near Manila bay.
Eventually we found our way to a market which required a guide to find a parking place and an elaboate ritual of hand signals and maneuvers just to get parked.
We walked across the lot and into the fish market. This was the real thing. The crabs and lobsters were crawling over each other, straining at the rubber bands that held their claws tightly together. The prawns (shrimp) sqwirmed, the clams spit jets of water out of the bucket and the larger fish lay still on the ice, still alive but dormant. We chose our menu from various vendors. Dinner was collected in plastic shopping bags that wiggled of their own accord as we walked.
Finally being persuaded that we had more than enough food we emerged into the parking lot where the owners of all the little "cooking shops" invited us to join them. We chose one and and intense dialogue in tagolog began as to how each morsel was to be prepared. The tables were plastic, the napkins paper, the utensils simple, with a barely working TV blaring in the corner. But "Oh the food" it doesn't get much fresher and a delightful variety of preparations. Halfway through the meal I realized how we felt about the food. All talk had ceased and we just ate in silence, a testimony to our enjoyment.
I feel as though I have finally begun to experience the Philippines.
