First-time in Taal’s Crater

I had never been in a volcano crater before. And the first crater I had visited was the smallest volcano in the world, located within a lake: Taal Volcano.

Two years back, my friends and I embarked on an adventure to this famous volcano. We made a side trip to Tagaytay City for lunch before we went to Talisay, Batangas as our take-off point towards the volcano-island. There were eight of us who went off for this excursion and although we could fit in  one boat we took two to be safer.

It was windy and the waves of the lake tossed our boats forcefully. When we arrived at the tiny island, horses were ready near the pier which we rented. Tourists have the option to walk towards the crater or get on horseback. We chose the latter. It saved us time, less tiring, and was a different experience for us.

The island was teeming with greens. The soil we were trudging were blackish brown. The volcano obviously was the reason for the fertile land.

As we approached the perimeter of the crater, the soil was becoming hotter. Certain areas had smoke coming out from the cracks. On our final ascent, the terrain was steeper and we were thankful we decided to ride the horses. But when we encountered other tourists going the other way, we had to steer the horses along the narrow path to prevent bumping to each other. Good thing each of us had somebody leading the horses and they were skilled in controlling the animal’s pace and direction.

Finally, we got to the crater where some cottages were built for tourists. There were vendors selling coconuts, drinks and some snacks. The prices were costly because the products had to be brought in to the island and had to be transported to the crater. We didn’t argue and bought some fresh coconuts to quench our thirst.

As we looked out to the middle of a crater, the breathtaking view of land and water filled our eyes. It was magnificent staring at such marvelous beauty. Below, inside the crater, the water’s edges were spewing sulfur. A tiny isle stood in the middle of the crater lake, which is known to be the island within a lake (the volcano’s crater) within an island (Taal volcano) within a lake within an island (Luzon). This can only be found in the Philippines.

So, there we were standing on top of the volcano taking in the scene before us. When the sun started setting, we headed back to our horses to take us to the pier. We braved the waves as we crossed the lake.

The experience was brief but sweet, something I relish till this day.