Bruce and the Volcano

On Saturday at 6:30 A.M. I set out for Lake Taal which is about 80Km. from Manila but takes about 1.5 hours to get there because of the dense traffic in Manila even this early on a Saturday morning and also because once you get off the highway it slows down due to all the different kinds of traffic such as cyclists, various size motorized two and three wheelers, and people walking on the roads. One thing I noticed and had forgotten about is how close people live to the road once you get out of the city. I was often concerned for the pedestrians especially the children who seem so close to the road. You get to see how everyone lives because its right there before your eyes. On the way out of Manila many of the houses were basically shacks so there are some clear cut differences in the way people live in this city and country as there are everywhere. I found myself wondering what a typical day was for the people I noticed as we drove by.
This lake is one of the sights listed in the book "1,000 places you have to see before you die". The other one in the Philippines is the rice terraces of Benaue but it takes about 8 hours to get there so the pictures in the guide books will have to do. So our trip to Lake Taal is to consist of me taking the boat, hiking up the mountain, and then I meet one of the counsellors, Kit, and actually a client of the CIIP in Manila. Nita is a vetenarian in Lake Taal and as a result knows a lot of people who have cats and dogs. You will see the group sitting at the picnic table in a very lush coffee place which was full of birds in cages and of course people. I then went with Danny who was the guide arranged by Boyer and Nita who are the clients from Lake Taal. Danny, Boyer and I proceeded to the lake. It tooks us awhile to wind our way in Boyer's car down to the lake. You see pictures of the boat we took and some of the other boats going across the lake. I was almost hoping I had bought a life jacket because the one they gave us would probably not keep a 4 year old afloat. On the other hand the trip was not that long, the weather was fine, and the wind was not too strong so I felt confident we would make it to the volcano. Once we got there I was giving some hard sales pitches on everything from drinks to horses. I noticed on the way up all the Europeans/North Americans were hiking and the Koreans were on horseback. The hike was not too steep but you did have to stay alert so as to not be trampled by the Koreans on horseback. Actually they did not ride on their own but were riding double with Filipinos steering. Supposedly the Koreans wanted to build a cable from the mainland to the highland and then build a resort thereby eliminating the treacherous boat ride (not really treacherous, I am exaggerating) and the steep horseback ride. Make it into a sort of Whistler of the Philippines. The island people who number a 1,000 or so and get a livelihood from this would have none of it. So we made our way up and you can see some of the pictures on the way up and from the viewpoint. I am having trouble uploading my movies which are better than the pictures. I hope to have them up soon . Once up there with my guide Danny we walked around. Although I did not need a guide everyone in the Philippines is concerned for my safety and insisted I have a guide. He was very good company. He spoke good English and told me little pieces of news such as when we walked along the path to get a look inside the crater he told me 3 Koreans were swept off the path by a sudden gust of wind and fell into the volcano. Reassuring things like that. As soon as he told me this about 5 Koreans came along the path and were walking like they were in the middle of a road, very quickly with wide steps. He looked at me and said "See what I mean".
Anyways I took lots of pictures which do not due justice to the setting. The volcano was last active in 1965 but because it is still smoldering 2 years ago they stopped letting people take the boat to the little island that is in the lake which is in the volcano which is in a lake. Got that. You can see it in the pictures. Afterwards we went to Sonja's Garden which is a restaurant, spa, and hotel off the beaten track but very busy. We had a great meal then went to the spa and I had a foot spa, a pedicure (I had my first one in Toronto in December and now I want them when I can because I have beat up my feet so much fromplaying tennis. I thought it would be my knees which would give in but it is my feet which need tender loving care.) and a back massage for $15.00. It was good and about 7 P.M. we went back to Manila. Jose our driver did a good job. Yes we have a driver because often Filipinos do not drive long distances and suggest you do not either. When you rent a car they throw the driver in with it. The project director at CIIP has a driver and a car for his 2 children in university and Joel, the maintenance support person also doubles as his driver with his other car. He is considered middle class and everyone who is has hired help. It was a fun trip.
Everything is going well at work. I am now working along side the counsellors counselling the CIIP clients and I presented on Friday an all day workshop to the staff on group counselling techniques and how to do an effective job search process the Canadian way which is different than how it is done in the Philippines. I am looking forward to week 3 although missing everyone back home.