Luzon Island

Sabang Beach – Talisay – 61 km

From the tiny ferry jetty, large motorised bangka boats departed to Luzon Island,
referred to as the “mainland”, as the island housed Manila’s capital city. The crossing
took barely an hour and once in Batangas City, the road headed north in Manila’s
direction.

Sadly, the toll road didn’t allow bicycles (a pity), and I followed a smaller and far
narrower path. Strange how the dangerous roads allow bikes and the safer ones,
sporting a wide shoulder, prohibit bicycles.

Once at Tanauan, a secondary road veered off to Talisay, where I believed one could
get a boat across Taal Lake to the Taal Volcano. Unfortunately, the boat ride to the
island was a tad expensive for one person. Luckily, basic accommodation along the
lake provided a spot to watch the sunset over this peaceful lake and volcano.

I was keen to hike to the top of this small volcano as it was reputedly the world’s
smallest active volcano. All volcanoes in the Philippines, including Taal Volcano, form
part of The Pacific Ring of Fire, a horseshoe-shaped area of almost 40,000 kilometres
where numerous earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur. The Ring of Fire has four
hundred and fifty-two volcanoes and is home to over 75% of the world’s active and
dormant volcanoes. A few years later, on 12 January 2020, the volcano erupted after
being dormant for 43 years and continued erupting for more than a year. A
phreatomagmatic eruption from its main crater spewed an ash column exceeding a
kilometre high over the surrounding islands and Metro Manila, resulting in the
suspension of school classes, work schedules, and flights.