We went to Tagaytay and Lake Taal on our final day in the Philippines. Tagaytay is located 55 kilometers south of Manila. It is one of the country’s most popular tourist destinations because, from there, it has a good view of the Taal Volcano. We bought the trip from Marsman Tours (a perfect and reliable partner for us during the trip). On the previous travels, the driver and guide picked us up from the hotel at 8 am.
First, we drove through Manila and stopped in Las Pinas village (a suburb of Manila). Here we got additional information about Iglesia Ni Cristo churches, which you can see all over the country.
In Las Pinas, we visited the Catholic San Jose church, which has the world’s only bamboo organ. The centuries-old instrument was constructed from 950 bamboo pipes, buried in the sand for six months to preserve them from insect infestation. An annual bamboo organ concert is open to the public and performed by the country’s and the world’s best organists.
We also visited the Sarao Jeepney Factory, where we saw how those vehicles are made nowadays.
We stopped at the pineapple field and coffee trees. I had no idea how pineapples grow before now. We found out that pineapples grow on the ground, and it takes 22 months to be ready to harvest.
Taal Volcano is an active volcano on the Luzon island of Taal. It consists of an island in Lake Taal, situated within a caldera formed by an earlier huge eruption. The volcano has erupted violently several times, causing loss of life in the populated areas surrounding the lake. There have been 33 recorded eruptions at Taal since 1572. The most recent period of activity lasted from 1965 to 1977. This period was characterized by the interaction of magma with lake water, producing explosions.
We took several pictures of the world’s smallest volcano at Lake Taal and had a delicious cup of coffee at Starbucks.
On our way to the hotel, we stopped at the fruit stand and bought some exotic fruits to take home. Our children were pleased to get them.
We spent the afternoon at the hotel’s pool, enjoying the sun and warmth. Then we packed our bags and had a quick dinner of Filipino food. We drove by taxi to Manila’s Ninoy Aquino Airport, completing our excellent visit to the Philippines.
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