Colorful license plate from the Philippines |
For a day trip, I rented a car and drove to Lake Taal |
Escape from Manila via the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) |
Southern Tagalog Arterial Road 3 km from Tanauan City |
Sambat Exit for Tagaytay and Lake Tall |
The first view of Lake Taal, Batangas Province, Luzon |
Talisay, on the shores of Taal Lake |
Looking south across Lake Taal to Mount Makulot |
Fish farms in Lake Taal at the village of Talisay |
Viewpoint along the road from Talisay to the Tagaytay Highlands |
Lake Taal |
Laguna de Taal |
Binitiang Malaki last erupted in 1715 |
Binitiang Malaki, the most distinctive crater on Volcano Island |
Lake Taal is the third largest lake in the Philippines |
Barangay Leynes on the shores of Lake Taal |
Lake Taal, a freshwater lake formed inside a large caldera |
Lake Taal from the slope of the Tagaytay Highlands |
Volcano Island with Mount Makulot's summit in the clouds across Lake Taal |
Lake Taal |
Partly cloudy blue sky over Lake Taal from the Tagaytay Highlands |
The majority of Volcano Island emerged from the lake in 1911 |
Barangay Leynes with Lake Taal |
Lake Taal from the highlands |
Volcano Island and Lake Taal seen through the vegetation |
Binitiang Malaki, Volcano Island, Lake Taal |
Barangay Leynes, Lake Taal |
Barangay Leynes, Lake Taal |
Village of Leynes through the trees |
Barangay Leynes, Lake Taal |
Aquaculture in Lake Taal. Tilapia is a commonly farmed fish |
Tilapia cage farming in Lake Taal (Batangas) |
Lake Taal and Volcano Island |
Lake Taal with the silhouette of a palm tree |
House looking a mixture of old and new on the slopes above Lake Taal |
Welcome to Barangay Buco (Talisay) Lake Taal |
Main road along the north shore of Lake Taal passing through Buco |
Main road along the north shore of Lake Taal passing through Buco |
Small outrigger boat typical of Lake Taal and the Philippines |
Lush shore of Lake Taal at Buco |
Guesthouse on the north shore of Lake Taal at Barangay Laynes (Talisay) |
The crater of Binitiang Malaki on Volcano Island seen from Leynes |
Welcome to Leynes Resort, Lake Taal |
Laynes Resort |
I stopped at the Leynes Resort for lunch and to arrange a boat trip to Volcano Island |
Outrigger on Lake Taal |
Small motorized banca (outrigger boat) on Lake Taal |
Banca, Laynes Resort, Lake Taal |
Banca with Volcano Island in the distance |
Motorized bancas can be hired to visit the island but negotiate harder than I did! |
Banca, Lake Taal |
Banca, Lake Taal |
Banca, Lake Taal |
Underway for the short crossing from Leynes to Volcano Island |
Leynes Resort, Lake Taal |
Banca at Leynes on the north shore of Lake Taal |
Banca at Leynes on the north shore of Lake Taal |
Leynes Resort, Lake Taal |
Barangay Leynes on the north shore of Lake Taal |
Outrigger boat on Lake Taal |
Another small guesthouse in Leynes, Lake Taal |
Barangay Leynes, Lake Taal |
North shore of Lake Taal looking east |
It doesn't look too rough, but these boats give very poor rides and splash quite a bit |
Banca passing in front of Binitiang Malaki on Volcano Island |
Guesthouse with a nice looking terrace, Lake Taal |
Binitiang Malaki on Volcano Island |
Leynes to Volcano Island 6.5 km |
It's rocking way more than it should... |
A boat load of tourists returning from Volcano Island |
Luckily for the tourists in the front of that boat, they've got a plastic sheet, otherwise they'd be soaked! |
Village of San Isidro on Volcano Island, Lake Taal |
Boats pulled up at San Isidro, Volcano Island |
Banca tied up to the beach at San Isidro, Volcano Island |
Thatched shelters, San Isidro |
Highly eroded trail leading from the village up to Taal Volcano |
My boat trip included a horse to the summit of Taal Volcano |
Volcano Island and Lake Taal with the Tagaytay Highlands on the far shore |
Wonder how many times he's gone up this hill... |
Binitiang Malaki from the slopes of the Taal Volcano, Volcano Island |
Binitiang Malaki from the slopes of the Taal Volcano, Volcano Island |
Boy with a horse-load of vegetation coming down the mountain |
Volcano Island |
The first sign of volcanic activity - steam venting from along the trail |
The world's largest lake on an island in a lake on an island |
Crater lake of Taal Volcano |
Steam vent inside the Taal Volcano crater |
Steam vent on the shores of the Crater Lake, Taal Volcano |
West rim, Taal Volcano |
Lake Taal from the summit of Taal Volcano |
Large steam vent in the eroded crater, Taal Volcano |
Steam vents along the rim of Taal Volcano |
Steam vent, Taal Volcano |
Binitiang Malaki from the summit of Taal Volcano |
North rim, Taal Volcano |
Mount Makulot in the distant southeast |
Crater Lake of Taal Volcano |
Tourist facilities at the summit of Taal Volcano |
Inside the crater of Taal Volcano |
Mount Makulot and the east rim of Taal Volcano |
An island in a lake on an island in a lake on an island... |
Crater Lake, Taal Volcano |
Volcano Island, Lake Taal |
Late afternoon, Lake Taal's crater lake |
Crater Lake, Taal Volcano |
Tourist facilities - tshirts, cold drinks, etc - Rim of Taal Volcano |
Tourist facilities - tshirts, cold drinks, etc - Rim of Taal Volcano |
Tourist village on the rim of the Taal Volano |
Volcano Island from the rim of Taal Volcano looking towards Binitiang Malaki |
Heading back down to the village, Volcano Island |
Odd formations near the top of Taal Volcano |
Wildly eroded trail on Taal Volcano |
My guide on the horse while I walk a bit...easier to take photos |
Fish farms, Lake Taal |
Basketball court of the village of San Isidro, Volcano Island |
Village of San Isidro, Volcano Island |
Outrigger boat at San Isidro, Lake Taal |
Wouldn't float upright without the outriggers... |
Boat boy of Princess Betty Mae |
Outrigger bancas tied up at San Isidro, Lake Taal |
Getting ready for the return crossing to Leynes |
San Isidro, Volcano Island |
Back at the Leynes Resort on the north shore of Lake Taal |
Late afternoon, Lake Taal |
Banca with Volcano Island in the distance across Lake Taal |
Leynes, Lake Taal |
Crater of Binitiang Malaki, 4 km from Leynes, with fish farms floating on Lake Taal |
License plate, Philippines 2000 |
Fish farms, Lake Taal |
Aquaculture - fish farming, Lake Taal |
Fish farms in the northwest end of Lake Taal |
Gloria |
Northwest shore of Lake Taal |
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Aquaculture (fish farms) - northwest shore of Lake Taal |
Aquaculture (fish farms) - northwest shore of Lake Taal |
Binitiang Malaki seen across the paddies around Laurel, on the west side of Lake Taal |
Paddies and the crater of Binitiang Malaki |
Summit of Binitiang Malaki seen from the west over the trees |
Paddies around Laurel, near the west end of the paved road along the north shore of Lake Taal |
Paddies at Laurel (Batangas) with the Tagaytay Highlands |
Tall palms, Late afternoon |
Tall palms and blue sky at Laurel, on the west shore of Lake Taal |
Coconut Palm |
Palms and Paddies, Laurel |
It was getting too late to try and drive the dirt road leading to the highlands west of Laurel... |
Pond at Laurel |
Waterbuffalo, Laurel |
Ponds and palms, Laurel |
Laurel, the small town at the end of the paved road around Lake Taal |
Turn around time... |
Sunset, Lake Taal |
Sunset over Lake Taal with a small boat |
Boy paddling a small boat at sunset, Lake Taal |
Driving back to Manila in the dark... |