Beautiful Taal

According to Wikipedia, Taal volcano is a large caldera filled by Taal Lake in the Philippines. Located in the province of Batangas, the volcano is second of the most active volcanoes in the country, with 38 recorded historical eruptions, all concentrated on Volcano Island, near the middle of Taal Lake.

Nissa sent me these photos yesterday. They celebrated Father’s Day in Tagaytay where the volano is located.

Beautiful, isn’t it🥰

Father’s Day celebration

Nissa and Obet

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Behind The Scene

One thing that you can’t fault about the Filipinos is their ability to still smile and laugh amidst calamities  and natural disasters. And the Bayanihan spirit is still very much alive with the private sector fetching in even with meager resources. There is our Vice-President Leni Robredo who was the first one in this “out of this world” government to personally see the plight of the Taal survivors. But where is  Digong, they asked. Ah. busy lambasting the Catholic church in one of his speeches again yesterday with an audience of another religion. Let’s not go further, I don’t really want to talk about his slowness in addressing these gargantuan problems. He does not  want to allow other nations to help our shores so be it, let him be buried deep in mud.

I was watching some videos posted at Facebook and I literally laughed seeing those who were wearing nightgowns, police uniform, school uniforms and some men in the evacuation center wearing skirts and dresses. No doubt about it, they really appreciate all the help from our kababayans.  Maybe some donors would want to get rid of those items that they no longer need. Take note though, there are mountains of goods, food items, potable water, toiletries, linens, canned goods etc. being brought to those places where there are so many evacuees. Here are some photos I culled from the net.

That’s VP Leni at the relief operations in Sta. Teresita, Batangas

They’re game wearing those dresses

The BAYANIHAN spirit is still very much alive. These are volunteers repacking goods for distribution

That’s a school uniform

Latest reports say that Taal Volcano is still under alert level 4. There is still the possibility of future eruption.

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When You Feel Like On Top Of The World

That’s Nissa and me taken on the hills of Caleruega in Nasugbu, Batangas ten years ago. It’s one of those road trips that we really loved. Nissa took hundreds of pictures of the place. Beyond are the Nasugbu mountains which hikers open go to to explore.

Seeing this today on my newsfeed reminds me of those happy days when we used to go on roadtrips and enjoyed those lovely times with the family. You’ll pass by Tagaytay and can even take a look at the scenic Taal on your way to this place.

Compared to what I see now where some towns of Batangas are buried deep in ash, where homes were sadly destroyed, where animals and pets were abandoned by their owners in their haste to flee, where there are large cracks in the highways going to those places, I just feel so sad and so inadequate to help. I keep them in my prayers though that this catastrophe would finally end.

Sometimes in life, we experience those life-threatening circumstances and events that we never thought would happen and we are mostly not prepared for it. We are quite happy staying in our own comfort zones, eating three meals a day, having a good night sleep, free to move around and do what we want. Life is short, we all know that. When things like the volcano eruption happens, one feels helpless. How could you go on when the things you took pains to have like your own place under the sun is suddenly destroyed and not habitable anymore? How would you feel if you see a deserted place all around you  and even those animals and plants you have nurtured for years are suddenly dead?

I read a report that the pineapple plantation in Tagaytay is destroyed. Initially P74.5M livestock  and crop damages were reported in Cavite and Batangas. They were covered in blankets of thick mud.  Coffee farms are included. A friend (they are a couple actually and both are chefs) tells her experience with the ashfall in their area the afternoon of January 12. They have a newly-opened restaurant in Tagaytay. They were both resting after a hectic morning of preparing menus in their restaurant when suddenly they heard a roar and they thought it was just thunderstorm, the sky blackened and ashes  began to fall.  Everything became gray. They are worried that the ashes that fell on their roof might actually destroy it. There is no water and no electricity. The painstaking days of putting up a restaurant a few months ago has come to naught. I remember that when we had typhoon Ondoy back in 2009, the couple and some of Nissa’s friends (they were all classmates  in college except Rhea’s husband) came to visit us and brought groceries  and things to cook right here.

I believe that  God is good though, He won’t give us something that we can’t carry. Our load might be heavy at this time but He is always there for us.

We need your prayers. Please include the Philippines  and all those affected by this disaster. THANK YOU so much.

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Amazing Or Scary?

This photo was taken by a photographer who lives in Calapan, Oriental Mindoro. Calapan is about  118.8 kilometers away from the volcanic  eruption.

credit goes to Arden Pimentel Photography. Arden works at Calapan City Tourism.

The photo was captioned TAKBO (run in English). How do you find this picture? That’s Taal Volcano in the distance spewing ash while the children were busy running towards this phenomenon or running away from it.  I find the capture spectacular  but it also spells danger  to all. It gives me the goosebumps.

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Disappearing Face Masks

My brother said he went out yesterday to buy surgical face masks but they are not available anymore. Nagka-ubusan na. People have become afraid of inhaling that toxic ash brought by the eruption of Taal volcano. I read an article saying that those are not really ashes but small microscopic particles of glass spewn by the mouth of the raging volcano. And when they get wet, they turn into lahar. A lahar is a violent type of mudflow or debris flow composed of a slurry of pyroclastic material, rocky debris and water. The material flows down from a volcano, typically along a river valley.

I was able to obtain a Respirateur N95 surgical masks thru my son who works at JP Morgan Chase bank. They give them for free to all their employees. It has instructions on how to wear it.

I actually have several thick cloth and washable face masks which I bought from Miniso, a Japanese store at SM East Ortigas. Since I got sick ten years ago and since I underwent chemotherapy, my immunity has gone low. It is why I am so careful in catching colds since it usually takes a month or more before I get healed. Every time I go out alone and take a commute, I wear a face mask. Even in the marketplace, I also wear one. The pollution here in Metro Manila is bad.

We were lucky last night, the winds didn’t blow our way so the ash was so minimal.

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When Lightning Strikes

Now I am beginning to understand based on the various reports and readings that I’ve done since last night.

The lightning that those near the volcano have seen and experienced was really not a lightning from the sky but it comes from the mouth of the volcano. It is an electrical charge not caused by thunderstorms but discharged by the volcanic eruption. When fragmenting particles of volcanic ash collides, it generates static electricity.

These lightning occurrences tell us that a major eruption is most likely to happen, with lava and magma flow from the mouth of the volcano. So that means, we haven’t experienced the major eruption yet.  When it reaches alert level number 5, that’s the most destructive part of it all. And Taal volcano is showing continued signs of activity.

Please God, keep us from the worst thing that will happen. We pray for deliverance from the wrath of nature.

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Taal In Its Natural Beauty

Reposting these photos of Taal Lake and that inactive crater in one of  our trips in Batangas a few years ago.

 

Beautiful, isn’t it? It’s actually one of the scenic spots in the country.  We had an office excursion several years ago in one of the towns facing Taal. There were so many who were surfing, sailing and wakeboarding.

A closer view of the volcano before its eruption from wikakids.com

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The Ashes….

We covered our car last night since it was newly washed a few hours before the Taal volcano eruption.

Early this morning, I went out to check my garden.  The garden set is full of ash. I have to water the plants pronto. I had to wear face mask when I went out of our garage to sweep the front of the house. My golly, even the street is thick with ash. I have to sweep the sidewalk  so it won’t enter the house when the  wind blows. The ash even if we don’t see it fall is detrimental to our health especially to those people with asthma.  Our windows are all closed

Look at these photos. They were taken in one of the towns affected by the eruption.

culled from Phil. Weather Systems/Earthquake Update

 

Even the plants were covered in mud.

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The Scenic Taal Volcano

Taal  volcano is considered the world’s smallest active volcano and is situated in the middle of  a lake.  Tagaytay  City in Cavite is the best place where you could see the superb view of Taal volcano.  About 55 kilometers south of Metro Manila, you can reach it by car in a little less than two hours.

Just took a few quick shots of the place three weeks ago while we were on our way to Nasugbu, Batangas.   It is a major tourist attraction.  But one sure way to see it closer is through the town of Talisay,   Batangas.

One could relax and  be at peace  just by looking at the view and the cool breeze of Tagaytay is  a welcome change from the heat of  Metro Manila.

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