So today we finally did something of substance. Cheyenne, Adam, Chris and I grabbed a van from ePerformax and went 2 hours south to Tagaytay, Lake Taal and The People's Park. Lake Taal was the main attraction and that's because it's the smallest and most active volcano in the world. From Tagaytay you take a half hour boat ride across the lake to the volcano. Then you take a horse up the volcano to the top. Our driver said we were going to the resort and he would negotiate a price. The resort turned out to be something that would barely qualify for a shack in the states. So we ended up paying 800 pesos a piece for the ride over and the horse ride to the top and back down from the volcano. So anyone keeping score, that's about $16 US. I still can't get over the absurdity of the prices. That first picture is the boat we took across the lake.
Anyway, here is where my life got a little more complicated. I was able to channel an old Jeff, a Jeff that nobody in SLC....outside of Dave has ever seen. The Jeff who used to be in great shape and hike 50 miles in a week. In the US, at my size they would never let me ride a horse, maybe a Clydesdale but that's about it. Here, their main drive is money so there was no question they would let me ride. So I gave it a shot and I rode the horse about halfway up the volcano. It made me sick to be riding that horse....mentally sick so I got off and walked the rest of the way up and walked all the way down. It was between 2 and 3 miles. It would have been easier had I not sprained my ankle 3 or 4 days before but ya do what ya gotta do. The second picture is the last stretch I had to walk up and the 3rd picture is the horse who's life I saved. If you look in the middle of the second picture, you can see some people about halfway up and see how far I actually had to walk....it kinda sucked. Once I got to the top it was gorgeous. Looking down into the crater was a large lake which you can sort of see over my shoulder and you could see steam rising from various parts of the mountainside due to the lava below. I've seen beautiful sights before but what I liked the most was the quiet. It was serene and silent. I could have sat up there all day. We settled for about an hour. On the way down they kept telling me I could ride the horse but I wouldn't. They were just worried about getting a tip. I was worried about getting arrested for killing a horse.
After we made our way back to Tagaytay we stopped to have lunch and while sitting there I noticed that close by there was a guy with a stand of about 30 bonsai trees. I stopped and looked and he had some amazing stuff and I was just curious about how much he wanted for this 5 tree forest knowing that in Utah, you'd be lucky to get it for under $200. He said 1500 pesos which is about $30. I about flipped my lid. I know I can't take it back but I offered him 1000 pesos and brought it back. I leave a week before Cheyenne so I will leave it with her when I go and then when she leaves she is going to take it to ePerformax and leave it there for them. I'm sure I still overpaid but I couldn't believe it.
Next we went to the People's Park and that is where Ferdinand Marcos had one of his homes. Our driver said he would spend weekends there and entertain dignitaries. It was stunning. We were so high up the mountain that we were actually in the clouds. We parked at the bottom and took a Jeepney to the top and we hung out there for another hour or so. There were some shops and souvenir stands and stuff around the house and it turns out there there was a karaoke machine. Cheyenne told me 2 weeks ago that she would get me to do it and I gave in. I sang All The Small Things and American Pie. It was fun but it was also the first and last time.....I ain't no singer! The amazing thing was that to sing a song was 5 pesos.....two and a half cents.
It was a fantastic day, even if I hadn't lost about 20 lbs. I took about 100 pictures.....I know a couple of you complained about my lack of picture taking. When I get back I will put all them on the net and pass around the link. Again, I'm sorry about my lack of posts but eat sleep work seems to be about the norm. I would like to talk more about what's going on at work so I hope to post again soon.
I hope everyone is doing well.
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